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Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 22 15 November 2025 |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Editor Public Health In the News Food Safety In The News H5N1 and New World Screwworm Resources Announcements
Continuing Education |
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Communications Specialist Mandy Sorensen, DVM, MPH |
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From the Editor Hello members,
For those of you that were unable to attend, in this issue we have a link to the recording of our recent Annual Meeting that was held over zoom, a continued call for nominees for our Board of Governors Seat for Research, Education, and Extension, and today is the final day to submit your application for our AVMA Veterinary Leadership Scholarship.
Below are some items that might be of particular interest. As always, if you have any news, ideas, job or CE opportunities, or questions for me, please reach out. I'd love to hear from you! Links for 2025 AAFSPHV Annual Meeting Recording - The recording of our annual meeting, held October 23, 2025 via zoom, is now available at the following sites:
Our Youtube page as a private video that can be viewed via this link
On our website as a download. To download the file from our website, visit this link.
Confirmed Case of H5N5 in a Human In Grays County, WA - On November 14, a confirmed case of H5N5 was reported by the Washington State Department of Health. The individual is an older adult with underlying health conditions and is currently hospitalized. Read the press release from the WA State Department of Health here.
Fatal Anaphylactic Reaction in Young Man With Alpha-Gal Syndrome - A new report in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Practice outlines the implications of the young mans' death due to anaphylaxis 4 hours after consuming beef in late 2024. From the report, "The significance of this case is that a large and increasing population of the United States is being exposed to the Lone Star tick, both because the tick is moving north and because there are now large populations of deer in many states." Read the case report here.
Department of Education Proposal Excludes Public Health Degrees From "Professional Degrees" Definition - The Department Education has released a preliminary proposal that would exclude public health degrees such as MPH and DrPH from a "professional" degree definition. Several other degrees are also implicated, including nursing degrees and Master of Social Work. A major implication of the designation is reduced student loan limits for graduate degrees. The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) reports that it is anticipated that the a "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" is anticipated in coming weeks, which will open a 30 day comment period. Read the ASPPH letter here.
Major Southern Elephant Seal Decline Due to H5N1- A recent article in Nature Communications Biology reports on a 47% decline in the population of southern elephant seal breeding females in South Georgia, the site of the world's largest southern elephant seal population. From the article, "The apparent loss of nearly half the breeding female population has serious implications for recruitment and future stability of the population. These findings highlight the urgent need for continued, intensive monitoring to track the long-term effects on this species." Read the article here.
Job Board - The job board is updated weekly, and there are a number of interesting roles posted currently, such as:
Zoetis Pork Technical Services Veterinarian
FAO One Health - Wildlife Specialist (Bangkok) University of Minnesota Veterinary Public Health Resident
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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Six Cases of Borealpox and Evidence of a Zoonotic Source—Alaska, 2020–2023
Mooring, E. Q., Rogers, J., Whitehill, F., Werle, Z., Gigante, C. M., Matheny, A., Conley, C., Westley, B. P., Kunkel, A., Newell, K. G., Minhaj, F. S., Li, Y., Morgan, C. N., Wilkins, K., Davidson, W., Nakazawa, Y., McCollum, A. M., Olson, V., Petersen, B. W., Castrodale, L. J., … McLaughlin, J. B. (2025). Six Cases of Borealpox and Evidence of a Zoonotic Source-Alaska, 2020-2023. Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, ciaf497. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf497
Background
Borealpox virus (previously known as Alaskapox virus) is an Orthopoxvirus species first identified in a patient living near Fairbanks, Alaska, in 2015; the source of the patient’s infection was unknown. Six additional borealpox cases have been identified through 2023. Methods
We conducted interviews to ascertain travel history and potential exposures for the six patients, trapped small mammals for orthopoxvirus testing, and performed a phylogenetic analysis of viral DNA sequences. Results
Five patients had similar clinical illness, consisting of at least one lesion and, in most cases, lymphadenopathy. One patient with underlying immunosuppression experienced severe illness, hospitalization, and died despite receiving investigational orthopoxvirus therapeutics. One of the patients had a self-reported prior history of smallpox vaccination. None had traveled outside of Alaska, and there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission. Borealpox virus DNA and serologic evidence for past orthopoxvirus infection was detected in multiple small-mammal species. Genetic distance and phylogenetic analyses are compatible with multiple spillover events from animals to humans.
Read More |
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Food Safety Practices Among Small-Scale Produce Growers Exempt from Federal Regulations: A Systematic Literature Review Temple, J., Boltz, T. P., Blythe, J. M., Ashwell, C. M., & Shen, C. (2025). Food Safety Practices Among Small-Scale Produce Growers Exempt from Federal Regulations: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of food protection, 88(12), 100648. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfp.2025.100648
Small-scale produce growers exempt from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) are not required to follow federal food safety standards, yet their practices have direct implications for public health. The extent to which knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors (KAB) influence voluntary adoption of PSR-aligned practices in this group remains unclear. This systematic literature review aimed to examine self-reported food safety behaviors and willingness to adopt practices among FSMA-exempt small-scale growers. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, six databases (ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, AGRIS, AGRICOLA, and ProQuest) were searched for studies published from 2013 to 2025. Eligible studies included cross-sectional surveys reporting on food safety behaviors and KAB across three high-risk domains: agricultural water (AW), cleaning and sanitation (CS), and storage and transport (ST). Out of 133 records screened, seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Six reported findings on AW, five on CS, and five on ST. Use of tested well water ranged from 28.9% to 39.4%; 71–74% of respondents reported managing sanitation or packing produce in designated facilities; and 64% reported managing transport sanitation. Despite widespread awareness of food safety importance, the adoption of specific practices was inconsistent. Findings underscore a gap between intention and implementation, reinforcing the need for targeted outreach and affordable infrastructure solutions to support voluntary compliance among FSMA-exempt growers.
Read More |
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What to know:
To view confirmed cases in poultry, you can view the USDA H5N1 Confirmed Cases in Poultry page.
To view confirmed cases in dairy cattle, visit the USDA HPAI Confirmed Cases in Livestock Page. Updates:
November 14, 2025: A new human case of H5N5 confirmed in Gray's County, WA. Read more here.
September 30, 2025: FDA Requires Cat & Dog Manufacturer Food Safety Plans To Consider H5N1
From FDA - "During the fall migratory season, H5N1 detections typically increase throughout the United States in wild birds, with potential spread to commercial and backyard poultry flocks. Given this seasonal pattern, the FDA is reissuing this CVM Update to remind pet food manufacturers that H5N1 represents a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard when using certain ingredients." Read the full update here.
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 November 13, 2025, USDA issued a press release. From the release, "Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the next milestone in the fight against New World screwworm (NWS) – the opening of a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico. The Tampico facility will allow USDA to disperse sterile flies aerially across northeastern Mexico, including in Nuevo Leon." Read the full press release here.
On October 24, 2025, FDA issued Emergency Use Authorization for Credelio (lotilaner) for the treatment of New World Screwworm in Dogs and Puppies. Read the press release and learn more here. In October, USDA APHIS released the New World Screwworm Response Playbook. Read the full playbook here.
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: Nov 30 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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AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference Scholarship A scholarship of $500 is offered to help defray costs for an AAFSPHV student member or
recent graduate (2021-2025) to attend the AVMA Veterinary Leadership Conference January 8-10 2026.
We will pay for VLC registration and $135 for incidental expenses. The AVMA will provide
three (3) nights standard hotel room & tax and round-trip economy class airfare or mileage.
To be eligible to apply for the scholarship, applicants must be a current AAFSPHV active or student member. After the AVMA Leadership Conference, the scholarship recipient will be required to: 1. Describe his/her experience at the conference and key things you learned in an article
to be published in our newsletter and presented at our 2026 AAFSPHV annual meeting. The Student Scholarship Selection Committee is comprised of members of the AAFSPHV who will objectively score applicant responses to screening questions in determining the scholarship awardee. Interested students should complete an online form and attach a resume.
Application deadline: November 15, 2025. Applicants will be notified electronically by the scholarship committee or exec VP by Nov 26, 2025.
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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 pres-elect@aafsphv.org |
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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: Food Adulteration: Understanding the largest case of intentional adulteration: Melamine in animal food and infant formula
n 2007, thousands of dogs and cats died after eating animal food that was made using Chinese ingredients that had been intentionally adulterated to fake their protein content. One year later, babies in China became ill due to using intentionally adulterated milk to make infant formula. Dr. Reimschuessel will describe the Food and Drug Administration’s investigation into the root cause of the deaths which cause the largest pet food recall in the USA. How did a substance, generally considered non-toxic, kill so many animals? How was that event different from the illnesses in Chinese babies 1 year later? The multidisciplinary investigation into this event involved epidemiology, chemistry, toxicology, microscopy, pathology and spectral analysis. Additionally, collaborations between government, industry, academia and local veterinarians were essential to unraveling the role of melamine and related triazine chemicals in the illnesses and deaths.
When: 17 November 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 22 www.aafsphv.org |
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