Mad Cow

Bennie Osburn: The veterinary school's role

Bennie Osburn

Bennie Osburn is dean of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and an authority on the health and welfare of food animals, particularly cows and sheep. Focusing his research on viral diseases of sheep and cattle, he has been involved in key discoveries about food-animal viruses, developmental immunology, congenital infections and, more recently, food safety.

Q. What research and diagnostic work is being done at the School of Veterinary Medicine related to mad cow disease?

A. UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine is addressing mad cow disease through diagnostic work, research and education.

Diagnostics

The California Animal Health and Food Safety laboratory system, headquartered at UC Davis and operated by School of Veterinary Medicine faculty in five California locations, conducts diagnostic testing for food animals throughout the state, including testing of "downer" cows, testing of livestock for neurological diseases, and testing of sheep for scrapie as well as deer for chronic wasting disease.

Research

A School of Veterinary Medicine research team is developing a rapid test to detect the presence of bovine (cattle) DNA in livestock feeds. This test would assist feed processors and regulatory agencies in the screening of feed products for ruminant proteins.

Education

Professional students in our Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Master's of Preventive Veterinary Mediciine and Master's of Public Health degree programs, as well as in our residency training and graduate education programs, learn to handle a range of food animal health issues, including the potential for mad cow disease.

Educational programs for livestock producers are also provided through Veterinary Medicine Extension, the Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center in Tulare, and other programs.

Q. How is the School of Veterinary Medicine collaborating with the state and federal governments in dealing with the mad cow finding?

A. The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, which operates five diagnostic laboratories in the state, is a partnership between the School of Veterinary Medicine and the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

The California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory is one of 13 state laboratories in the pilot National Animal Health Laboratory Network of the United States Department of Agriculture. The network aims to provide technical training, proficiency testing and equipment to ensure the most rapid and effective local response, in concert with national agencies, to suspected infectious disease problems that may affect the food supply. Member laboratories would be able to provide extra capacity for USDA diagnostics on prion diseases.

Our faculty members assist federal agencies in evaluation of new tests being developed to identify prion diseases. The school also has sent three faculty members to the United Kingdom for training to recognize bovine spongiform encephalopathy and review systems for the surveillance, identification and tracking of cattle.

Three faculty members have attended certification training at the USDA-APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, to interpret immunohistochemistry staining for prion-caused diseases. And one of our faculty members has served on the Food and Drug Administration's BSE advisory committee.

Q. How do veterinarians and professionals in human medicine work together to address diseases that affect both people and animals?

A. Veterinary faculty members contribute to human health by using their biomedical knowledge of animals to protect people from disease, ensure food safety and advance human health research.

Veterinarians develop and evaluate diagnostic tools, animal health management strategies, vaccines and biosecurity measures for food animals, some of which are adapted for use in human medicine.
Our faculty conduct research of West Nile virus, rabies, hantavirus, malaria, babesiosis, erlichiosis and other diseases transmitted between animals and people.

UC Davis veterinary scientists also conduct studies on influenza, AIDS, cancer, asthma, autism, genetic disorders and other human health concerns.

Faculty from the School of Veterinary Medicine and School of Medicine jointly prepare and submit research proposals and training grants to federal agencies for collaborative projects.

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine faculty members conduct $29 million in NIH-funded biomedical research -- more than any other veterinary school in the nation.

The School of Veterinary Medicine houses several centers dedicated to conducting studies on diseases that affect humans and animals, including:

• The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security
• The Center for Comparative Medicine
• The California National Primate Research Center
• The Center for Vectorborne Disease

Graduate students in academic, clinical and postdoctoral research programs collaborate with faculty mentors in both the School of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Medicine on human health issues.

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