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Veterinarians: Caring for animals, people and the planet, too

While most veterinary specialists provide health care for animals, these highly trained professionals also play important roles in protecting the health of people and the planet.

18 December 2008

Here’s an easy question: What does a veterinarian or veterinary technician do?

A) Provide care to pets and farm animals

B) Monitor the health of the environment

C) Protect against outbreaks of disease

D) Research and test new medicines

E) Ensure the safety of our food supply

The answer? All of the above.

While most veterinary specialists provide health care for animals, these highly trained professionals also play important roles in protecting the health of people and the planet.

Is your burger safe? Thank a vet.

You probably don’t like to think about where meat comes from, but you count on veterinarians to make sure it’s safe to eat.

Veterinarians working for government agencies and the meat production industry help protect the safety of our food supply. Veterinary specialists are often hired as animal or food safety inspectors to check meat processing facilities, transportation and production lines to prevent contamination. They also test livestock for dangerous illnesses, like “mad cow disease,” and make sure the animals are treated humanely.

Public concern about food safety has put pressure on industry and government to improve inspection. That means more jobs for veterinary specialists who want to apply their knowledge and skills to this high profile area.

Want to find a cure for cancer? Become a vet.

Cancer doesn’t just happen to humans – animals get it, too. Pet owners spend billions of dollars every year on chemotherapy for their cats and dogs. Researchers constantly test new ways to treat animal cancers.

All that research may have a double benefit. According to the Veterinary Cancer Society, “Many naturally occurring cancers in pet animals closely resemble human cancer and provide meaningful systems for cancer research to benefit both man and animals.” So, finding a cure for Fido’s leukemia could someday lead to curing cancer in people, too.

In addition to cancer research, veterinarians help develop and test medications to treat all types of animal disease. Veterinary technicians also work in pharmaceutical research labs, caring for lab animals and assisting with research.

Stopping the next global plague

West Nile virus. Monkeypox. Avian flu. What do these potentially deadly diseases have in common? They first appeared in animals, and then they “jumped” to human beings.

Many experts are convinced that the next global health crisis will begin as a disease in birds or other animals.

Once upon a time, a disease like avian flu was confined to a small part of the world. Today, the rapid movement of people and products around the globe makes it possible for diseases to spread much farther much faster.

Avian flu was first identified in China. So far, this incurable disease has infected only a small number of people. But the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says, “experts from around the world are watching the situation… very closely and are preparing for the possibility that the virus may begin to spread more easily and widely...”

Those experts include veterinarians trained in epidemiology. These “health detectives” try to determine the cause and source of disease outbreaks. When the threat involves animal-to-human transmission, veterinarians can be an important part of the investigative and response team.

By monitoring animals for signs of infectious disease, veterinarians are helping to prevent the next global plague.

Vets: “Planet” doctors?

When you think a person is sick, you take their temperature. But how do you know if the planet is sick?

Veterinarians will tell you that animals are often the first to be affected by environmental changes. Development and resulting pollution of the air or water can quickly kill off plants and other food sources. Before long, birds and mammals in the area exhibit malnutrition, become ill, or leave the area altogether.

Veterinarians working in the field can monitor changes in the environment by observing changes in the health and behavior of wildlife. They also can help design interventions, such as alternative food supplies, to help protect animal populations.

Veterinarians have taken a leadership role in the emerging field of “ecosystem health.” By measuring how changes in environmental factors affect animal health, they may provide “early warning” of the impact changes like global warming will have on the Earth’s human inhabitants.