San Diego County Veterinary Medical Association

Continuing Education Announcements:

San Diego VMA Veterinary Conference-"Respiratory Medicine & Surgery for the General Practitioner"  September 25 & 26, 2010 with aproximately 12 hours of continuing education at The Handlery Hotel & Resort in San Diego, CA

Faculty: Dr. Phil Padrid & Dr. Howard Seim, III, DACVS

Contact: SDCVMA Conference Committee

4620 Alvarado Canyon Road, Suite 15, San Diego, CA 92120 | 619-640-9583  sdcvmadeb@aol.com

 
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Major Kelly J. Gambino-Shirley,
DVM, MPH, Public Health Officer,
Biomedical Sciences Corps., United
States Air Force is the recipient of the
2009 Dr. Daniel E. Salmon Award.

Major Gambino-Shirley was se-
lected for her exceptional proficiency
and sustained determination in ap-
plying her broad knowledge and ex-
pertise of veterinary science in sup-
port of public health and preventive
medicine programs within the United
States government. Among her mul-
tiple public health achievements, both
domestically and abroad, was her
benchmark collaboration with health
officials in Italy to prevent a meningi-
tis outbreak. The collaborative effort
that Dr. Gambino-Shirley formed has
been recognized as the best in US
European command. In addition, she

lead a team of international officials in establishing procedures to
successfully protect 290,000 military
and civilians from a potential cholera
epidemic.

The Dr. Daniel E. Salmon Award is
presented annually to recognize out-
standing contributions and notable
service in the public.s interest by a
veterinarian federally employed in
human health, environmental health
or animal health discipline.

This award was established to
honor the first director of the United
States Department of Agriculture.s
Bureau of Animal Industry in its cen-
tennial year—1984. Dr. Daniel E.
Salmon was a world renowned vet-
erinary medical scientist who pio-
neered research in bacterial diseases
of animals and in immunology. His
efforts led to the development of
killed vaccines and to the naming of the
bacterial genus Salmonella in his
honor. His work contributed immeas-
urably to improving the public.s health
and to disease control efforts in general.

It is hoped that this award will encour-
age veterinarians to continue excellence
in their performance and to aspire for
public service as a lifelong career.

One award may be given yearly to
worthy nominees. The award consists
of a plaque and an honorarium of
$500.00. This award is supported
through the National Association of
Federal Veterinarians.

Dr. Gambino-Shirley will receive her
plaque and honorarium at the 62nd Sec-
retary Annual Awards Ceremony in fall
of this year. Dr. Gambino-Shirley will
also receive a complimentary member-
ship in the NAFV for 2010._

Join your friends and colleagues at this important Food Safety Education Event! May 23-26, 2010 Foodborne illness is a preventable and under-reported disease that presents a major challenge to both general and at-risk populations. Empowering consumers worldwide with knowledge and safer food-handling behaviors is one of the best lines of defense against pathogens causing these illnesses. Plan to attend and participate!  Highlights: Pre-conference workshops Plenary and breakout sessions Networking opportunities Exhibits and poster sessions Continuing Education Units (CEUs) Learn the latest on: Foodborne Illness Surveillance and Epidemiology Healthy People 2010 and 2020 Behavioral and Attitudinal Research Social Marketing Advances Outreach to the Medical Community Food Service and Retail Initiatives Emerging Educational Trends, Tools and Technologies Partnerships and Collaborations Social Networking Applications  Who should attend: Public health educators Health care providers Medical communicators Food safety educators Cooperative extension educators Sanitarians Consumer representatives Health writers and journalists

Hosts Sponsors Questions? Email Atlanta2010@nsf.org, call 734.827.5681 or visit www.fsis.usda.gov/Atlanta2010 Get on the Email Update List! Send to a Friend

OPM proposes new leave policies for pandemics, family care

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com August 26, 2009
The Office of Personnel Management proposed regulations on Wednesday that would make it easier for federal employees to take time off to care for family members who have been exposed to dangerous communicable diseases or wounded in combat.
"It's a very generous federal benefit, and it's one that makes us a model employer," Jerome Mikowicz, deputy associate director of the Center for Pay and Leave Administration at OPM, said of the communicable disease benefit.
Currently, federal employees can use sick leave to care for a family member who health authorities have barred from work because of a communicable illness that could endanger other people at their workplace.
That change, published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, would broaden the circumstances under which federal employees can use sick time to care for a family member with a communicable disease. It would include relatives who have been exposed to, but not yet diagnosed with, a dangerous illness like H1N1 flu. To be eligible for this benefit, an employee must provide evidence that a health official determined it would be dangerous for the person they would care for to be out in the community.
The proposed regulations would allow agencies to advance 30 days of sick leave to employees if they are diagnosed with or exposed to a communicable disease, and 13 days if they need to care for a family member under similar circumstances. Federal employees would owe the government that leave, but the benefit would make it easier to take time off when public health is at stake.
Mikowicz acknowledged federal agencies could have been better prepared for the fall flu season and an expected resurgence of H1N1 if regulations governing sick leave use and advances had been in place earlier. But he noted the need for a comment period, saying OPM would move to put a final regulation in place "as fast as we can."
The proposed regulations would allow agencies to advance leave under certain other circumstances as well. Employees can receive advance leave for medical, dental or optical care procedures, or to handle the issues related to a family member's death or attend a funeral.
The sick leave regulations are packaged with a proposed regulation that would allow employees to take 26 weeks of family and medical leave during a 12-month period to care for a family member who contracted an illness or was seriously wounded while on active-duty with the military. That regulation would enforce provisions in the fiscal 2008 Defense authorization act, which took effect when the Labor Department published its final regulation in November 2008. But Mikowicz said the OPM regulation would make it clearer and easier for human resources officials to grant the leave under those circumstances.
The comment period for both sets of regulations opens the door to a wider review of OPM policies under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
"We are asking agencies for their recommendations on what significant changes, if any, are needed within the existing OPM FMLA regulatory framework," Mikowicz wrote in the Federal Register notice.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43473&dcn=e_gvet
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Epidemic Intelligence Service Application Deadline — September 15, 2009

Online application for EIS — details at http://www.cdc.gov/eis/ApplyNow.html

The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a 2-year, postgraduate program of service and on-the-job training for health professionals interested in the practice of epidemiology. Each year, EIS provides approximately 90 persons, who have been selected from around the world, opportunities to gain hands-on experience in epidemiology at CDC or state or local health departments. EIS Officers, often called CDC's "disease detectives," have gone on to occupy leadership positions at CDC and other public health agencies nationally and internationally. However, the experience also is useful for health professionals who want to gain a population health perspective.

Persons with a strong interest in applied epidemiology who meet at least one of the following qualifications may apply to EIS:
• physicians with >1 year of clinical training;
• persons with a PhD, DrPH, or other doctoral degree in epidemiology, biostatistics, the social or behavioral sciences, natural sciences, or the nutrition sciences;
• dentists, physician assistants, and nurses with an MPH or equivalent degree; or
• veterinarians with an MPH or equivalent degree or relevant public health experience.

Applications are now being accepted for the July 2010 – June 2012 EIS Program. Information about the online application and EIS Program details are available at http://www.cdc.gov/eis/ApplyNow.html ; by telephone (404-498-6110); or by e-mail (EIS@cdc.gov ).

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6 JULY 2009 | ROME -- The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) concluded a week-long meeting and adopted more than 30 new international standards, codes of practice and guidelines to improve worldwide food safety and protect the health of consumers.
New standards adopted by the Commission include:
Reduction of acrylamide in food
The Commission approved measures for reducing the formation of acrylamide in food. The code of practice will provide national and local authorities, manufacturers and others with guidance to prevent and reduce formation of acrylamide in potato products during all phases of the production process. The guidance includes strategies for raw materials, the addition of other ingredients; and food processing and heating. The chemical acrylamide, first identified in food in 2002, is produced during frying, roasting and baking of carbohydrate-rich food such as French fries, potato crisps, coffee, biscuits, pastries and breads. Acrylamide is considered a possible human carcinogen.
Reduction of contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
The Commission adopted the first guidelines for reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) intake through final food preparation. Because smoking and direct drying processes are used both in industry and in private households, the guidance can also form the basis of consumer education programs. Parts of PAH are possible human carcinogens formed during the combustion of fuel both in the smoking and in the direct drying processes involved in the preparation of food.
Prevention of Ochratoxin A contamination in coffee
The Commission adopted guidance to enable coffee-producing countries to develop and implement their own national programs for the prevention and reduction of Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. OTA is a fungal toxin also considered a possible human carcinogen.
Powdered follow-up formulae
The Commission adopted criteria for salmonella and other bacteria in powdered follow-up formulae for children six months of age or older and for special medical purposes for young children. A bacterium of special concern is E. sakazakii, for which Codex adopted specific criteria for powdered formula for infants (0 to 6 months) in 2008. The Commission decided that in countries with particular risk for E. sakazakii from consumption of follow-up formulae (i.e. countries with substantial populations of immunocompromised babies) similar criteria for E. sakazakii could be introduced for follow-up formula as for powdered formula for infants.
Follow-up formulae should only be used for the intended target population. Unfortunately, they are often consumed by babies younger than six months of age. The standard stresses the need to address such product misuse issues through education campaigns and training.
Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food
The Commission adopted parameters for microbiological testing and environmental monitoring for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food. A maximum level was set for certain food products where the bacteria cannot grow, while in ready-to-eat products where growth is possible, no Listeria monocytogenes will be allowed. The parameters will help producers control and prevent contamination of ready-to-eat foods with this bacterium that can result in listeriosis, a potentially fatal disease. While healthy people rarely contract listeriosis, it can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.
The Commission also adopted regional standards for ginseng products, fermented soybean paste and gochujang.
“The standards and guidelines adopted this week will make a positive impact on the lives of people around the world,” said CAC Chairperson Karen Hulebak. “The Commission is working faster than ever before to address the most pressing food safety challenges we face.”
Ezzeddine Boutrif, FAO Director, Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division, noted that Codex membership now represents 99% of the world’s population. “Applying Codex standards and guidelines are an important part of ensuring that consumers in every part of the world can be protected from unsafe food,” he said.
The Commission also launched new work projects, among them establishing maximum levels for melamine in food and feed. In the last few years, high levels of melamine have been added illegally to food and feed products, causing illness and death. Because it has many industrial uses, melamine may be found in trace amounts in the food chain due to its presence in the environment. Setting maximum limits will help governments differentiate between unavoidable melamine occurrence and the deliberate adulteration of food and feed.
Other new work proposals adopted by the Commission include:
• principles and guidelines to assist governments in the development and operation of comprehensive national food control systems that protect the health of consumers and ensure fair practices in the food trade;
• practices to control viruses in food, especially noroviruses (NoV) and hepatitis A (HAV) in fresh produce, mulluscan shell fish and ready-to-eat food;
• prevention of aflatoxin (toxic substances produced by moulds and known to cause cancer in animals) contamination of Brazil nuts; and
• setting maximum levels and defining sampling plans for Fumonisins, (toxic substances produced by fungi) in maize and maize products.
"We welcome the participation of more developing countries in the meeting this year which reflects global awareness of food safety issue and the impact of Codex Trust Fund," said Dr Jørgen Schlundt, Director of WHO's Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses.
Approximately 500 people, representing 125 countries, participated in the Commission meetings. Karen Hulebak of the United States of America was re-elected Chairperson; Knud Østergaard of Denmark, Sanjay Dave of India and Ben Manyindo of Nigeria were re-elected Vice-Chairpersons.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly established in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WHO, develops international food standards that protect the health of consumers and ensure fair trade practices in the food trade. The Commission has 181 Member States and one member organization, the European Community.
For further information:
Sari Setiogi
Media Relations Officer
Health Security and the Environment, WHO
Geneva, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 791 3576
Mobile: +41 79 701 9467
E-mail: setiogis@who.int
Steven Cohen
Media Relations Officer
Codex Secretariat
Rome, Italy,
Telephone: +39 06 570 55283
Mobile: +39 339 627 7627
E-mail: steven.cohen@fao.org
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OPM takes strategic planning process public
By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com July 28, 2009The Office of Personnel Management will offer up for public comment its proposed strategic plan, a process that could help determine a reorganization of the agency's components, OPM Director John Berry said on Tuesday.
"We're going to post this on the Web site and everybody at OPM, as well as everybody in the world, is going to be allowed to have access for four weeks," Berry said. "We'll take all of that input and get back together again, reconsider all of that ... but the idea is by Oct. 1 to have a blessed, sealed and approved strategic plan."
OPM technology will let the public track debate on the plan during the month it is available for comment online, Berry said. The Office of Management and Budget and Congress must approve the agency's strategic plan as part of a review process that occurs every five years by law.
Berry said that the Oct. 1 goal would enable OPM to develop implementation plans during the first quarter of fiscal 2010 for the strategic plan's various components.
The strategic plan includes efforts that Berry already has outlined, including reforming the hiring process and improving agencies' employment of veterans. But on Tuesday Berry also emphasized the need to build a more effective retirement processing system and to honor federal retirees as part of a larger effort to improve the reputation of public service.
In addition, he said the decision to put the plan online was part of a goal to improve communication with the public, and with OPM employees.
"We're trying to make this user-friendly so you might actually read it, you might actually remember it," he said. "Not only us, but our customers might read it and recognize what we're about."
Berry said the efforts he first discussed in June to realign OPM's components to help the agency better meet its mission would not begin until the strategic planning process was complete, and the agency's goals were clear. He has not discussed a reorganization in detail yet, but some senators have said they would like OPM to re-establish an office dedicated to the training, development and diversity of the Senior Executive Service. The office was disbanded during a 2003 agency reorganization.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page_pf.cfm?articleid=43261&printerfriendlyvers=1

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Senate looks to clear two spending measures this week
By Humberto Sanchez CongressDaily July 28, 2009
With less than two weeks left before the start of the August recess, the Senate on Monday began consideration of the fiscal 2010 $34.3 billion Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which Democratic leaders intend to clear before moving this week to the fiscal 2010 $23.7 billion Agriculture Appropriations bill.
"Over the next two weeks, we are going to complete at least two appropriations bills that invest in our nation, and support programs that will help our economy grow," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said on Monday.
The spending measures would be the third and fourth to come to the Senate floor this year. Action comes after Democratic leaders recently decided to resume work on appropriations after putting off consideration of healthcare legislation.
http://www.govexec.com/story_page_pf.cfm?articleid=43258&printerfriendlyvers=1

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More progress on veterinarians in public practice:

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has determined there exists a severe shortage of candidates for VMO positions and as a result has approved Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) government-wide for Veterinarian Medical Officer (VMO) positions at the GS-701-11/15 grade levels nationwide. For more information and a copy of the OPM Memo see: http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=42084&dcn=todaysnews
 

On Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 2:30 p.m. the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia held a hearing entitled, Protecting Public and Animal Health: Homeland Security and the Federal Veterinarian Workforce. This hearing focused on the Federal veterinarian workforce. To view the testimony live see: click here (Scroll down, and click the white arrow and you’ll get the video stream).
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GAO Publishes Report on:

Actions Are Needed to Ensure Sufficient Capacity for Protecting Public and Animal Health   http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09178.pdf

What GAO Found:

The federal government lacks a comprehensive understanding of the sufficiency of its veterinarian workforce. More specifically, four of five component agencies GAO reviewed have assessed the sufficiency of their veterinarian workforce to perform routine activities and have identified current or future concerns. This includes USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), and Agricultural Research Service (ARS); and DOD’s Army. Current and future shortages, as well as noncompetitive salaries, were among the concerns identified by these agencies. HHS’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not perform such assessments and did not identify any concerns. In addition, at the department level, USDA and HHS have not assessed their veterinarian workforces across their component agencies, but DOD has a process for doing so. Moreover, there is no government wide effort to search for shared solutions, even though 16 of the 24 federal entities that employ veterinarians raised concerns about the sufficiency of this workforce. Further exacerbating these concerns is the number of veterinarians eligible to retire in the near future. GAO’s analysis revealed that 27 percent of the veterinarians at APHIS, FSIS, ARS, Army, and FDA will be eligible to retire within 3 years.
 
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AAVMC publishes Study on:

Envisioning the Future of Veterinary Medical Education   http://www.jvmeonline.org/cgi/reprint/34/1/1.pdf

What the study found:

This report of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges’ 2006 Foresight Project, developed under the leadership of an AAVMC Steering Committee, drew on the experience, imagination, and energetic participation of more than 95 participants from across the United States and Canada.

The environment of veterinary medicine is one of profound change. The current number of veterinarians is inadequate to address the present and future needs of society. To remain relevant, academic veterinary medicine must prepare veterinarians for what may come in the future. In order to be recognized and remunerated for their knowledge, compassion, integrity, and judgment, veterinarians must first demonstrate their relevance to new societal trends. The objective of the study reported here was to determine a future direction for academic veterinary medicine using Foresight technology.

The tools employed were challenge questions and the development of eight future possible scenarios. The study supported the need for change. This report recommends an adaptive and responsive system of veterinary medical education, achieved by defining those areas of professional focus that would address all the anticipated needs of society. An area of professional focus signifies a pathway leading to a DVM degree. Colleges would choose to offer selected areas of professional focus most appropriate to their capabilities, according to a bi-national plan. Veterinary medicine is integral to the well-being of any future society. This is a pivotal moment for the veterinary profession and for veterinary medical education. Leadership, collaboration, and a shared vision will determine the destiny of the profession.

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