What roles do veterinarians play in public health?

The roles of veterinarians in public health are many and varied, too numerous to attempt to include even every category here. Veterinarians provide very visible public health services such as rabies vaccination, but many of the duties are out of the public eye. More public health tasks are often not even thought of as public health concerns by the public.

We all know that rabies is a dangerous disease. Only one person in history has survived rabies encephalitis. Rabies vaccines are required by state laws for the public health, not the health of the dogs and cats. However, the benefits for dogs and cats have been great. Additionally, the rabies vaccine laws have resulted in the eradication of the canine variant of the rabies virus in the United States. Rabies continues to be a major concern due to variants from animals such as bats, foxes and skunks. When a dog or cat has bitten a person, veterinarian examinations are required during the quarantine.

The safety of our food supply is due in part to the efforts of veterinarians. This starts on the farm with direct animal health care and appropriate use of medications. Every animal in the United States slaughtered for human consumption undergoes a veterinary inspection at the slaughterhouse. Veterinarians help ensure the health of the animals producing our food. This includes the testing of wild animals such as deer and elk for diseases like chronic wasting disease that could affect humans. Due to the efforts of veterinarians, several deadly animal diseases have been eradicated and others nearly eradicated.

Educating the public about diseases that can affect humans and other species is very important. One area of concern is parasites. Many human parasites are uncommon in the U.S. However, most animal parasites can cause health problems in humans, sometimes even death. The efforts of veterinarians help decrease the parasite load in the environment and decrease risk of human disease. Many diseases cross species barriers. Leptospirosis, Lyme, blastomycosis, chronic wasting disease, psittacosis, West Nile Virus, anthrax, ebola, avian influenza and rabies just to name a few.

Veterinarians are on the front lines for detecting foreign animal diseases. This type of problem can arise by accident (like mad cow disease) or potentially by bioterrorism. Food animal veterinarians especially are encouraged to help identify this type of problem. Small animal veterinarians also help monitor for exotic diseases, as many will also affect dogs, cats and birds. The goal is to isolate the disease process before it spreads across a large area and potentially becomes impossible to handle or damages the safety of our food supply. Additionally, veterinary inspections are required for travel of animals to help prevent the spread of contagious diseases.

Veterinarians are involved in many areas of biomedical research. Most drugs, medical equipment, and procedures are developed and first tested in animals. This is not to say that veterinarians are doing all of the research, but veterinary involvement is critical. Veterinarians provide medical care and help establish and monitor ethical standards of care for these research animals. Veterinarians are part of research and animal use committees in institutions doing animal research and care.

Using the results of this research, veterinarians are important in policy development for control of animal disease, food safety, drug safety, humane research guidelines and other areas of regulatory medicine. They also help develop strategies for emergency preparedness. This includes care of animals after a disaster, limiting spread of disease, and setting up plans to look for sentinels of disease (as in a bioterrorism attack).

Individuals who have earned the broad based biological sciences and medical doctorate degree in veterinary medicine have had training in many areas important to maintaining public health. This involvement in public health is likely to grow in the coming years. The One Health Initiative by the American Veterinary Medical Association (www.avma.org) encourages discourse between human and veterinary professionals for the benefits of all. The collaborative efforts should increase the awareness of public health concerns between the professions and improve conditions for animals and humans.

Overall, veterinarians are very important in helping to maintain public health and safety.

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