Drs. Dan Thomson, Ryane Englar and Matt Basel were selected for the annual teaching awards by the classes of students who voted based on teaching efforts of the 2018-2019 school year.

“Beginning in 2004, the college has utilized these annual awards to recognize faculty for their exceptional teaching efforts in the preclinical stages of the veterinary curriculum,” explained Dr. Peggy Schmidt, associate dean for academic programs and student affairs. “Award recipients are chosen by students reflecting faculty dedication to student success inside and outside of the classroom. These recipients are outstanding educators and well deserving of this recognition.”

Anatomy and Physiology Department Head Dr. Hans Coetzee presents the 2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Teaching Excellence in the First Year Award to Dr. Basel.

Dr. Basel was presented with the 2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Teaching Excellence in the First Year Award in recognition of outstanding instruction of first-year veterinary students. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, biochemistry and biology at Kansas State University in 2007. He completed a Ph.D. in biological chemistry at Kansas State University in 2010 and a Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning the same year. Dr. Basel is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology.

“I really enjoy teaching in the first-year curriculum and the veterinary students at Kansas State are some of the best students I’ve ever met,” Dr. Basel said. “It’s very gratifying to know that the students appreciate my efforts and I appreciate them just as much!”

Dr. Callie Rost, associate dean for admissions, presents the 2019 Bayer Teaching Excellence Award (for second-year instruction) to Dr. Englar.

Dr. Englar, clinical assistant professor and clinical education coordinator for clinical skills, received the 2019 Bayer Teaching Excellence Award, which is presented in recognition of outstanding instruction of second-year veterinary students. She earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 2008 from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Dr. Englar joined the faculty at K-State in May 2017, where she was hired to help fulfill a priority in the college’s Strategic Plan of providing clinical experiences and skills in all years of the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum. Dr. Englar is a diplomate (Canine and Feline Practice) of the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners (ABVP).

“Working with students is my greatest passion,” Dr. Englar said. “From the moment they matriculate into the program, they are our colleagues and leaders of the veterinary profession. It is exciting to see their inner spark ignite as they discover their greatest strengths and contributions as future doctors of veterinary medicine. Each day, every day, they are my inspiration. Over the past three years, we have experienced ‘The Journey’ together, and they have taught me as much, if not more, than I could have ever taught them about life and all of its adventures. They are a reminder that character, courage, and tenacity speak volumes and power us to the finish line. I thank them for being a gift to this profession and want them to know that my door is open to them, always.”

Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology Department Head Dr. Derek Mosier presents the 2019 Teaching Excellence in the Third Year Award sponsored by Zoetis to Dr. Thomson.

Students chose Dr. Thomson to be the recipient of the 2019 Teaching Excellence in the Third Year Award sponsored by Zoetis. He earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1990 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2000, both from Iowa State University. Dr. Thomson has also completed a master’s degree in ruminant nutrition from South Dakota State University in 1993 and a doctorate in ruminant nutrition from Texas Tech University in 1996. He is the Jones Professor of Production Medicine and Epidemiology.

“Teaching students is a privilege and an honor,” Dr. Thomson said. “This is such a humbling award. We are blessed to have the best students and alumni in the world. It is an honor to be a part of this great faculty. We all have so much to be thankful for at Kansas State University.”

This is an electron micrograph of Mannheimia haemolytica in a bovine lung. Researchers found that first treatment with a bacteriostatic antibiotic followed by retreatment with a bactericidal antibiotic was associated with a higher frequency of multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from field cases of Bovine Respiratory Disease submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory. (Photo credit: Ravindra Thakkar and Dr. Charan Ganta.)

The study, "Association between antimicrobial drug class for treatment and retreatment of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) and frequency of resistant BRD pathogen isolation from veterinary diagnostic laboratory samples," was published in the December 2019 issue of the journal PLOS ONE.

"Bovine respiratory disease is one of the most important diseases facing beef cattle producers in the United States with economic losses estimated to approach $1 billion a year," Dr. Coetzee said. "Antibiotics are critical to minimize losses associated with BRD caused by bacterial infections."

Antibiotics that are used to treat BRD are broadly classified into two groups: namely those that prevent growth of the bacteria — i.e., bacteriostatic — and those that kill the organism — i.e., bactericidal. Although 90% of BRD relapses are reported to receive retreatment with a different class of antimicrobial, the impact of antibiotic selection — bactericidal or bacteriostatic — on disease outcomes and the emergence of antimicrobial resistance has not been investigated, according to Dr. Coetzee.

The focus of the study is determining the association between antimicrobial class selection for treatment and retreatment of BRD relapses and antimicrobial susceptibility of Mannheimia haemolytica, Pasteurella multocida and Histophilus somni.

Pathogens were isolated from samples submitted to the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory from January 2013 to December 2015. A total of 781 isolates with corresponding animal case histories, including treatment protocols, were included in the analysis.

"Our overall interpretation of the data suggests that there is direct association between the number of treatments to which an animal was exposed and the emergence of antibiotic resistance in samples submitted to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory for analysis," Dr. Coetzee said. "In addition, these exploratory data suggest that BRD treatment protocols involving first-line treatment with a bacteriostatic antibiotic followed by second-line treatment with a bactericidal antibiotic may increase the probability of isolating BRD bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics."

While this observation suggests that consideration should be given to the mechanism of action of the antibiotic when selecting drugs for retreatment of non-responding cases of BRD, Dr. Coetzee said further research is needed to determine the clinical relevance of this finding in livestock production systems.

Dr. Coetzee is a professor and head of the anatomy and physiology department at the College of Veterinary Medicine. He has published 160 peer-reviewed scientific papers and has received more than $10 million in research funding.

Drs. Steve Ensley and Scott Fritz received certificates from the Wichita Police Department for their help in diagnosing blue-green algae after two police officers and a teenager entered a pond and got sick. The computer monitor behind Dr. Fritz shows a microscopic image of a blue-green algae sample.

The award stems from an August incident near West Kellogg in Wichita when a shoplifting suspect tried to escape police officers by swimming into a retention pond. The teenager could not swim and disappeared underwater for 30 seconds. Wichita police officers Terry Nelson and Drew Rhoades dove into the water, rescued the teenager and brought her to shore to administer CPR until emergency medical services arrived. All three people soon became ill after exposure to the water and doctors believed that the teenager would die.

The Wichita Police Department reached out to McKernan to test the quality of the retention pond water. McKernan helped police officers contact the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. Wichita police officers drove pond water samples to the laboratory in Manhattan, where Drs. Ensley and Fritz immediately began testing the water and found that the water had a heightened presence of a blue-green algae toxin. The test results helped medical staff treat Nelson, Rhoades and the teenager. All three people eventually made a full recovery.

In his award nomination letter, Wichita Police Sgt. Christian Cory, a 1999 K-State graduate, said that Dr. Ensley's and Dr. Fritz's "selfless determination and quick turnaround in assisting the officers, not only gave them peace of mind, but allowed medical staff to make informed decisions as to medical treatment options."

McKernan also was praised "for service rendered to the community and citizens of the City of Wichita, Kansas, in the interest of better Law Enforcement."

Paper trays with hundreds of winter ticks pulled off a horse in Kansas.

Its nickname comes from the primary host, the moose, however other species of animals (like horses) can become the host. Ticks infesting a moose can cause anemia and even death. In recent years, more than 75,000 ticks have been found infested on one moose.

The lifecycle of the winter tick is different from the more common summer species of ticks. The winter tick is a one-host tick, which will live on same host from larvae to adult. The eggs hatch on the ground in mid-summer and set dormant before migrating to taller vegetation in clusters. Once on the taller vegetation, the larvae then latch onto an animal as it walks by. The larvae can become a nymph on the host animal within 10 days. The nymph remain dormant on the host until winter when they become an adult. Adult ticks are easier to see and feed on the blood of the host for the rest of the winter. The adults mate, and females lay eggs on the ground in the early springtime.

Treating horses with these ticks can be tough, like any other tick found on horses. However, some products are good for killing these ticks on cattle and horses. Coumaphos is one product that has been shown to work. Please work with your veterinarian for the use of such products. It is important to follow veterinary instructions (amount and frequency) to prevent toxicities, other side effects and environmental contamination.

Understanding the lifecycle and ecosystems of the winter tick can also help with management. Winters that are shorter and warmer have been shown to correlate with higher infestations on the host (like the moose).

Please contact your veterinarian and/or the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center with other questions or concerns about the winter tick.

VHC: 785-532-5700 or www.vet.k-state.edu/vhc/services/equine/

References:

Addison et al. (1988). "Growth and Development of Winter Tick, Dermacentor albipictus, on Moose, Alces alces". The Journal of Parasitology. 74 (4): 670–678.

Dell'Amore, C. (2015-06-01). "What's a Ghost Moose? How Ticks Are Killing an Iconic Animal". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2019-03-08.

As bull buying season approaches, selecting the right bull to match with the heifers was a discussion topic during a recent podcast with the team at the Beef Cattle Institute.

Beef extension specialist Bob Weaber advised producers begin by evaluating the type of breeding system they need to be successful. “Think about what types of bulls you are going to turn out on what groups of females to define what the calving ease need really is.”

One evaluation tool that producers can use in making that decision are Expected Progeny Differences, or EPDs, which are the estimates of the genetic value of the parents to project the calf’s performance. EPDs are estimated on a variety of traits among the beef breeds. The direct (CE or CED) and maternal calving ease (CEM or MCE) EPDs are often a consideration in heifer matings. The greater the number, the lower the risk for calving difficulty, Weaber said.

Calving ease EPDs are expressed in percentage units of unassisted births. For example, a bull with a calving ease EPD of 12 is expected to have 7% more unassisted births from first calf heifers than a bull with a CE EPD of 5.

“Calving ease is one of the first things to think about when selecting the types of bulls to breed heifers,” said veterinarian Dr. Bob Larson. However, he cautioned that producers shouldn’t just isolate their decision to that one criterion.

“Selecting for very high levels of calving ease will lead to lighter calf birthweights over time, and could lead to calf survival issues if taken to the extreme,” Weaber said.

Calving Ease EPDs is one criterion for consideration when deciding heifer matings, say experts at K-State's Beef Cattle Institute. More information on this topic is available on a weekly podcast produced by the BCI.

He cited an example: “A bull with a calving ease EPD of 20 will typically sire calves with a shorter gestation and lighter birthweight than a bull with a calving ease EPD of 7. But there are potentially other problems to think about such as a light birthweight calf born in a snowstorm. The hypothermia issue is a much greater concern than the two assists a producer might have with a less extreme EPD.”

Speaking about Angus sires, Weaber said that bulls in the 7-9 range for calving ease EPD (breed average) matched with heifers will have an expected dystocia rate in the single digits. In other words, the risk for calving difficulty is low.

The experts agreed it is important for producers to find a balance in the traits.

“A small breeder who is going to use the same bull on the heifers and mature cows shouldn’t base the breeding decision solely on calving ease or they’ll be disappointed in the performance of the offspring from those matings,” Weaber said, noting that when speaking about performance, he is referring to the growth traits in the calves.

If females born to first-calf heifers bred to calving ease sires will be retained in the herd, Dr. Larson and Weaber advised that cow/calf producers include the maternal calving ease EPD in their decision.

Another factor to consider is the time of year the calves will be born.

“Calves born in the summer or fall tend to be lighter calves than calves born in the winter due to the seasonality affect,” Dr. Larson said.

Weaber encouraged producers to use all their mating evaluation tools when planning for the optimum herd performance.

He said, “There has been enough advancement with genomics and selection that we can have really acceptable levels of calving ease with outstanding levels of performance. Don’t immediately discount when buying a calving ease bull the performance of the calves coming from that mating. We can have both pieces today.”

More information on this topic is available on a weekly podcast produced by the Beef Cattle Institute.