Critical Needs for Research in Veterinary Science (2005) / Chapter Skim
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3 Setting and Implementing an Agenda for Veterinary Research
3 Setting and Implementing an Agenda for Veterinary Research
Pages 51-82
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From page 51... ...
As shown by the critical research issues outlined in the previous chapter, veterinary and comparative medicine research is becoming a more pressing need than ever before. The ability of veterinary researchers to address the threats of animal disease and to meet societal needs depends largely on the nation's research capacity.
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From page 52... ...
Tracking of pathogen prevalence in animals, including companion, foodproducing, and laboratory animals. Tracking of foodborne diseases.
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From page 53... ...
Research Agenda Immediate Priorities A critical factor in reducing animal-associated foodborne illnesses is the ability to detect and isolate the responsible agents. A high priority for the near term is to develop rapid, sensitive, and accurate assays for detecting foodborne pathogens in feces and meat and on animal surfaces.
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From page 54... ...
If we identify the responsible agents, research can be focused on developing effective detection and intervention strategies to reduce their occurrence in the food chain. A multitargeted research approach is needed to reveal and characterize these yet-to-be discovered harmful microorganisms.
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Veterinary researchers should collaborate with food microbiologists, statisticians, and nonveterinary scientists to strengthen and advance food-safety research. Collaboration with federal agencies engaged in food safety issues -- such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
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National Integrated Food Safety Initiative, the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) , the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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From page 57... ...
The critical infrastructure for such research will include biocontainment laboratories and animal housing facilities that are now being planned or under construction; access to genome and sequence data and antibody, nucleic acid, and protein arrays to help us understand the immune system; and banks of wellcharacterized reference agents and reagents. As we wage the war on terrorism and emerging infectious diseases, critical subspecialties of veterinary medicine
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From page 58... ...
ANIMAL HEALTH AND WELFARE Food-Producing Animals Examples of Critical Research · Development of capacity and implementation of broad programs in comparative medicine to understand, rapidly detect, and control zoo notic and nonzoonotic diseases in food-producing animals raised in con centrated production units, with emphasis on techniques and technolo gies for field use in large-animal populations. · Evaluation of the implications of increases in productivity achieved through genetic or pharmaceutical means for animal health, nutrient, and metabolic requirements.
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From page 59... ...
· Development and deployment of appropriate and safe techniques to control diagnosed critical food-animal diseases (for example, foot-and-mouth disease)
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From page 60... ...
Funding Sources USDA provides some funds through such initiatives as the animal health funds administered through CSREES, the NRI and formula funds to the land grant universities and colleges of veterinary medicine. In many cases, the funds are split between the animal-production research departments in colleges of agriculture and veterinary colleges.
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From page 61... ...
Challenges in this field include inadequate understanding of the physiology of many farmed aquatic species, as opposed to mammals; of how varying body temperatures affect disease processes and responses to therapeutic interventions and vaccines; and of the environmental effects of farming practices, medications, and transgenic species. Immediate Priorities High priority should be given to developing accurate and cost-effective diagnostic tests to allow rapid treatment and prevent spread of diseases.
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From page 62... ...
, state agricultural research programs, and sea grant programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) -- and outlining of the roles of different categories of research funding would facilitate veterinary research in aquatic species.
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From page 63... ...
are compelling reasons to enhance their health and well-being through research. Immediate Priorities An immediate and continuous need in companion-animal medicine is to determine the prevalence of important companion-animal diseases.
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Strategies to Achieve Research Agenda Increasing research into issues that affect companion-animal health and wellbeing requires researchers with advanced training in clinical specialties, epidemiology, behavior, animal welfare, immunology, pharmacology, and other disciplines. There is a need for collaborative research across institutions and involving private practices to investigate complex diseases and to carry out large-scale and scientifically rigorous clinical trials.
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From page 65... ...
For research that focuses on comparative medicine with direct and indirect benefits to companion animals and human beings, respectively, funding may be available from human-oriented national granting agencies, such as NIH. For example, veterinary research programs in comparative oncology and ophthalmology have benefited from such funding.
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From page 66... ...
To minimize research variables and to ensure animal welfare, additional research is needed to establish the optimal environmental characteristics for laboratory animals and to optimize management practices, such as the frequency of cage or pen sanitation and the use of enrichment devices. Long-term Priorities Research to validate and refine the products and methods for sedating, anesthetizing or providing analgesia to laboratory animals should be continued as part of the commitment to minimize or prevent pain in animals while supporting research objectives.
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Failure to train qualified laboratory animal veterinarians will result in widespread noncompliance with federal regulations and PHS policy governing animal welfare. To help to recruit veterinarians into this specialty, some courses in the veterinary curricula should include laboratory animal medicine as a component.
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From page 68... ...
However, there are no substantial funding sources for training laboratory animal clinicians or for studies designed to improve laboratory animal disease detection or prevention. Funding is also needed for studies to establish science-based environmental conditions for laboratory animals and to expand our understanding of the behavioral needs of laboratory animals.
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From page 69... ...
Such monitoring would benefit from development of programs that link zoos, wildlife rehabilitation centers, and others; captive wildlife can then act as "sentinels" for zoonotic and wildlife disease emergence. Mid-term Priorities A focused effort is required to discover the pathogens that cause serious wildlife diseases, and new tools need to be developed for rapid diagnosis.
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From page 70... ...
Veterinary curricula should include study of wildlife diseases of nongame animals and of the conservation consequences of wildlife diseases in response to growing importance of such a discipline. Veterinary schools, curricula should include the conservation implications of wildlife diseases and the principles of conservation medicine.
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From page 71... ...
does not specifically support disease research but funds work on the ecology of diseases in many wildlife species, which is used to understand ecosystem functioning. NIH does not specifically fund research on wildlife diseases, but some research projects focused on ecology of infectious diseases and how they interface with wildlife, domestic animal, and human populations.
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From page 72... ...
· Improved methods for genetic engineering in laboratory animal species other than the mouse to advance understanding of select diseases. Research Agenda Immediate Priorities Increasing the number of comparative-medicine scientists to meet the demand for interdisciplinary and translational research should have high priority.
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Long-term Priorities Advances in genetic-engineering technologies in laboratory animal species besides the mouse would be valuable in advancing biomedical research in many respects. However, the technological efficiencies of generating genetically engineered mice have not been easily transferable to other laboratory animal species.
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There is insufficient funding for studies focused on developing efficient methods for preserving important laboratory animal strains or on advancing genetic-engineering technologies for other laboratory animal species. Small awards in those fields may be made by grant foundations, such as the American College of Laboratory Animal Medicine Foundation.
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Little is known about how such agents as Rift Valley fever, if artificially released in the United States, might persist in wildlife populations and present a continued threat to public health. Research is needed on the role that livestock and native wildlife will play in allowing released bioterrorism agents to become endemic in the United States and cause long-term problems (Box 3-2)
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From page 76... ...
understand how such factors as trade, encroachment into wildlife habitat, unnatural mixing of species, hunting, and overpopulation affect pathogen dynamics in animals and cause emerging diseases in humans. Research is needed to develop control strategies, drug candidates, and other therapies for key emerging diseases for which few therapies exist, for example, hemorrhagic fevers; encephalitides,
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From page 77... ...
Increased collaboration among veterinary researchers working at federal agencies -- such as DHS, FWS, and USDA -- will allow them to study the role of international wildlife trade in disease introduction and the potential dissemination of bioterrorism agents in wildlife populations. Veterinary medical curricula should be adjusted to reflect the growing demand for veterinarians versed in issues of bioterrorism, emerging diseases, novel molecular biological approaches to diagnostics, and collaborative team research.
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From page 78... ...
Good examples are crows for West Nile virus and freshwater fish for some tumor-inducing chemicals. Mid-term Priorities Domestic and wild animals may be used as bioindicators or sentinels of ecosystem health (Tabor and Aguirre, 2004)
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From page 79... ...
Strategies to Achieve Research Agenda The complex and wide-ranging interactions that characterize ecosystems require veterinary researchers trained in epidemiology, ecology, conservation, infectious disease, and other biological and social-science disciplines. A key strategy to move ecosystem-health research forward is to foster interdisciplinary research.
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From page 80... ...
Research Agenda Immediate Priorities An immediate need for veterinary research pertaining to social policies is to quantify measurable stress and distress characteristics in animals of all types to be used in objective evaluation of management practices for animal welfare. The physiological and welfare-related effects of pharmaceuticals used to alter metabolism or performance in animals should be evaluated.
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From page 81... ...
Exotic and Caged Pets Examples of Critical Research Needs · Characterization of the zoonotic pathogens capable of being car ried by exotic species and also those pathogens that may be transmitted to domestic and wild animal populations. · Improved methods of diagnosis and treatment of exotic animal diseases, especially in regards to safe and effective anesthetic and anal gesic protocols.
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From page 82... ...
Funding Sources Funding for research on exotic-pet health and husbandry issues is sparse. Funds are available from some private funding organizations (for example, the Morris Animal Foundation)
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