Training Veterinary Personnel for Effective Identification and Diagnosis of Exotic Animal Diseases

Abstract

The requirements for exotic animal disease (EAD) training were considered at a workshop organized for those with responsibilities for EAD response management in the different states of Australia, with the objective of identifying the optimum strategy for training veterinarians to identify and act upon EADs. It was concluded that there should be specialized within-country training in EAD recognition for an elite group of diagnostic veterinarians who are required to recognize the major exotic diseases of animals, instigate the correct procedures to confirm the diagnosis of the disease, and undertake appropriate measures for effective initial management of the disease. The use of live, deliberately infected animals for demonstration purposes is not currently supported by any research indicating an improved learning outcome compared with that from alternatives, such as videos, necropsy specimens, and dedicated computer-aided learning packages. Therefore, ethical requirements to minimize the use of animals in teaching and research may prevent live-animal use. It is concluded that training should take place within each country via a course of instruction that includes an initial intensive course followed by continued professional development, with examination of knowledge at the end of each.

Challenges to exotic disease preparedness in Great Britain: The frontline veterinarian's perspective

“…Primary care veterinarians have a multitude of roles and responsibilities when responding to an exotic disease outbreak; however, guidance on how to improve preparedness is less clear. There is a wide range of recommendations for veterinarians to improve their skills, including specialised training on recognising exotic diseases, 9,10 additional biosecurity training [11][12][13] or taking an active role in improving their clients' biosecurity. [14][15][16][17] Despite these recommendations, there is no prior research exploring what primary care veterinarians need for succeeding in this role and a lack of guidance on how they should follow current preparedness advice.…”

Necropsia cosmética em aves

“…Isto confere as condições ideais para avaliação da conduta médica e terapêutica ao compará-las com os achados de necropsia, prática fundamental na instituição do diagnóstico, aprendizado e controle da qualidade da atividade do médico veterinário. É importante ressaltar que a necropsia cosmética baseia-se na preservação de cadáveres, um fato que torna a realização desta técnica interessante também nos animais silvestres ou selvagens e também com interesses científicos e educacionais (Woboser, 1996;Munro, 1998;Stround, 1998), visto que atualmente clínicos têm se mostrado cada vez mais interessados na medicina de animais de companhia exóticos (Kerwick et al, 2008).…”