Sources: Justin Kastner, 785-532-4820, jkastner@k-state.edu;
and Craig Beardsley, 785-532-6193, cabeards@k-state.edu
http://www.k-state.edu/media/mediaguide/bios/kastnerbio.html
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu
Monday, March 17, 2008
Preparing future generations:
RURAL VETERINARY STUDENTS AT K-STATE LEARN AN IN-DEPTH LESSON ABOUT FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE RESPONSE
MANHATTAN -- If the livestock population in Kansas were exposed to foot-and-mouth disease, rural veterinarians would be the nation's first line of defense in a situation with enormous economic and health implications.
That's why Kansas State University's National Agricultural Biosecurity Center and the College of Veterinary Medicine enlisted K-State's first class of rural veterinary scholars to study the state's plan and expand upon the role of the college should such a disease come to Kansas.
K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine is already a key partner in the state's response plan, which was developed by the Kansas Animal Health Department in cooperation with other state agencies. The state plan lays out who will do what in case of an outbreak. For example, if foot-and-mouth disease were discovered in Kansas, significant manpower would be needed to diagnose and quarantine animals, as well as depopulate the herd. That monumental task is why preparation is so vital.
Those with the college and center thought that enlisting rural veterinary students in an educational exercise delving deep into the college's plan would help equip the future veterinarians with the tools needed to tackle animal disease and emergencies, as well as keep the college's preparedness efforts moving forward.
The rural veterinarians program is a student loan forgiveness program designed to address a shortage of veterinarians in rural parts of Kansas.
During the educational exercise in summer 2007, students, all now in their second year of the veterinary medicine program, spent time absorbing volumes of material on animal disease response and emergency management, as well as contacting practically each and every person in the college who would be involved in a coordinated response.
"We just basically immersed them into the foreign animal disease world," said Craig Beardsley, program administrator with the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center.
Justin Kastner, an assistant professor of food safety and security at the College of Veterinary Medicine, said that today's veterinary students are tomorrow's leaders, so teaching them to prepare now will be invaluable.
"We're trying to get into their DNA that this issue is not going to go away," he said. "Diseases change and the circumstances change. Twenty years from now we're going to need leaders who can think critically about foreign animal disease."
One of those students, Jessica Whitehill, Latham, was raised on a dairy farm and was aware of the possibility of foreign animal disease, but looking at a detailed response was new territory.
"This project enabled me to look at it from a different perspective so that when I'm out in practice, I'll be more prepared for any foreign animal disease situation," she said. "Responding to a foreign animal disease outbreak will require the manpower and skills of the entire state of Kansas. We learned that K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine is an ideal resource for foreign animal disease response."
As disease evolves and new circumstances arise, college and campus officials continue to update the response plan.
This exercise was one of several supplementary experiences designed to acclimate the rural veterinary students to their future responsibilities. Along with Whitehill, students participating included:
Nicholas Luke, Beloit; Brock Hanel, Courtland; Kyle Berning, Lakin; and Trent Glick, Pittsburg.