1. How Veterinary 1
How Veterinary Medicine Affects Human Health
by
Sandra Cash
Professor Bouchard
Crown College
English Composition, Section 111
4 December 2011

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Abstract
This paper talks about how veterinary medicine affects human health. It talks
about how veterinary medicine helped with Yellow Fever, Influenza and Malaria. It also
deals with how veterinary research has found pathogenic agents such as Salmonella,
Brucella, and E. Coli, which in turn brings about how veterinarians play a huge part in
our food safety. Another issue is that veterinary medicine has also helped develop
surgical techniques such as hip-joint replacements, and organ transplants. Lastly, it
talks about how veterinary medicine will affect human health in the future. The
possibilities are numberless, but veterinary medicine will continue to impact human
health.

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When people think of veterinarians, they usually think of only a person who takes
care of animals. What they do not realize is that veterinarians do not just take care of
animals, they also help in human health too. Throughout history, veterinary medicine
has helped improve human health, and continues to do so. First, in order to show how
big an impact veterinary medicine has on human health, one must look back through
history. After this then one can see how veterinary medicine has influenced human
health in today’s age. Thirdly, veterinary medicine is a big part of food safety. Next,
veterinary medicine has found and is preventing pathogenic agents. Lastly, in the future,
veterinary medicine will continue to help human health.
The earliest document written on how to cure animals is from China, dating
around 4000-3000 B.C. (Ho, 2005). From there veterinary medicine has kept growing
into what it is today. In 1885, veterinarian Daniel Salmon, identified Salmonella
(Steele,2008). The discovery of this pathogenic agent subsequently helped in finding a
cure for Salmonella poisoning. Later a French military veterinarian discovered Tetanus
toxoid (Steele,2008). Tetanus toxoid is used as a vaccine to prevent Tetanus, a disease
where voluntary muscles spasm for long times ("Tetanus toxoid (intramuscular," 2011).
Later veterinarians played an important role in understanding and conquering
Malaria, Yellow Fever, and the mystery of Botulism (Bureau of Labor Statistics& U.S.
Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009). They played an important role in
understanding these diseases by noticing how it seemed to affect both humans and
animals. They then were able to do research on the animals in hopes of finding a cure
that would work for both animals and humans.

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Later in April of 1983, an Influenza virus was discovered in a chicken house in
Pennsylvania (Morse, 1996). The Agriculture Department was very fortunate that a
veterinarian was able to isolate H5N2 virus from one of the infected chickens, right
before the virus became virulent (Morse, 1996). They had to kill every chick in the
house, but thanks to being able to isolate a part of H5N2 the virus they were able to
stop it from becoming a huge epidemic in humans (Morse, 1996). Veterinarian J.S.
Koen found human Influenza viruses can replicate in pigs (Oldstone, 2000). He found
this out after observing that pigs that have Influenza have very closely related
symptoms as humans who have Influenza (Oldstone, 2000). These are just a few main
examples of how veterinary medicine has affected human health.
Today’s veterinary medicine has helped in producing an anticoagulant used to
treat some people with heart disease, and has developed surgical techniques for
humans such as joint replacements, and organ transplants (Bureau of Labor Statistics &
U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009). Sometimes veterinarians help
determine the effects of drug therapies, and antibiotics by testing them on animals
(Bureau of Labor Statistics& U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009).
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2009 the federal government
employed roughly 1,300 veterinarians, mostly in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and
the U.S. food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (Bureau of
Labor Statistics& U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009). These veterinarians
are involved in food safety and inspection. Veterinarians who are livestock inspectors
check animals for transmissible diseases such as E. Coli, so that these diseases will not
be transmitted to the people who eat the food (Career Books and eBooks, 2011). They

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also inspect and enforce government regulations regarding food purity and sanitation
(Bureau of Labor Statistics& U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009).
Veterinarians who are involved in food security often work along the country’s borders
as animal and plant health inspectors. Here they examine imports and exports of animal
products to prevent diseases here and in foreign countries (Bureau of Labor Statistics &
U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009).
Veterinarians can also become epidemiologists. An epidemiologist investigates
outbreaks of diseases (Miller, 2000 pp. 18). Homeland security offers opportunities for
veterinarians involved in efforts to maintain abundant food supplies and reduce animal
diseases in the United States and in foreign countries (Bureau of Labor Statistics& U.S.
Department of Labor Veterinarians, 2009). Jerry Gillespie, who is the director of the
Western Institute for Food Safety at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, says
this about food safety:
“We have a very safe food supply, and we need to keep it that way. Now it has
complicated food safety, when we have a food outbreak we have to think about if
it was an accident or if it was deliberately done. This leads to a two investigations,
the first one is an epidemiological investigation, which is finding out what went
wrong, how did it go wrong, and what were the steps that lead to disease, the
second investigation is a criminal investigation to see if it was deliberately done.”
(Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold &Boyce, 2006)
Food Safety has become a huge issue in today’s news, which is why there are more
and more positions opening up for veterinarians in food safety. Since 1892, a total of

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fourteen diseases have been eliminated from equine, poultry, and livestock populations
in the United States, to which veterinary medicine contributed (King, 2006).
Veterinary medicine has found pathogenic agents such as Salmonella, Brucella,
and E. Coli (Steele 2008). Humans, animals, and animal products go around the world
all the time in today’s age, and pathogens are adapting, discovering new niches, and
going across species into new hosts (King, 2006). Veterinarians are vital to the
detection, identification of, and response to these threats and are essential to first-line
defense and surveillance for some of these pathogenic agents (King, 2006). Four-fifths
of all infections of humans are shared with animals from these pathogenic agents
(Hendrix, Thompson, & Maccabe, 2005). These pathogenic agents are referred to as
zoonoses. Veterinarian’s curiosity in zoonotic diseases go on from the areas of
zoonoses investigation, disease eradication, control programs to epidemiology,
laboratory diagnosis, health education and public health administration (Hendrix,
Thompson, & Maccabe, 2005).
As it is, there are about sixty to sixty-six percent of infections that affect humans
and animals. If you include the infections that are just beginning to arrive, then there are
about seventy-five percent of infections that affect both humans and animals (Hyde,
Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold & Boyce, 2006). This is where the idea of
“one health” comes into play. As Steve Barthold, who is the director of the Center for
Comparative Medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, says:
“We refer to it as one medicine in our professions. Our medical
colleagues see one species, where the other sees a wide variety of species. We

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are both science based medicines and we rely on science. The progress we gain
whether in veterinary medicine or human medicine we gain in the other.” (Hyde,
Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold & Boyce, 2006)
This is where research in veterinary science is critical to understanding and improving
human health, if there is a break through in ways to fight infections that afflict both
humans and animals, it could be used to help fight infections in humans better (King,
2006). In the laboratories, veterinarians are working on immunization and the processes
of diseases (Miller, 2000 pp.19).
This is just the beginning of the impact veterinary medicine has on human health.
As more research is done there will be even more information that will help with human
health. Who knows what new information will come from veterinary medicine? There
are a few studies on about asthma, allergies, air problems, toxoplasma, Down
Syndrome, and a faster way to diagnose infections in animals that just might help
human health.
There is one study on Down Syndrome done on mice. Veterinarians gave a
mouse an extra copy of chromosome fifteen, which then makes the mouse look and act
like a Down Syndrome person (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold &
Boyce, 2006). Great research is being done with this, the modeling of the mouse acts a
lot like a human even though it has an extra chromosome fifteen instead of an extra
chromosome twenty-one. They are hoping that through this study they can find drugs to
help people with Down Syndrome (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold

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& Boyce, 2006). If this study brings in good research this could be a new way to find
out more about conditions like Down Syndrome.
Recently this year, a University of Missouri veterinarian identified ways to
diagnose a pet infection in about a third of the current diagnosis time (Craven & Berry,
2011). As Amy DeClue, who is an assistant professor of veterinary internal medicine in
the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, says:
“Infections can be difficult to diagnose, and many veterinarians have to
send samples to a lab and wait three days or more as the lab attempts to grow a
culture. Meanwhile, the infection continues to spread each day that veterinarians
wait on lab results, which is detrimental to the patient. In extreme infections,
called sepsis, more than half of patients die. My group has been evaluating
different book biomarkers that could give a quick and accurate indication of
infections, and we believe we’ve found a biomarker that will only require a simple
blood test.” (Craven & Berry, 2011)
DeClue and her colleagues found that measuring the blood biomarker N-terminal
portion of pro C-type natriuretic peptide is a good indication of infection and the same is
true in humans (Craven & Berry). If all goes well in this study, this could be used
eventually for humans.
A few studies are working on asthma, allergies and air problems. In one study on
allergies and air problems, they are working with guinea pigs and primates.
Veterinarians watch how allergies and air problems affect guinea pigs, and primates in

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hopes of better understanding how they affect humans. In understanding this, they hope
to help cure or have a better way to manage these problems for both animals and
humans (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold & Boyce, 2006). There is
another study being done on monkeys about asthma. The monkey model is not
genetically too close to humans, but they do give the same response as humans. Again,
they are hoping to better understand asthma in hopes of finding a cure, or find a new
break through (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold & Boyce, 2006).
In a new study, they believe that toxoplasma might actually play a role in
Schizophrenia. Toxoplasma is a parasite that is found in cat litter, and in warm-blooded
animals (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold & Boyce, 2006).
Toxoplasma is deadly for sea otters. It creates a brain disease that is extremely deadly
for them. In addition, Toxoplasma is not healthy for a pregnant woman. If a pregnant
woman is infected with toxoplasma, it gives the parasite access to the baby, which in
turn can cause many problems (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold &
Boyce, 2006). Right now scientists, including veterinarians, are seeing a rise in
toxoplasma. For this reason, they are studying it in hopes of finding a way to help save
the sea otters. Due to the fact that toxoplasma causes a brain disease in sea otters,
they are looking into seeing if being infected with toxoplasma could play a part in a
person having Schizophrenia (Hyde, Gillespie, Joad, Lloyd, Starr, Conrad, Barthold &
Boyce, 2006).
Even though people do not realize that veterinarians help in human health, they
do. Veterinary medicine has helped improve human heath throughout history and

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continues to do so. It has helped with Malaria, Yellow Fever, and Influenza. In addition
to helping with diseases, it also helps identify pathogenic agents that cause the
diseases like E. Coli, and Salmonella. It has become a huge part in controlling and
investigating our food safety issues and epidemic outbreaks. Who knows how
veterinary medicine will affect human health in the future? The possibilities are endless,
but veterinary medicine will continue to impact human health.

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References
Bureau of Labor Statistics& U.S. Department of Labor Veterinarians. (2009 December
17). Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition. Retrieved December 5, 2011
from http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos076.htm
Career Books and eBooks (2011). Veterinarian, dude (career book). Career Books and
eBooks.
Craven, S., & Berry, T. (2011, May 12). MU Veterinarians Find Infections Faster By
Monitoring Blood Compound. Health News. Retrieved from
http://www.healthcanal.com/infections/24145-Veterinarians-Find-Infections-Faster-
Monitoring-Blood-Compound.html
Hendrix, C., Mcclelland, C., Thompson, I., Maccabe, A., & Hendrix, C. (2005). An
interprofessional role for veterinary medicine in human health promotion and disease
prevention. Journal Of Interprofessional Care, 19(1), 3-10.
Ho, J. (2005, February). Information resources on veterinary history at the national
agricultural library . Retrieved from
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/VetHistory/vethistory.htm
Hyde, D., Gillespie, J., Joad, J., Lloyd, K., Starr, M., Conrad, P., Barthold, S., & Boyce,
W. (2006, November 29). Interview by Michael Krasny [Web Based Recording]. Live
from UC Davis: Veterinary medicine. , Retrieved from
http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R611291000

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King, L. (2006). Veterinary medicine and public health at CDC. MMWR. Morbidity And
Mortality Weekly Report, 55 Suppl 27-9.
Miller, L. (2000). Careers for animal lovers & other zoological types. (pp. 18-19).
Blacklick, OH: McGraw-Hill Trade.
Morse, S. S. (1996). Emerging viruses. (p. 41-117). Cary NC: Oxford University Press,
USA.
Oldstone, M. B. A. (2000). Viruses, plagues, and history. (p. 183). Cary NC: Oxford
University Press, USA.
Smolinski, M. S., Hamburg, M. A., Lederberg, J., & , (2003). Microbial threats to health,
emergence, detection, and response. (p. 92). Wasgubgtib DC: National Academies
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Steele, J. (2008). Veterinary public health: Past success, new opportunities. Preventive
Veterinary Medicine, 86(3/4), 224-243. Retrieved December 5, 2011 from
http://vet.kku.ac.th/gsvm/veterinary/PDF/VPH.pdf
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from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601303
Works Consulted
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One Medicine, One Health Concept. Zoonoses & Public Health, 56(6/7), 407-428.
doi:10.1111/j.1863-2378.2009.01255.x

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Ruvinsky, A., & Sampson, J. (2002). The genetics of the dog. (p. 192). Cambridge MA:
CABI Publishing.
Woods, E. S. (2011). Characteristics and Correlations Between Human and Pet Use of
Acupuncture: A Cross-sectional Survey of Four Clinics. American Acupuncturist, 5518-
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38(3), 271-272.

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Outline
I Introduction
II Background history of how veterinary medicine has helped human health in the past.
III Today how veterinary medicine has helped human health.
IV Food Safety how veterinary medicine is a big part of food safety.
V Pathogenic agents veterinary medicine has found and how they are preventing them.
VI The future of how veterinary medicine could help human health.
A. Down Syndrome
B. Diagnosing infections faster
C. Asthma and Allergies
D. Schizophrenia
VII Conclusion