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For Today's Toughest Health Problems, these Special Doctors Hold the Answers

Paul C. Stromberg, DVM, Ph.D., Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Pathologists

(ARA) - So you think you know what veterinarians do? Well, take a closer look. While it is true that the majority of veterinarians are engaged in providing healthcare to our pets and agricultural animals, you’re probably unaware of a small but highly skilled group who has very different yet important jobs. 

Veterinary pathology offers some interesting opportunities for veterinarians to use their skills in ways far removed from treating patients. The American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) was founded in 1949 and has about 1,500 active members. That’s a small percentage of the approximately 80,000 veterinarians in the United States, but these doctors have a huge impact on humanity. 

Veterinary pathologists specialize in recognizing disease and understanding how and why it occurs. They’re able to do this by examining animals in the clinic as well as studying their organs, tissues, cells, chemicals, molecules and genes. Some veterinary pathologists interested in wildlife and zoo animals study whole populations of animals. This broad vision at many different biologic levels is very powerful knowledge for any biomedical scientist. Because of their training, veterinary pathologists are highly sought after to apply their skills in a wide variety of interesting jobs. 

Most closely related to clinical practice and pet health care are the clinical and anatomic pathologists who provide diagnostic support to veterinarians who care for pets. These pathologists assist in the interpretation of laboratory findings and surgical biopsies to help make the right diagnosis so the proper therapy can be delivered. Because pets are living longer due to vaccines and better general medicine, more animals live long enough to develop cancer, just as humans do. The development of sophisticated imaging techniques such as CT scans and MRI help veterinarians find tumors, but it’s the pathologist who makes the diagnosis from the biopsy. 

Veterinary pathologists also have many roles in developing new treatments. Veterinary pathologists study drugs to make sure that the medicine that helps your knee feel better doesn’t hurt your kidney or cause cancer in your liver. Most of these men and women work in pharmaceutical companies and have key roles in preparing the scientific work presented to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They also work in “discovery teams” along side other biomedical scientists to design new therapies and approaches to treating illness. Their knowledge of the causes of diseases at all levels is extremely valuable in this endeavor and is highly sought after by the pharmaceutical industry. 

In a similar vein, veterinary pathologists work for governmental agencies doing research into the basic mechanisms of cancer, infectious and toxic diseases. These veterinarians use their expertise in animal disease and apply it to protect human health. 

The “global community” which has resulted from a more closely connected world has brought new populations of people into contact with older diseases; a trend which is only going to increase. For example, the West Nile Virus, an emerging disease of humans typical of many diseases well known in isolated parts of the world, is popping up in new places. It was Dr. Tracey McNamara at the Bronx Zoo in New York and Dr. Keith Steele of the U.S. Army at Ft. Detrick, Maryland, who first recognized the occurrence of West Nile fever in the United States. They made the diagnosis in dead birds and connected it to the epidemic of flu-like illness in New York City. 

Veterinary pathologists have been studying infectious disease of humans as well as animals for decades. Nowhere is this more dramatically illustrated than in the book, “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston, a true story about the outbreak of Ebola virus. Ebola virus is a highly lethal hemorrhagic fever of humans and other primates that occurs in Africa periodically. The central characters in the book are Dr. Nancy Jaax, a veterinary pathologist at Ft. Detrick, and her husband Dr. Jerry Jaax (a laboratory animal veterinarian), both involved in diagnosing the disease and managing the outbreak. 

Infectious diseases are also of interest for their potential use in bioterrorism and its lesser-known form, “agroterrorism” -- the use of biologic agents to attack our agricultural resources. Accidental or purposeful introduction of these diseases could be an economic and medical tragedy. Veterinary pathologist expertise is critical to prevent this type of catastrophe. One has only to read the recent accounts about Mad Cow Disease in Europe and North America with its impact on both human health and the beef industry to understand its importance. 

The U.S. Department of Defense maintains a cadre of veterinary pathologists who work to limit the risk of infectious diseases to soldiers deployed overseas. From studying the basic mechanisms of exotic fevers, to the development of vaccines, disease control, risk management and rapid detection of biologic and chemical agents, Army veterinary pathologists are crucial for protecting our soldiers. 

Wildlife medicine is another avenue to consider as growing human populations endanger our natural resources and bring humans in closer contact with emerging diseases such as chronic wasting disease (CWD) in elk and deer. Veterinary pathology boundaries even extend to space. Our ranks include NASA astronauts, stem cell pioneers and a Nobel Prize winner. Veterinarians who specialize in pathology enjoy a wide variety of careers, using their skills to solve important and interesting problems. To learn more, visit www.acvp.org. 

Courtesy of ARA Content

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dr. Stromberg is a faculty member in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Ohio State University. He can be reached at stromberg.1@osu.edu. 

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