Though livestock diseases have grabbed public attention this year, employees of one University of Nebraska center have long worked quietly behind the scenes to diagnose and prevent common and exotic animal diseases.

The Veterinary Diagnostic Center processes animal disease cases from Nebraska and across the nation, helping to diagnose, respond to and prevent disease outbreaks that could destroy producers' profits and threaten animal and human health.

Cases come to the center primarily through veterinarians, said David Steffen, veterinary pathologist who heads the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources center.

"Whenever there is livestock illness or death, we identify the cause. Then veterinarians can take action to prevent further spread," he said. "We continue to help after the diagnosis is made by making recommendations on effective antibiotics or other treatment methods."

In 2000, the center took on 11,835 cases, about 986 per month. Cases came from producers of traditional livestock species, as well as from zoos, parks and family homes. Employees perform more than 20,000 procedures monthly to find the causes of animal illness or death. The center has laboratories in Lincoln, North Platte and Scottsbluff.

"Every case is urgent for us. Whether the disease is foreign or something we see every day, it is causing an economic loss for the producer," Steffen said. "Every day that a disease goes undiagnosed, it has the potential to spread. We help as quickly as possible."

The center uses a basic model to respond to foreign livestock diseases. If a disease such as foot-and-mouth disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, known as BSE or mad cow disease, was detected in Nebraska livestock, the center would begin by contacting the state veterinarian, who would establish a quarantine to prevent disease spread, Steffen said.

"In the case of a foreign disease like BSE, we also would send a sample to a national lab for a second opinion," he said. "We would initiate local action to control the disease, but a positive diagnosis of one of those diseases would halt foreign trade and cause a great deal of loss to producers. We wouldn't take that diagnosis lightly."

If the diagnosis was confirmed, infected herds would be destroyed, Steffen said. Then the center, along with local veterinarians, would test nearby herds for signs of disease.

In Nebraska's recent pseudorabies outbreaks, the center is using a similar model to help state regulators control the contagious swine disease.

The center also protects human health in a number of ways, Steffen said. As part of a national surveillance program for BSE, the center automatically tests cattle that have died at more than 30 months of age for the disease. Animals that show any signs of neurological damage are also tested for BSE.

Brucellosis is one livestock disease that has made U.S. residents very sick in the past.

"Though the disease has been eradicated, we still test every animal abortion case for the disease," Steffen said. "We just want to make sure we don't miss a disease like that if it shows up again."

The center also tests every animal with neurological symptoms for rabies.

In addition to watching over public health, the center helps assure that the public can safely enjoy time in the state's parks and zoos by working with zoo veterinarians and through cooperative projects with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

"Recently, there was an outbreak of tuberculosis in Michigan that was found to be spread by deer," Steffen said. "So we tested Nebraska deer populations to see if there was a potential for the same problem here. No tuberculosis has been found in more than 300 deer tested."

– Heather Corley

David Steffen, a veterinary pathologist who heads the Veterinary Diagnostic Center, prepares a specimen to test for pseudorabies and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus. The lab handles animal disease cases from across Nebraska and the nation, helping to respond to and prevent disease outbreaks that could endanger animal and human health.

Research Technician Liping Xie prepares a blood sample for the centrifuge. The Veterinary Diagnostic Center staff performs more than 20,000 procedures each month to find the causes of animal illness or death. Last year, the center took on nearly 12,000 cases.