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Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 19 1 October 2025 |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Editor Public Health In the News Food Safety In The News Announcements Resources Continuing Education |
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Communications Specialist Mandy Sorensen, DVM, MPH |
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From the Editor Hello members, It's certainly been another chaotic two weeks in public health. Many of you are navigating furloughs and RIFs, and I hope we can provide some resources to help you find new employment, connections, and opportunities during this challenging time. The incredible contributions you have all made and continue to make are truly inspiring. Thank you all for the immensely valuable work you do and for being here!
We are seeking a new Director of Education/Research/Extension and speakers for 2026 USAHA and AVMA events. Nominations for the Director position can be made here and for the Speaker's Bureau here. More information can also be found by scrolling down to the announcements section.
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. Below are some items that might be of particular interest:
AAFSPHV Annual Meeting on October 23, 2025 at 1pm Eastern - We hope you'll join us for our annual meeting, which will be held via Zoom. We'll be announcing the 2025 Public Health Veterinarian of the Year as well as introducing our 2025 Lafontaine Scholarship winner. It's a great opportunity to learn what's happening from our officers, AVMA Advisory Committee and HOD representatives, and our committee leaders. You can join us at this link. We look forward to seeing you there!
Repeated Oral Exposure to H5N1 in Milk and Subsequent Influenza Infection - A new study published this in Science evaluates the effect of repeated oral exposure to H5N1 in pasteurized milk on subsequent infections in mice. Researchers found that repeated exposure to H5N1 in pasteurized milk did not alter mortality. The study also noted a preliminary finding that mice with prior H1N1 immunity experienced a protective effect when exposed to low-level infectious H5N1 in contaminated milk. Read the study here.
Human Carbapenemase-Producing E. coli Linked to Animals and Veterinary Facility - A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases used whole genome sequencing to evaluate carbapenemase-producing E. Coli isolates from humans, animals, and a single veterinary clinic. They found a genetic linkage between isolates and through follow-up questioning determined that all human cases had contact with the same veterinary facility. Read the full study here.
FDA Conditionally Approves First Treatment for New World Screwworm- From the FDA Press Release: "Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conditionally approved Dectomax-CA1 (doramectin injection) injectable solution for the prevention and treatment of New World screwworm larval infestations, and prevention of NWS reinfestation for 21 days. Dectomax-CA1 is conditionally approved for use only in cattle." Read the full press release here.
Job Board - The job board is updated weekly, and there are a number of interesting roles such as SeaDoc Field Veterinarian and Arizona Assistant State Veterinarian, both of which close in the next two weeks. Gorilla Doctors is hiring a Director, and the State of Washington Department of Agriculture is hiring for an Animal Health Emergency Preparedness and Planning Coordinator. 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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Transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis From an Organ Donor to a Kidney–Pancreas Transplant Recipient
Gundelly P, Ransom E, Stewart Z, et al. Transmission of Ehrlichia chaffeensis From an Organ Donor to a Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Recipient. Transpl Infect Dis. Published online September 18, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1111/tid.70107
A 50-year-old man with end-stage renal disease due to hypertension and diabetes mellitus underwent simultaneous pancreas and left kidney transplantation in July 2024. Immunosuppression included thymoglobulin induction and maintenance with tacrolimus, mycophenolate, and prednisone. Following an uncomplicated recovery, the patient was discharged on Day 10 but readmitted on Day 12 with hypotension. On Day 14, the patient developed a fever (38.8◦C). Blood cultures were collected for concern of infection, and the patient received vancomycin and piperacillin-tazobactam. Computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen revealed active extravasation, concerning for pancreatic anastomotic bleed. Transplanted pancreas was surgically removed on Day 15. Antimicrobial therapy was expanded to meropenem and micafungin. No growth was detected using blood cultures. Despite pancreatectomy and broad-spectrum antimicrobial coverage, the patient remained febrile with progressively worsening leukopenia (0.8 x 103/μL) and thrombocytopenia (23 x 103/μL) on Day 17. A microbial cell-free DNA (mcfDNA) metagenomic sequencing test (Karius Inc, Redwood City, CA) was performed on plasma collected on Day 17, and doxycycline was initiated. On Day 21, mcfDNA testing detected Ehrlichia chaffeensis. His fever resolved within 48 h of starting doxycycline, and he recovered completely by Day 27.
Below is a link to a .pdf version of the article, generously provided by co-author Dr. Laura Rothfeldt, DVM, DACVPM Read More |
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Analysis of the microbiota of raw commercial feline diets to prioritize food safety investigations Reboul, G., Malkowski, A.C., Yu, Y.T. et al. Analysis of the microbiota of raw commercial feline diets to prioritize food safety investigations. Commun Biol 8, 1349 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-08756-8
Microbiota sharing between people and their companion animals is a concern for development of antimicrobial resistance. To assess the risks associated with feeding raw products to cats, with an emphasis on previously understudied freeze-dried products, a collection of 112 conventional and raw products was purchased and investigated using a combination of cultivation and high-throughput sequencing techniques. Here we show that bacterial cultures were exclusively isolated from raw foods. A total of 19 genera were cultured including Salmonella, Clostridium, Escherichia, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Cronobacter. Carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Pseudomonas fulva, and Stenotrophomonas lactitubi were isolated from frozen raw products, and 6 Bacillus strains harbored carbapenemase gene bla2. Multidrug efflux pumps were highly abundant in frozen raw isolates. Clostridium sensu stricto I genus detection predicted a raw, freeze-dried product with 95% sensitivity and 78% specificity. Genera Pseudomonas, Paraclostridium and Peptostreptococcus were associated with frozen raw food products while the Bacillus genus was associated with conventional processing. Parasite genes were exclusively detected in raw foods. The presence of pathogenic species and high load of resistance genes in raw commercial food products, particularly those sold on shelves at room temperature, suggests a considerable health risk to cats and the families who care for them.
Read More |
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What to know
As of today, 10/1/2025, USDA APHIS is reporting 3.8 million confirmed cases in commercial and backyard flocks in the last 30 days. View the USDA H5N1 Confirmed Cases in Poultry page. 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 September 21st, USDA published a press release that Mexico had reported a case of New World Screwworm less than 70 miles south of the US Border in Nuevo Leon. Read the full press release here and be sure to refresh your screwworm knowledge by looking at some of the resources below if you haven't already. USDA APHIS webinar for veterinarians that is now available to watch on Youtube. Screwworm Resources:
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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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 31 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- Updates from the One Health Commission on the Global One Health Movement: Where do US Veterinarians fit in?
Dr. Cheryl Stroud will present “Updates from the One Health Commission on the Global One Health Movement: Where do US Veterinarians fit in?” This presentation will outline the progress of the global One Health movement, elucidate, compare and contrast some of the major players in the space, suggest needed actions and highlight where US veterinarians fit into the movement.
When: 20 October 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 19 www.aafsphv.org |
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