Dr. Moira McKinnon, Saskatchewan's chief medical health officer, was the One Health dinner's keynote speaker.

One Health was the number one dinner topic at a unique University of Saskatchewan event on May 2 that brought together more than 50 representatives of research, industry and government in Western Canada.

The special dinner gave a select group of researchers from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine and the U of S the opportunity to talk about their research and exchange ideas with a variety of people.

Welcomed by WCVM Dean Dr. Douglas Freeman, the event’s invitees included men and women who are involved in everything from agriculture, public health, food safety and disease surveillance to product development, international trade and public policy.

Special guests included Dr. Moira McKinnon of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Frank Nolan of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Dr. Richard Harland (WCVM ’82) of Novartis Health Canada, Dr. Laura Saward of Cangene Corporation and Dr. Jaspinder Kornal of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Dr. Frank Nolan, research and innovation development officer at NSERC (Prairies region).

This is the second dinner organized by the WCVM’s Research Office and sponsored by NSERC (Prairies regional office). While food safety was the event’s focus in 2011, organizers targeted One Health for this year’s dinner.

As several of the evening’s speakers remarked, now is the ideal time to talk about One Health — a global initiative that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and communication among health professionals in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment.

In McKinnon’s keynote presentation, the chief medical health officer of Saskatchewan listed emerging zoonotic diseases around the globe such as Australia’s Hendra virus that’s harboured by flying foxes (pteropid fruit bats) and North America’s Lyme disease that’s spread through the bite of blacklegged ticks.

Both examples highlight the need for collaborative expertise to manage these health challenges. The U of S is responding to that demand and is being recognized for their efforts internationally, says McKinnon, who pointed out that one of her international colleagues recently attended a conference presentation on One Health that was given by a U of S representative.

“One Health is being championed by the U of S so that’s a real feather in your cap.”

WCVM Dean Dr. Douglas Freeman welcomes more than 50 people to the U of S One Health dinner on May 2.

In the past decade, One Health has gained real momentum on the U of S campus. Besides being one of the university’s signature research areas, the U of S Council of Health Science Deans is playing a leadership role in encouraging collaborative programs among health science colleges and schools.

A concrete example of their work is the new U of S Health Sciences infrastructure project that will bring together faculty, students and staff from a number of health science colleges for education, research and planning.

One Health is also the driving force between the development of new training initiatives that integrate various disciplines and skills. Once funding is secured, these new programs will ensure that graduates are more equipped to deal with multi-faceted issues such as emerging zoonotic diseases (diseases that are transmissible between humans and animals), vaccine development and food security and safety, reported Dr. Bruce Reeder, chair of the CHSD’s One Health Initiative.

The key factor is integration, emphasized Dr. Hugh Townsend, an infectious disease specialist at the WCVM’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

Visiting scientist Dr. Mandeep Singh Bal of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) in Punjab, India.

“Collaborative research is valuable, but we now need to concentrate on integrated research — we have to take it to the next level,” said Townsend, who is also a researcher at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac). “It’s important for us to understand what we’re doing and how it’s relative to the people upstream.”

Dr. Baljit Singh, WCVM’s associate dean of research, agreed with Townsend’s emphasis on integration and added international partnerships — including exchange programs — as another key requirement to advancing the university’s One Health initiatives.

To illustrate his point, Singh introduced three visiting scientists who had just arrived from India earlier in the day. Their visit is part of a U of S international partnership project on environmental toxicology and public health that was developed by the WCVM in co-operation with the Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) in Punjab, India.

Devon Wilson watches video footage of a rat crossing a horizontal ladder to analyze its forelimb function. Photo: Robyn Thrasher.

When Devon Wilson’s horse was treated for colic at the Veterinary Medical Centre in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), she knew immediately that she wanted to work in the field of veterinary medicine.

“I was so grateful to the vets for helping me and my horse,” she says. “And I thought, ‘This would be a great career for me.’”

With her first year of veterinary medicine completed, Wilson is spending her summer working in the College’s student research program with Dr. Gillian Muir, a professor in the WCVM’s Department of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences.

Wilson’s project focuses on the use of a non-invasive treatment for a partial spinal cord injury known as intermittent hypoxia (IH) — a procedure in which subjects (in this case, rats) are alternately exposed to low oxygen levels (hypoxia) and normal oxygen levels.

“I’ll be exploring whether or not daily exercise, in combination with the intermittent hypoxia treatment, will have a positive effect on recovery,” she explains.

While this novel treatment can be applied to spinal-injured pets, the primary goal is to develop it as a human therapy. “Spinal cord trauma is a significant and debilitating condition in people,” Wilson says, adding that the study will help give further insight into the robustness of the IH treatment – something that Muir’s lab has been investigating since 2008.

WCVM Class of 2015 student Devon Wilson. Photo: Robyn Thrasher.

Originally from Tugaske, Sask., Wilson spends a lot of her spare time playing sports such as volleyball, basketball and curling. She also has two horses, Rainy and Jack, whom she trains and uses for pleasure riding.

No stranger to research, Wilson was also involved in a nutritional study working with sheep at the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources during the summer of 2011.

“I wrote and published a paper in the Journal of Animal Science,” says Wilson, who was also given the opportunity to present her findings at the 2011 American Dairy Science Association–American Society of Animal Science Joint Meeting in New Orleans.

After she graduates in 2015, Wilson hopes to continue participating in research. “I find it very rewarding and my experience has exposed me to various areas of research,” she says.

“I’d advise any future WCVM students to spend a summer doing research even if you’re not considering it as a career. You’ll learn a lot and you may find it quite enjoyable.”

Dr. Ole Nielsen (left) receives the Order of the University of Calgary. Photo: Dave Brown, University of Calgary.

Dr. N. Ole Nielsen, former dean of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM), received the Order of the University of Calgary on May 10 during the university’s spring convocation.

Nielsen was honoured for his service to the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine as an invaluable and enthusiastic contributor who used his extensive knowledge and diplomacy to engage practicing veterinarians and academics in support of a new centre in Calgary.

Adding to the poignancy of the occasion, Nielsen accepted his award in front of the first graduating class of the U of C Faculty of Veterinary Medicine — 30 veterinary graduates who have benefited directly from Nielsen’s early advocacy and support of the new program.

“It’s immensely gratifying to consider the impact these first graduating students will have on the world,” says Nielsen. “They have mastered a very progressive and innovative curriculum, and their leadership in the communities they serve will take the profession of veterinary medicine in meaningful and new directions that respond to society’s needs.”

Nielsen continues to advocate within the veterinary profession for its greater involvement in ecosystem health and ecological medicine — an area of emphasis that was adopted by the U of C Faculty of Veterinary Medicine that he supported in discussions in his role as Chair of the Alberta Veterinary Medicine Steering Committee.

The 30 members of the first graduating class at the UCVM. Photo courtesy of the University of Calgary.

During a career that has spanned more than 50 years, Nielsen held positions as dean at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (1974-1982) and the Ontario Veterinary College (1985-1994) at the University of Guelph.

He is well-published in the areas of livestock disease, biomedical science, ecosystem health and conservation, and veterinary professional affairs and education.

“The study of animal health and disease and their linkage to public and ecosystem health must receive more attention as the world becomes more interconnected,” says Nielsen.

“I feel fortunate to have been involved in establishing Canada’s newest veterinary faculty at the University of Calgary that can help address this challenge. Receiving this award is the capstone to another dimension of my career that I hadn’t anticipated.”

The Order of the University of Calgary recognizes individuals who have a history of exemplary and distinguished service to the university. Candidates nominated for membership in the Order may include, but are not limited to, current or former students (graduate or undergraduate), faculty, staff, alumni and volunteers.

With files from the University of Calgary.

Dr. Barry Blakley: “What producers don’t realize is that even a small amount of ergot (in their feed) can cause major issues." Photo: Michael Raine.

A fungus that’s linked to human poisoning in the Middle Ages and even the 17th century Salem witch trials is affecting cattle in Western Canada today.

Claviceps purpurea is a fungus that mainly grows on rye, wheat, barley and triticale and causes ergot — a disease of grasses and cereal crops.

Ergot is most common in European countries and parts of North America where the climate is moist, cool and cloudy during the growing season. A telltale trait of the disease is the dark brown, purplish sclerotia (ergot bodies) that replace grain in the plants’ heads.

Besides affecting crop quality and yields, ergot produces alkaloids (organic compounds containing nitrogen) that can cause ergot poisoning in humans, cattle, swine and other mammals if they consume enough of the contaminated grain.

During the Middle Ages, ergot poisoning was common among rural Europeans who depended on rye crops for their daily bread. Today’s food safety standards have virtually eliminated the cases of human ergot poisoning — but it’s still a concern in livestock.

“Historically, we haven’t had a lot of problems with ergot in Saskatchewan,” says Dr. Barry Blakley, a toxicologist at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM). “But in the last eight to 10 years, with the changing weather conditions and very moist spring months, conditions have been ideal for this fungus on the Prairies.”

The number of calls that Blakley receives about ergot poisoning in cattle has significantly increased in the past two years — especially in the past couple of months. Calls are mainly coming from producers and veterinarians in the western parts of Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Since ergot-contaminated grain receives low grades at the grain elevator, Blakley says some livestock producers are tempted to use affected grain for animal feed rather than pay extra for the grain to be cleaned.

“What they don’t realize is that even a small amount of ergot can cause major issues,” explains Blakley. The range of ergot contamination that can cause poisoning symptoms in cattle is between 0.1 and 0.3 per cent.

With continual exposure, cattle can develop the gangrenous symptoms of the disease where the ergot alkaloids cause constriction of blood vessels. When this occurs, the cow’s extremities — teats, ears, tail and feet — have restricted blood flow that can lead to gangrene.

“It’s similar to freezing where the body slows down the blood flow to the extremities in order to preserve the body’s core temperature. The same thing happens here . . . the feet or tail will basically slough off,” says Blakley. Animals must be euthanized in severe cases, but even mildly-affected cattle lose their market value.

In pregnant cattle, abortion or decreased milk production are two other potential effects of continual, low exposure to ergot-contaminated grain. “Even if the cow doesn’t abort her calf, her milk production may be affected and that will have an impact on her calf’s growth,” says Blakley.

A WCVM research team, including Blakley, has submitted a grant to further investigate ergot’s impact on pregnant cattle’s prolactin levels — the hormone that’s involved in milk production. “The gangrene symptoms are important, but the loss of milk production and the impact on the health of a producer’s calf crop may be even more significant from an economic standpoint.”

The increased incidence of ergot poisoning on the Prairies is also highlighting the need for specialized toxicological testing. Prairie Diagnostic Services, Saskatchewan’s veterinary laboratory, currently doesn’t have the equipment to test for ergot poisoning in submitted samples — but that may change in the future. PDS is seeking funding to purchase a liquid chromotograph mass spectrometer (LCMS) that will be used to identify a wide variety of organic chemicals including pesticides, antibiotics and mycotoxins such as ergot.

While gangrene is the most typical ergot-related symptom among cattle on the Prairies, high levels of exposure to the contaminated grain can also cause another disease form whose symptoms include convulsions, muscular trembling, stumbling and hyperexcitability in affected cattle. Animals rarely have both forms of the disease.

Similar symptoms used to be witnessed in human cases, and that has led some researchers to hypothesize that ergot poisoning was behind the bizarre behaviour exhibited by people who were accused of being witches in Salem, Mass., during the 1690s.

Blakley points out the central nervous system-affected variation of ergot poisoning is rarely seen in cattle, and if so, neurologic signs disappear once the contaminated feed is taken away since ergot is rapidly eliminated from the body.

Avoiding any use of ergot-contaminated grain is the best prevention, says Blakley. “Our impression is that the safe level of ergot in any feed is quite low — lower than what people may think.”

WCVM medical imaging specialist Dr. Tawni Silver will give an interactive ultrasonography lab during the June 2012 conference. Photo: Debra Marshall.

As Dr. Colin Palmer describes it, 2012 is homecoming year for the June Conference — the Western College of Veterinary Medicine’s longtime continuing education event.

For the past eight years, the traditional format for the college’s biannual June Conference was shelved while the WCVM worked in co-operation with the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association to organize continuing education conferences in Saskatoon.

While the joint events were successful in attracting excellent speakers and a healthy number of registrants, Palmer says the SVMA and WCVM decided to strike out on their own for 2012.

“I guess you could say we’re returning to our roots,” says Palmer, chair for the conference that will take place from June 7 to 9 at the WCVM.

“When the first June Conference was organized more than 30 years ago, all of the presentations, labs and social events took place here at the veterinary college and on the University of Saskatchewan campus. And that’s exactly how we’ve planned it for this year.”

Like those first conferences, Palmer says this year’s event will have a more folksy feel to it with lunchtime seminars, talks in the veterinary college’s original lecture theatres, a Thursday evening barbecue at Louis’ Pub (the university’s bar), and an alumni reception on Friday at the WCVM with Dean Dr. Douglas Freeman.

Register before May 18 and save $50! Visit www.wcvm.com/junecon2012 for registration information and to view the conference’s program and speaker biographies.

“Since most of the people coming to the June Conference graduated from this college, we want to give them a chance to walk around and see the college’s new facilities, tour around the beautiful U of S campus, talk to some of the industry representatives and have a visit with some of their classmates.”

June Conference chair Dr. Colin Palmer: "Our goal is to make the June Conference more theme-based so we end up covering a number of major topics in depth over the next decade."

As for CE content, Palmer says this year’s roster of speakers partially reflects the eventual direction that organizers envision for the future. “Ultimately, our goal is to make the June Conference more theme-based so we end up covering a number of major topics in depth over the next decade,” explains Palmer.

This year’s program, aptly called “Practical cutting edge veterinary medicine,” includes a variety of quality speakers on large animal- and small animal-related topics. As well, several speakers will give multiple talks on particular topics — allowing participants to gain more in-depth instruction in areas such as cardiology in small animals, respiratory disease in cattle, and biosecurity in veterinary facilities.

The conference schedule also includes demonstration labs in bovine hoof care and pet rehabilitation as well as an interactive lab in ultrasonography — activities that showcase the veterinary college’s clinical facilities as well as its specialists.

Another objective of the June Conference is to introduce some of the WCVM’s new faculty — especially the college’s clinicians who are eager to meet the region’s private practitioners as they develop their referral services.

Unlike other CE conferences, Palmer says the WCVM’s June Conference has no sponsors for its presentations and social events. Instead, representatives of pharmaceutical firms and other businesses involved in the veterinary industry are invited to attend the conference and meet with veterinarians during the sessions, coffee breaks and social activities or to plan their own meetings with clients.

“We work very closely with the industry representatives throughout the year, and we just see this as a way to show our appreciation — to say thanks for their expertise and service,” explains Palmer.

What Palmer and his fellow organizers hope is that participants in this year’s June Conference will have plenty of opportunities to talk — whether it’s with old classmates, conference speakers, industry representatives or with current students at the veterinary college.

“One of the nice features of an event like the June Conference is that people actually have a chance to have face-to-face conversations — something that doesn’t happen as often anymore in today’s world of webinars, teleconferences and video conferencing,” says Palmer.

“It’s part of that June Conference tradition that we really want to keep alive for this year and for the future.”

A closeup of a male Rocky Mountain tick (Dermacentor andersoni), a tick species that has been submitted to the WCVM study. Photo: Dr. Shaun Dergousoff.

“Know your enemy” is a well-known military maxim that’s also good advice for people on the Canadian Prairies who are seeing increasing populations of tick species in the region.

Here are some quick facts about ticks and tick-borne diseases:

• Ticks, like spiders and mites, have eight legs in their mature form (as adults) and are members of the class Arachnida. Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web site to view different tick species and their life stages.
• Ticks need a certain amount of moisture to be able to complete their life cycle, so tick sightings are less common in a dry year or in dry areas.
• Ticks in Saskatchewan actively feed in spring, summer and/or fall (depending upon species), and hibernate over the winter months. Winter or moose ticks are an exception: the larvae hang on bushes in long chains in the fall and latch on to any passing large animal such as a deer, moose, horse or cow. The ticks then overwinter on the animal, progressing through their life cycle until they become adults in the spring. At this point, female ticks take a final blood meal before falling off to lay their eggs in the grass over summer.
• Ticks can identify a passing animal through expired breath and body heat, among other things.
• Many species of tick feed on a different animal host at each stage of their life cycle. Studies have shown that certain species of ticks (for example, soft ticks) can survive for many years without a blood meal.
• Ticks that are hosts for the different bacteria causing equine anaplasmosis and Lyme disease lay uninfected eggs. Therefore, in order for an adult tick to infect its hosts, the bacteria must be present in the population of animals that it feeds on as an immature.
• Granulocytic anaplasmosis is caused by tick-borne transmission of the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacteria. Symptoms for both horses and humans are similar: fever, loss of appetite, mild depression, jaundice and limb edema.
• Anaplasmosis is treated with antibiotics, and if caught early before secondary infections develop, the prognosis for recovery is usually good. Spontaneous recovery is also possible.
• Documented cases of Lyme disease in horses are relatively rare. Both symptoms and test results can be inconclusive. Some studies estimate that less than 10 per cent of horses carrying Borrelia burgdorferi, the disease-causing bacteria, show clinical signs. Lyme disease can be readily treated with antibiotics, especially if caught early. The most common indicator of Lyme disease in humans — a target-shaped rash — isn’t a useful indicator in horses and pets.
• Cases of Lyme disease in humans have been reported in many Canadian provinces and in some tick species of the genus Ixodes. Southern and eastern Ontario, southeastern Manitoba, parts of Nova Scotia and British Columbia have areas where B. burgdorferi are established in ticks (source: Government of Alberta).

Read more about a WCVM-led research study on tick-borne disease in Saskatchewan.

The first tick I ever encountered was flung clear across the room in horror (never to be seen again). But I’ve since become a pro at pulling them off of whatever animal they happen to be attached to and delivering a quick death between a boot heel and the cement barn floor.

I must confess I’ve actually developed a rather morbid fascination with the little bloodsucking arachnids – but I won’t go quite as far as Dr. Katharina Lohmann does.

“Once you get over the ‘ick factor,’ they’re really quite pretty,” says the large animal internal medicine specialist.

I am not convinced.

Lohmann, an associate professor in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, is project director for a new study on tick-borne disease in Saskatchewan.

Funded by the WCVM’s Equine Health Research Fund, the project involves Lohmann as well as WCVM graduate student Dr. Gili Schvartz, veterinary pathologist Dr. Hilary Burgess and Dr. Tasha Epp, an epidemiologist at the veterinary college. The team also includes two tick experts: Dr. Neil Chilton of the University of Saskatchewan and Dr. David Pearl of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College.

A WCVM-led research team begins a new study on tick-borne disease in Saskatchewan

The study focuses on testing for tick-borne bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum, which causes granulocytic anaplasmosis in horses and humans, and Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease. Both bacteria are carried in Canada primarily by Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the blacklegged tick.

“For some reason, tick experts haven’t really looked at horses even though they’re a perfect subject – horses are large, live in areas where ticks are present and they tend to have close contact with humans,” says Lohmann.

The first part of the study will see a total of 300 blood samples collected and tested from labs located in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Lohmann and her colleagues estimate that two per cent of their samples may turn up positive for antibodies, indicating animals that have been exposed to either A. phagocytophilum or B. burgdorferi.

If positive results are found at this stage, the next step is to test those particular samples for the presence of the bacterial organisms themselves.

This is a preliminary study that will hopefully be followed up by more detailed research. “Since these particular diseases are not a big problem in Saskatchewan at the moment, now is a good time to establish a baseline for Saskatchewan as compared to other provinces,” says Lohmann. “Also, if tick populations are migrating north and west as they seem to be doing, we want to see where they’re at today so that we can better monitor changes in the future.”

To complement the blood sample testing, the WCVM is also conducting a “tick survey”: researchers are asking horse owners in Saskatchewan to collect and submit any ticks found on their horses throughout the year.

So far, the variety of tick species submitted to the survey includes Dermacentor albipictus (winter or moose tick), Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick) and Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick).

Lohmann says the survey will continue at least until the end of 2013. “As far as we know, there is no Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick) population established in Saskatchewan, though they may be carried in from different areas of the country and from the U.S. by migrating birds.”

An “established population” means that all stages of the tick’s life cycle – eggs, larva, nymph and adult – are found in a particular area.

“If we do get any Ixodes ticks, we’ll test them for disease-causing bacteria. Dr. Chilton is testing other species of ticks for other purposes as well. We’ll also be able to identify their sex and what stage of the life cycle the ticks are at.”

In terms of anaplasmosis and Lyme disease, the level of concern at this point for horse owners is very low. There have been only three cases of anaplasmosis reported in horses in Canada, one of which was found in Saskatchewan in 2010 and is the case that prompted some of the questions in the study.

“Right now we want to see if anaplasmosis should be placed on the list of diseases that veterinarians in Saskatchewan can consider when making a diagnosis,” says Lohmann.

She adds that the symptoms of anaplasmosis – fever, low white blood cell count, jaundice, and suppressed appetite – are common among a range of equine diseases including swamp fever (equine infectious anemia).

“Bacterial titer levels will persist longer than we can see the organisms or detect them by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assays, and a positive titer in connection with clinical signs is a strong indication of anaplasmosis,” says Lohmann.

So, should you find ticks on your horses this summer, Lohmann hopes that you’ll take the time to send them in to the WCVM’s tick survey. You’ll be helping out a good cause, and who knows – you might even develop a scientific appreciation for the tenacious little beasts. You might even call them . . . pretty?

Visit the WCVM tick surveillance site to learn more about the steps of submitting ticks to the survey.

WCVM associate professor Dr. Chris Clark. Photo: Michael Raine.

For Dr. Chris Clark of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, one of teaching’s best rewards is seeing the light come on in his students’ eyes when they understand and then become interested in a subject.

“Lighting that spark, making that material interesting for them is so important,” says Clark, an associate professor in the college’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. “My goal is to introduce the material and explain the concepts in a way that makes them want to investigate it further. It’s like giving them the keys to the library along with a map.”

This spring, Clark’s obvious enthusiasm for his job earned him the University of Saskatchewan Provost’s College Award for Outstanding Teaching — an honour that annually recognizes one exceptional teacher in each U of S college. Clark will receive his $2,000 award in September during a celebration that’s hosted by the university’s Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching Effectiveness.

While Clark is grateful for the recognition, he considers himself fortunate to be teaching “incredibly gifted students” in every year of their four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) program. “They have a tough curriculum and are in classes for multiple hours every day, but their desire to become veterinarians really drives them to learn and to complete their courses.”

Clark believes that his greatest responsibility as a teacher is to encourage an inquiring mind, a desire to learn for oneself. And that conviction has led to his involvement in developing courses to foster that desire.

One example is a third-year elective course called “Clinical Procedures in Bovine Practice” that Clark helped to develop. It focuses on having the students learn and then carry out practical skills – skills they might be asked to use on their first day in practice. Although the instructors are there to help, they encourage the students to get in there and try on their own.

“The goal is to build confidence in their ability to read about a procedure and then do it for the first time. Because veterinary medicine is nothing but a series of firsts when you graduate,” explains Clark, who grew up in England and graduated from Cambridge University. “We want them to feel confident and competent.”

Clark earned his own veterinary degree in 1996 and then completed a one-year clinical internship at the WCVM. After practising in northern England for a year, Clark returned to Saskatoon in 1998 and completed a large animal residency as well as MVetSc and PhD degrees in veterinary pharmacology. He joined the WCVM faculty in 2002.

In addition to delivering lectures, labs and small group workshops in large animal and general medicine, Clark is one of four large animal medicine faculty at the WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre. As part of this responsibility, Clark supervises fourth-year students during their two-week clinical rotations in large animal medicine.

Dr. Chris Clark answers a question from fourth-year veterinary student Christine Geisrieter during a lab in the WCVM's bovine teaching unit. Photo: Michael Raine.

Clinical supervision requires a very different teaching approach, and Clark finds it particularly challenging to work with students who are often at a wide range of experience and confidence levels.

“Clinical teaching is a very delicate balancing act. You’re trying to walk that fine line between smothering them and just providing them a safety net as they learn to ask the right questions, explain to the client what needs to be done and offer recommendations about what to do with their other animals.”

Clark emphasizes the importance of the college’s medical centre as a means for the students to gain clinical experience while working with real cases. It provides an invaluable opportunity for them to perfect their technical skills while learning how to apply and integrate the knowledge that they have acquired.

Although he’s kept busy with his clinical and teaching responsibilities, Clark is currently on the committee of two graduate students and is collaborating on several research projects, including a study investigating stomach ulcers in calves. He also plans to work on establishing a pilot project to provide a flock health program to Saskatchewan sheep producers.

But out of his wide range of responsibilities at the WCVM, teaching is what he enjoys the most.

“It wasn’t anything that I planned to do when I graduated — I think I fell into it more than anything,” admits Clark, who received the Pfizer Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award in 2011.

“But I’m really lucky that this veterinary school values good teaching. I’m also lucky to work with so many amazing teachers who put a lot of effort into teaching and do an incredible job. And, of course, I’m very lucky that we have these amazing students who are so much fun to teach.”

Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen (left) and Dr. Jasmine Dhillon. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jasmine Dhillon.

It’s been more than two years since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake affected Haiti, but the nation continues to struggle to this day with issues related to the disaster.

“Almost 90 per cent of the roads remain impassable and it’s nearly impossible to get any care for animals or people living in rural areas,” describes Dr. Jasmine Dhillon, a public health epidemiologist and 2010 graduate of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM).

“A cholera epidemic affecting a large portion of the Haitian workforce has also developed, compromising their ability to rebuild.”

In an effort to help this poverty-stricken country and to advance animal husbandry education, Dhillon left on May 6 to spend two weeks in Haiti with three other members of a not-for-profit organization known as Veterinarians Abroad Supporting and Teaching (VAST).  

VAST was first established in March 2010 by Dhillon and her uncle, Rick Lane, a minister who spent some time in Haiti and recognized the need for additional aid.

VAST team members (left to right): Dr. Jasmine Dhillon, Michelle Bedier, Rick Lane and Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jasmine Dhillon.

Dhillon went on to enlist Dr. Rayna Gunvaldsen, a 2007 WCVM graduate and a current graduate student, and Michelle Bedier, Dhillon’s cousin and the group’s financial planner.

The team plans to spend their first week in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, to meet with the country’s Ministers of Health, Agriculture and Education.

“This trip is the first of many and we need to establish key relationships with different groups in order to provide effective support,” Dhillon says. VAST members will also offer seminars at the University of Haiti’s Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine.

During their second week, the group will trek out into the back country to meet with local farmers. “We’ll provide education clinics to the farmers, teaching them how to recognize the early signs of key diseases before they become fatal,” explains Dhillon.

Since many of these areas rarely receive animal husbandry services, the team will also provide health checks, vaccinations and deworming to the livestock.

According to Dhillon, Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world and individuals aren’t able to ensure their livestock stay healthy and vaccinated. “And, unfortunately, for most rural Haitians, their family’s wealth and security are all tied up in what few animals they own.”

VAST’s ultimate goal is to visit Haiti twice per year. Once the programs for farmers and their livestock are set up and running smoothly, the group will begin to deal with the challenges associated with dog bites and rabies.

“Haiti is still one of those areas where human cases of rabies are a real threat,” explains Dhillon. “Dog maulings and attacks are also an issue. We hope to tackle all these problems, but we can only do so one at a time.”

This endeavour will prove helpful for Dhillon’s current work as a U of S graduate student. Her PhD program is related to the prevention of dog bites and the transfer of zoonotic (animal to human) disease in Western Canada’s northern communities and the Northwest Territories.

With the experience and knowledge she’s gained from organizing this humanitarian trip, Dhillon has certainly uncovered a different outlook on the world.

“I’ve learned what’s important and what’s realistic for the treatment of animals and the expectations of people,” she says. “This has given me the opportunity to become a better clinician. Living here in Canada, you don’t fully understand what challenges individuals face when they’re out in areas with no access to all the technology that we take for granted.”

Dhillon’s future vision for VAST is to branch out and help other developing countries. But for now, the group will focus on providing successful and valuable assistance to Haiti before moving on. “We just really want to do one country really well at a time.”

To learn more about VAST’s humanitarian efforts in Haiti, visit the team’s blog.

Dr. Douglas Freeman, dean, Western College of Veterinary Medicine. Photo: Debra Marshall.

A lecture on animal ethology, a talk on the benefits of estrus synchronization in beef and dairy cattle and a presentation on the state of the WCVM are three new podcasts that are now available online.

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• Dr. Douglas Freeman, dean of the WCVM, gave his annual “State of the WCVM” presentation to the veterinary college’s students, faculty and staff on April 23. His talk covered a wide range of topics including an update on current and upcoming construction projects, new faculty, facilities and technologies, the WCVM’s Third Integrated Plan, the veterinary college’s new direction for research and future challenges.

• Dr. Ian Duncan is a professor emeritus of the University of Guelph who specializes in animal ethology. On March 30, he gave a lecture entitled “Asking animals what they feel” to students, faculty and staff at the WCVM. In his research, Duncan is developing methods of “asking” farm animals what they feel about the conditions in which they are kept and the procedures to which they are subjected.

• Dr. Gabriel Bo is a world-renowned expert in bovine reproduction and is on faculty at the Instituto de Reproducción Animal Córdoba (IRAC) in Cordoba, Argentina. In late March, Bo was a DLT Smith Short Term Visitor at the WCVM. On March 27, Bo gave a presentation called “Approaches to the improvement of pregnancy rates in beef and dairy cattle undergoing estrus synchronization” to a WCVM audience.

For more information, please contact Myrna MacDonald, Communications, WCVM (306-225-4479).