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Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 18 15 September 2025 |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Editor Public Health In the News Food Safety In The News Advocacy and Committee News Announcements Continuing Education Resources |
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Communications Specialist
Mandy Sorensen, DVM, MPH |
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From the Editor Hello members,
With September comes the return to school, and while not all of us are actually of us are actually attending classes, there are some really excellent continuing education opportunities coming up. I won't highlight them all here, but if you're looking to complete your required CE hours, several offer CE at little or no cost. Please check our CE calendar regularly as we're working hard to update it.
If you're interested in commenting on the cell cultivated meat presentations posted by our Food Safety Advisory Committee Representative, Dr. Scott Brooks, please be sure to do so by the end of today, September 15. The link is below or you can click here to view presentations and learn more.
If you have news, ideas, CE or job opportunities, or concerns you'd like to share with me, please send them my way at editor@aafsphv.org. I'd love to hear from you and always appreciate feedback on how this newsletter can serve our members better. As always, thank you for the incredibly valuable work you do! Below are some items that might be of particular interest:
AAHA One Health Guidelines - The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has just released new One Health Guidelines. From the publication, "These guidelines address common scenarios (e.g., zoonotic disease, disability, intimate partner violence) that intersect with human and animal health and provide strategies for greater communication and collaboration between the professions." They also discuss other common scenarios and questions and provides an outstanding resource to veterinarians and veterinary teams. You can read more on the AAHA website, or from the recent publication in the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (JAAHA).
NASEM Workshop on PPE in High Risk Farm Settings - The National Association of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is hosting a virtual workshop September 29 and 30th on PPE in High Risk Farm Settings. This will be a great opportunity to learn about the current state of knowledge on H5N1 transmission to humans, best practices, and discuss real-life scenarios and PPE options to protect workers (including veterinarians, and farmworkers). You can learn more and register here.
Livestock Geotagging - A new study from PLoS Global Public Health titled "Current approaches in livestock geotagging: Assessing available technologies and applications to public health research in Kenya and Malawi" assess six specific geotagging devices and their utility for public health research. Read the study here.
AVMF Student Scholarships - Student members, there are several scholarships available through the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF). Applications are due by the end of September. Click here to learn more!
Job Board - The job board is updated weekly, and there are a number of interesting government roles such as Veterinary Medical Officer at the US National Poultry Research Center , Veterinary Medical Officer for APHIS Marketing and Regulatory Programs, close this week or next. Likewise some industry roles such as Elanco Senior Technical Consultant for Swine are open until filled. Be sure to submit a resume in the new 2 page format if applying for federal roles! If you're hiring, feel free to send postings to editor@aafsphv.org so I can make sure to share them with fellow members.
One Health Heroes - We have been partnering with Dr. Brittany Lancellotti of Your Vet Wants You To Know to bring public health information to pet owners and veterinary professionals twice monthly in a segment called 'One Health Heroes'. You can listen to episodes here on Apple Podcasts or here on Spotify. It's a great experience and platform, and If you'd be interested in sharing your expertise on a One Health topic on the podcast, please email me at editor@aafsphv.org
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PUBLIC HEALTH IN THE NEWS |
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Immunogenicity and safety of a rabies-based highly pathogenic influenza A virus H5 vaccine in cattle
Paran, N., Wirblich, C., Olal, C. et al. Immunogenicity and safety of a rabies-based highly pathogenic influenza A virus H5 vaccine in cattle. npj Vaccines 10, 197 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-025-01238-2
The circulation of highly pathogenic H5 influenza A viruses in cattle, other mammals, and wildlife threatens animal and human health. To address this, we vaccinated heifer-calves with a deactivated rabies-virus-based H5 vaccine, which was well-tolerated and elicited neutralizing antibodies against both clade-1 and clade-2.3.4.4b H5N1 viruses, comparable to naturally H5-infected and convalescing cows. The immune responses to the vaccine platform were durable for at least 200 days and unaffected by preexisting RABV immunity.
Read more
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Genomic evolution of Salmonella Dublin in cattle and humans in the United States
Kenney, S. M., M'ikanatha, N. M., & Ganda, E. (2025). Genomic evolution of Salmonella Dublin in cattle and humans in the United States. Applied and environmental microbiology, e0068925. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00689-25
Increasingly, antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) Salmonella Dublin is a threat to human and animal health, therefore requiring a One Health approach to comprehensively understand pathogen evolution. Moreover, S. Dublin dissemination throughout the United States and the food supply chain is a concern for food safety and security. Here, we leveraged multi-agency biosurveillance data and genomic sequencing of S. Dublin strains to provide a robust analysis of its evolution across human, animal, and environmental reservoirs. This study advances our understanding of AMR S. Dublin, elucidates factors driving AMR emergence, and informs interventions to protect public health. In total, 2,150 strains collected between 2002 and 2023 throughout the United States from clinical bovine (N = 581), clinical human (N = 664), and environmental (N = 905) sources were identified. After uniform quality control, raw reads were assembled de novo followed by genome annotation and characterization of plasmids, antimicrobial resistance genes, and virulence factors. Strain relatedness was evaluated using a core genome maximum-likelihood phylogeny and pairwise core genome single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) differences. We identified the highest prevalence of drug-specific antimicrobial resistance genes and multidrug resistance plasmid, IncA/C2 (P < 0.001), in bovine clinical strains, which also had the greatest genetic diversity. Despite source-dependent differences in antimicrobial resistance gene frequency and types, 72% of S. Dublin strains in our study differed with at least one other strain by 20 or fewer SNPs. This high degree of genomic similarity highlights the potential for cross-transmission between humans, animals, and the environment and underscores the importance of considering strain source when assessing and monitoring antimicrobial resistance.
Read More |
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What to know From the CDC H5 Bird Flu webpage:
"On July 7, 2025, CDC streamlined H5N1 bird flu updates with routine influenza data updates and updated reporting cadences to reflect the current public health situation. As such, the following changes were made to this page: Data on the number of people monitored and tested for bird flu are reported monthly.
USDA data on HPAI detections in animals will no longer be reported on the CDC website. These data can be found on USDA's website. CDC will continue to report any additional human cases of H5 bird flu here and in FluView."
Visit the CDC's H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation page |
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New World Screwworm Current Situation and Resources |
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Latest Updates:
On August 15, 2025, an updated New World Screwworm Response was issued by USDA. You can read the full press release here.
USDA APHIS also held a webinar last month for veterinarians that is now available to watch on Youtube.
Screwworm Resources:
New World Screwworm remains a threat and was last detected 370 miles south of the US-Mexico border, and all veterinarians should be sure to know the signs and how to report potential infestations. Below are some resources on identifying, treating, and reporting cases that may be helpful.
A great, concise article from the AVMA on NWS diagnosis, treatment, and how to report cases can be found here.
The USDA APHIS page on New World Screwworm can be found here.
The Texas A&M Agrilife Extension New World Screwworm Fact Sheet can be found here.
USDA APHIS Training Module 41 on New World Screwworm can be found here. This is highly recommended viewing for all veterinarians. |
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ADVOCACY AND COMMITTEE NEWS |
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AVMA Food Safety Advisory Committee Representative
Scott Brooks, DVM, MPVM, MS, DACVPM |
| Cell Cultivated Meat - AVMA Food Safety Advisory Commitee (FSAC) Request for Comments by Sept 15 FSAC has been charged with reviewing the topic of human foods made with cultured animal cells (a.k.a. cell cultivated meat). To view presentations and for details, please visit Dr. Brooks' post on the AAFSPHV Message Board.
After reviewing the attachments, if you have comments for FSAC related to the food safety/public health science of the topic, please provide them by Sept 15, 2025. |
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Executive Vice President, Katherine Waters, DVM, MPH, DACVPM |
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Call For Nominations for AAFSPHV Board of Directors Seat |
The AAFSPHV is seeking candidates for the following Board of Directors position for a 3-year term from Nov 2025 - Sept 2028:
Director, Education, Research, and Extension
DEADLINE FOR NOMINATIONS: Oct 1 2025
We welcome self-nominations. Information about this position is listed below. Directors are members of the governing board. Meetings are held via Zoom for 1 hour once a month. This Director should plan to participate in our standing committee on Student Outreach.
Members who would like to nominate themselves or another member should fill out the nomination form by clicking here
. AVMA membership is required for our Governing Board members.
Questions? Contact Katherine Waters at executivevp@aafsphv.org
AAFSPHV Bylaws concerning Directors: ARTICLE XI: DIRECTORS
Section 1: The minimum number of Directors of this association shall be six, with one Director from each of the following employment sectors: Federal (Civilian), State/Local, Uniformed Services, Private, Education/Research/Extension, and At-Large.
Section 2: The terms of office for the current Directors shall be three years and their terms shall be staggered.
Section 3: The Directors will serve as members of the Governing Board and will provide specialized employment sector advice, support, and assistance in determining the policies and pursuing the objectives of the association.
Section 7: All members of the Governing Board shall be current AVMA members.
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| Call for Speakers for AVMA, USAHA, and ACVPM Events in 2026 AAFSPHV, in partnership with the National Association of Federal Veterinarians (NAFV)
organizes speakers for the AVMA and USAHA annual meetings each year. We are
putting out a call for speakers for our food safety symposia at AVMA 2026 in Anaheim,
CA and USAHA 2026 in Madison, WI. We also need speakers for the monthly webinars
we provide in partnership with ACVPM.
AVMA and USAHA are scheduled as in-person events. Speaker benefits are at the
discretion of the AVMA for the AVMA Convention. USAHA is a volunteer speaking
event.
Areas of interest are talks around the theme of “It’s a Small World – Emerging Diseases
and the Interdependence of Global Food Safety and Food Security.” Some examples might be, wet markets, prevention of emerging diseases and their impact on global food safety/food security, etc.
We welcome submissions outside of these topic areas as well and look forward to your
participation.
Those who wish to be considered should fill out the Speaker's Bureau Form in the Member Center by end of business on Wednesday, October 1st.
If you have a topic in mind but would like more information, questions can be sent to
pres-elect@aafsphv.org
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President-Elect Jane Lewis, DVM, MS, DACVPM |
| Membership and Admissions Committee Seeking Volunteers
This committee shall be responsible for actively recruiting members and determining eligibility for membership. Time commitment: this committee has been inactive and will need to meet via Zoom 1-2 times a month for 3 months to develop a member recruitment and retention strategy. After 3 months, meetings will be as needed. If interested, contact Jane Lewis at jmlvet94@gmail.com |
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Experiencing hardship?
The AVMA offers reduced dues or dues exemption for qualified applicants.
To learn more and apply click here |
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Not One More Vet offers a variety of resources to support veterinary professionals including micro-grants for those experiencing hardship. To learn more about the resources NOMV features, visit them here.
To learn more about micro-grants, click here. |
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ACVPM Continuing Education Webinar- Aquatic Livestock Health Management This presentation will focus on the importance of aquaculture as a livestock commodity in the United States; management of aquaculture at the farm, region and country levels; the role of competent authorities in the health management of aquaculture; and disease status determinations.
When: 24 September at 1pm Pacific Time/4pm Eastern Time
Where: Zoom Webinar
Cost: Free! (a benefit of being an active or emeritus ACVPM Diplomate, an ACVPM candidate, or an active member of AAFSPHV, NAFV, NASPHV, or USAHA)
CE Hours: This webinar has been granted up to one hour of CE credit by RACE. Participants must be active members of the ACVPM or its partner organizations and must participate for at least 50 minutes of the webinar to receive a one hour CE certificate.
To Register for the Webinar: Click HERE
Can't Make an ACVPM Webinar? - If you have to miss an ACVPM webinar, you can still watch many at your leisure by visiting their Youtube page. There is no CE credit for watching after the live the event. You can visit this link to see available recordings.
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Looking for more CE or have a CE event you'd like to share?
View our full calendar here
To share an upcoming event, please email me at editor@aafsphv.org |
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Please follow AAFSPHV on Social Media. We just joined bluesky |
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AAFSPHV News Brief Vol 5 Iss 18 www.aafsphv.org |
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