Public health initiatives garner AVMA support

Several public health initiatives aimed at education, surveillance, food safety, and multidisciplinary collaboration will move forward with AVMA support.

The Executive Board approved AVMA support of the concept of an Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine program that aims to educate veterinarians and their clients about zoonotic diseases. AVMA support comes with the provision that the program be coordinated with state and local officials and that the program materials have concurrence of the AVMA. The program came from the Center for Food Security and Public Health and is being funded by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is called "Increasing National Preparedness: Zoonotic Disease Training for Veterinarians and their Clients.

The Executive Board also approved AVMA support for the concept of a National Zoonotic Infectious Disease Surveillance System and urged continued efforts to establish a nationwide surveillance system. Additionally, the board approved AVMA support of the Department of Agriculture's multiagency collaboration for animal health, food safety, and epidemiology. The collaboration would include the Agricultural Research Service, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

A revised AVMA Food Safety Policy also was approved. The revisions recognize the importance of protecting the food supply from intentional or unintentional contaminants, the fact that food safety depends on a well-designed system, and that new science-based risk analysis procedures may be used in the future.