MANHATTAN — Samples that could decide the fate of Kansas' economy come to a small back room behind Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine at dusk and dawn as much as noon and midnight.
These are delivered by courier or by hand in a nondescript package and by a U.S. Postal Service mail carrier.
These sit alongside individual samples of other biological substances, namely cancer in cats and viruses in dogs, of varying degrees of importance but no lack of urgency.
Because no matter the scope or size, when animal lives are at stake, nothing is more important than accurate and timely test results at the Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL).
The state's largest and only public veterinary diagnostic laboratory, KSVDL works with veterinarians across the state and nation to diagnose and track diseases that can wreak havoc on individual households and the entire U.S. agricultural economy. A testing information center that doctors know and rely on.
“We serve so many people here and have so many resources to help people with a variety of animal issues,” said KSVDL Director Jamie Retallick. “We have people with zoo and wildlife backgrounds, people with poultry backgrounds, people with swine backgrounds. And it's right there. There's all the helpful resources here and I We often do this work in the background.”
large scale logistics
Testing for animal diseases
There are few professional schools that offer as much variety as veterinary medicine. The same goes for the array of diagnostic tests needed to support veterinary medicine.
Imagine all the different types of tests a person would see in a medical setting, from virology to bacteriology to toxicology. Now imagine doing the same range of tests on different kinds of animals, such as small companion animals such as cats and dogs, large animals such as cows and pigs, and zoo and exotic animals such as elephants and orangutans. please.
That's why KSVDL staff members, including faculty, professional staff, veterinary students, residents, and interns across more than a dozen specialty departments at three facilities on the north end of K-State's campus, produce more than 500 species for our customers. We are conducting an inspection.
Veterinarians and animal producers in all 50 states and 52 countries send hundreds of samples to KSVDL each day, usually by overnight transport and sometimes by hand.
This is a large-scale logistical task, but KSVDL is well prepared and trained to handle it, especially as we are practiced in processing thousands of animal studies in a short period of time. The lab also has equipment to process some human sample tests, helping process coronavirus tests and providing relief to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment's state lab during the first months of the pandemic. In order to do so, a call was made for action in 2020.
Additionally, KSVDL, through its necropsy department, is often called upon to determine why an animal died. This may be done as part of a criminal or insurance investigation, or if pet or livestock owners require reassurance or need to ensure that they or other animals are not at risk. There is also.
KSVDL also works regularly with zoos in the region, and laboratory experts are occasionally called on-site to help dissect endangered animals. A team of up to 20 people will be on site at the zoo helping with the autopsy, learning about the health status of other similar animals and potentially life-saving measures.
About diseases of exotic animals
Kansas soil is a matter of “when,” not “if.”
Many of KSVDL's laboratories perform the routine but important job of providing diagnostic tests to small animal veterinarians. Consider a toxicology panel for a cat that got into something it shouldn't have, or a histology test for a lump taken from a dog's skin.
Hunters will also directly submit tissue samples from deer to help monitor the decline of chronic wasting disease in the state.
“Some kids may have animals on display at the 4-H fair, but few know that they have to be tested for a specific animal in order to go to the fair. We did it for them,” Retallick said. “We stand quietly behind our children to allow them to participate in such activities.”
But one of the most important roles KSVDL plays is to monitor and respond to potential exotic animal disease outbreaks on Kansas soil.
KSVDL is a member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Health Laboratory Network, which monitors disease outbreaks that can devastate the nation's livestock industry, such as African swine fever and foot-and-mouth disease.
It is not to be confused with hand, foot and mouth disease, which affects humans. Foot-and-mouth disease primarily affects cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle and pigs. Although not necessarily fatal, the highly contagious virus causes fever, blisters, and weight loss, leaving animals debilitated for several months.
“We're arguing that it's not a matter of if an exotic animal disease outbreak will occur, but when,” Retallick said. “We know that at some point there will be an outbreak, and as part of that network there will be an operation to test samples.”
Although foot-and-mouth disease has occurred in more than 70% of the world in the past few decades, the virus has not occurred in the United States since 1929.
Kansas Department of Agriculture Animal Health Director Justin Smith said this is largely due to aggressive border customs and surveillance efforts.
“Kansas has a huge livestock industry and with it a huge amount of movement, which makes us vulnerable to the introduction of many diseases and the things we fear most. One of the things we're seeing is foreign animal diseases like foot-and-mouth disease,” Smith said. “Foot and mouth disease would severely impair this country's ability to trade with other countries.”
Smith's office and state veterinarians located throughout Kansas work directly with local livestock producers, feedlots, and slaughterhouses to identify cases of suspected foot-and-mouth disease and other regulated or reportable animal diseases. instantly sample, inspect, and send to KSVDL.To get tested – during business hours or at 2 a.m.
That guarantees both quality and health, Smith said.
“We have a lot of routine surveillance for common diseases, so we can make sure that Kansas' livestock industry is healthy and that people want our products,” Smith said. “They serve not only Kansas but many surrounding states and industries, but they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of diagnostic work.”
As animal disease demand
As testing increases, Kansas veterinary diagnostic labs also increase
For more common but still serious diseases, KSVDL regularly publishes animal disease reports, maps and trends in the state, said Greg Hanzlicek, clinical professor and director of production animal field research. That's what it means.
Mr. Hanzlicek also helps facilitate the Institute's activities and continuing education efforts, including regular webinars, newsletters, and visits to counties across the state.
“This will allow veterinarians to become more aware of things that may be changing in the environment and the industry in which they work, and from there will help producers manage and prevent many diseases. It helps,” he said.
Megan Potter, a veterinarian and co-owner of Abilene Animal Hospital, said local practitioners like her have a good idea of what a particular case looks like before sending it to KSVDL for testing. He said he is doing so. This test provides both confirmation and reassurance, as well as providing expertise on the latest trends and strains of the disease.
“We're getting a lot of different cases, so we're going to have to leave our hometown a little bit,” she says. “And diagnostic labs can leverage the information they get from other clinicians.”
Over the past several decades, KSVDL has grown dramatically from a collective of approximately 10 faculty and 50 staff members to 22 faculty and approximately 100 staff members. Its main purpose is to manage the number of tests that have doubled to more than 500,000 per year.
This can be a difficult feat, especially since most other similar state veterinary laboratories across the country are based in a single facility. KSVDL must shuttle samples between lab spaces in his three separate buildings on the north end of the university's campus.
Mr Retallick said the surge in casework was largely due to increased awareness and desire to prevent outbreaks of diseases such as highly pathogenic avian influenza.
“The livestock industry is becoming more proactive about potential diseases, and if something is present on their property, they want to know exactly what it is before it becomes an outbreak,” Retallick said. said.
“There's also the fact that pets are becoming a bigger part of the family, and owners want the same level of care and testing as other family members,” she added. “More pets and animals are also traveling and may require special testing to enter certain countries.”
KSVDL's rabies laboratory also processes titer tests from several foreign countries, primarily Latin America, and the laboratory also has a Spanish-language hotline for veterinarians from those countries.
Despite the increase in testing, KSVDL remains largely self-sufficient. Although the institute receives some state funding to support salaries and some federal grants help cover outpatient disease surveillance, KSVDL's revenue Most come from the nominal fees charged to customers for inspections.
But beyond low prices and rapid test turnaround times, the most important reason KSVDL has built a reputation across the state, nation and around the world is communication with customers, Hanzlicek said.
“When they call us, we connect them with a lab expert to talk to them about their case,” Hanzlicek said. “There is always someone available to answer your questions.”
