SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT SCOTT KRAMER

Planes, Trains, Automobiles and Pigs!
-Scott Kramer PhD, Class of 2016 MSU CVM

I want to thank the Schwartz Family Veterinary Scholarship for the very much appreciated award with which I was able to attend the 2014 European Symposium for Porcine Heath and Management (ESPHM) in Sorrento, Italy and complete a Swine Medicine Externship at CReSA, Barcelona, Spain. Well, I finally made it to Sorrento after a very unforgettable outbound flight. Of course we had a full plane on our departure from Detroit, but everyone was in a good mood. The strangest things kept happening following departure.I kept seeing what looked like flash photography in the cabin and thought that was a bit strange- until it happened at my seat.

Apparently, the seat lighting had a mind of its own and was flashing on/off randomly all over the plane. Then, the audio-visual equipment would fast forward/reverse/change languages and stations all on its own. The flight attendants had said, “that is really strange.” Thank you…I agree. They had told the plane that they had “re-booted” the system…to no avail. I decided to just sleep like most people did only to be awakened to, “Is there a doctor on board?” Now I’m feeling like this was an episode from The Twilight Zone. The woman diagonal and behind me was on the floor in the galley. I told the flight attendant that I was a third year veterinary student if I could help but fortunately, the woman sitting next to her was on her way to Doctors Without Borders experience and able to attend to the woman. After a very unsettling 20 minutes the captain announced that ground control wanted us to turn around and remove the passenger from the plane in Nova Scotia. On the ground in Nova Scotia the paramedics were able to speak to the woman who was from Nigeria and 8 months pregnant traveling alone and had been sick earlier in the week. The woman was safely removed from the plane and taken to a local hospital. There wasn’t an “outbreak” or any other “zombie apocalypse” scenario thankfully. Arriving 4 hours later than expected, connecting flights and trains were missed but surprisingly easily rescheduled. I arrived safely in Sorrento late that night.

	The ESPHM is “the” European swine meeting. Although smaller than the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) meeting, the ESPHM hosts a very diverse population and addresses an impressive array of topics from basic to applied swine husbandry and medicine. While the geography of Europe is quite obvious it was naïve of me not to think about the differences in attitudes across Europe.

It is very apparent that northern Europe is more driven by social ideals such as animal welfare, while the south has a much more production oriented drive. The main objective of course is supporting healthy, well cared for animals and a safe food product for human consumption globally. I enjoyed meeting fellow swine researchers and practitioners from across the globe and had made a connection with a swine practitioner in France for an externship next summer if my clerkship schedule allows for it. I also met a few swine medicine students from the University of Minnesota who, on a similar mission, had spent time with swine practitioners in France, Netherlands and Spain. It’s always nice to network with colleagues as well as make new connections. What I enjoyed most about the ESPHM was learning how the same topic/concern can be interpreted/investigated by others. I believe that type of understanding allows for a more well-rounded approach to comprehension of the topic and more productive research..

	I presented my poster titled, A study on pre- and post-suckling serum total protein and influences by different day one pig care, to a receptive group of attendees in the Immunology and Vaccinology section on the final afternoon. I discussed different methodologies and plans for continued investigation with investigators working in similar areas.

To summarize the 2014 ESPHM meeting I would say that the top 3 take-home messages included: Managing the use and risk of antibiotics in pigs Continued improvements in the diagnostic/investigation of viral diseases The role of international trade on the spread of pig diseases The latter topic, especially important today as the United States combats the aggressive porcine epidemic viral diarrheal virus (PEDv) which is suspected as having come from abroad. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the 2014 ESPHM meeting in Sorrento, Italy.

	Now, as a third year veterinary student at the College of Veterinary Medicine / Michigan State University with definite career ambitions in the swine industry as a global swine herd health veterinarian, my intentions for this externship were to allow me to network with professional colleagues and expand my knowledge of swine medicine and production. Last year, I had interviewed the ESPHM keynote speaker, Dr. Joaquim Segales, and was invited to visit his laboratory at CReSA in Barcleona, Spain.

Dr. Segales is a world renowned researcher and speaker in the area of foreign and emerging swine diseases. The Foundation Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA) is a public foundation created in 1999 for conducting research in animal health and takes advantage of a new technologically advanced building, with level-3 biocontention (BSL3) for conducting research, grouping efforts and channeling new resources in this field. Upon arriving at CReSA I was kindly introduced to, I think…the entire building. My visit included a tour of the BSL-2 laboratories including the Bacteriology, Virology, Histology, Anatomical Pathology and Parasitology/Entomology laboratories. I have to say that the Parasitology/Entomology lab was extremely interesting. Not only had I never been to an entomology lab before this but to arrive to hear that they were investigating an outbreak of Blue Tongue Virus just really made it all “real”. I was able to see how the culicoides were grown as well as mosquitoes for an up-coming West Nile Virus investigation. Although we had discussed African Swine Fever research in our initial interview, Dr. Segales is perhaps more well known for his research on Porcine Circovirus (PCV2) and was the current and ongoing topic of research. I was able to see and compare slides from infected and control animals as well as prepare slides with a fellow investigator from Bulgaria for her PCV2 in-situ hybridization studies. I worked alongside a technician preparing porcine intestinal tissues for embedding in paraffin for histological slide preparations, created tissue sections using a microtome and subsequent slide mounts for a nutritional study. We also made histological measurements of ileum and jejunum samples for a concurrent study. I found this experience invaluable and totally enjoyable. Additionally, I learned how to culture salmonella from chicken cloacal and egg samples in the bacteriology lab and observed adenovirus amplification in eggs in the virology lab. To have this “hands on” experience in such a great laboratory was really a gift. While I was not allowed in the BSL-3 area, I was given a tour from the outside which had large windows to observe the individual laboratories- again, something that I had never seen before. The animal area was interesting in that it was three levels- an upper level for ventilation and mechanics, a middle layer for the animals and necropsy and a lower level for waste disposal. On the research side…Dr. Segales had arranged for me to be involved in two separate projects: PRRS Vaccine Challenge The project was set at a commercial swine farm and was a PRRS vaccine challenge in market weight boars. The barn work included blood sampling, oral fluid collection, nasal swabbing, weighing, virus challenge and random assortment of animals. Atrophic Rhinitis Oral Fluids Collection Study The project was set at a commercial sow farm. We had set-up ropes for oral fluid collection in sows and piglets at different ages and had also taken environmental measurements for an atrophic rhinitis study.
Clinically…I worked alongside (European College of Porcine Health and Management) ECPHM resident Dr. Antonio Vela in Zaragoza, Spain. Dr. Vela works at Ars Alendi, a company related to the production of feed for livestock, where he develops his work as a veterinarian in charge of swine. We had toured the company farms and discussed in depth the swine industry in north-east Spain including the challenges faced by producers and impact of the crisis in Europe on swine production. The area produces approximately 65% of the pork for Spain and a majority of the production units are integrated systems. Other challenges include the facts that waste management is a huge issue here and that Spain imports approximately 80% of their feed ingredients.

Like the US, PED is present here and…is endemic. The strain of PED in Europe is less virulent than that in the US and does not have the dramatic impact here as it is having in the US today. Also, there is another pork market, the Iberian swine, which are raised outdoors in the south-west of Spain and fed on acorns and pasture. The meat of the Iberian swine is unique in its fat content and is a staple of the cured meat industry in Spain. I honestly can’t say enough about my experiences in Spain. Not only were my hosts wonderful and inclusive but the degree to which I was exposed to swine production and medicine was truly priceless. Thank you again for your support.