College of Veterinary Medicine

In a regional office of the Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services of the Department of Agriculture the student will be exposed to regulatory veterinary medicine. The office is responsible for surveillance and control of a defined set of "Dangerous Transmissible Diseases" including zoonoses and diseases that are a threat to the food supply over a 10 county area of northwestern Pennsylvania.

The student is an active participant in an office that performs a variety of activities designed to diagnose, control and perform surveillance for diseases like Rabies, Chronic Wasting Disease, Tuberculosis, Swine Influenza, Pseudorabies, Brucellosis, Equine Infectious Anemia, Salmonella pullorum, and Avian Influenza. The student will become acutely aware of the links between public health and animal health.

We work closely with the PA Department of Health regional office and public health veterinarians like Enzo Campagnolo, DVM who is jointly employed by CDC and PA Department of Health.

JAVMA, variety of textbooks (The Natural History of Rabies, Diseases of Poultry, Law and Ethics of the Veterinary Profession, Sheep and Goat Medicine, Manual of Wildlife Diseases, Handbook of Zoonoses, Diseases of Swine).
Monthly conference calls with the entire Bureau of Animal Health staff for Pennsylvania and associated USDA personnel abouut current sittuaitons and outbreaks/problems in our state.

Student will learn to collect and submit rabies specimens and Chronic Wasting Disease specimens. The student will become competent in communicating with the public about zoonotic diseases.

The student will have free access with the veterinarian 7.5 hours a day, 5 days a week (Monday through Friday)