Scholarships to rid the world of farmyard diseases

 

As outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu continues to occur in poultry and people in Asia, Africa and the rest of the world, there are no signs of the disease going away.

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With that in mind, the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is launching four scholarships funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) for their MSc in Veterinary Epidemiology.

This has been set up to help combat the worldwide shortage of scientists specialised in infection and disease control within animal and human populations.

Due to funding from the BBSRC, the RVC can now offer full-time or part-time scholarships for students resident in the UK who meet the BBSRC criteria to study veterinary epidemiology at postgraduate level.

The scholarships include the course fees as well as upkeep for the year.

Five years ago, millions of sheep and cattle suspected to have foot-and-mouth disease were culled in the UK.

Today, farmers are on full alert as the virulent avian influenza virus in wild birds and poultry is reported in country after country around the world.

One of the biggest fears resulting from the spread of H5N1 is that the disease could be transmitted into humans.

There has never been a greater need to invest in researching the spread of infectious diseases, especially those that spread between animals and humans.

"Although the UK is leading the way in training people in veterinary epidemiology, there still aren’t enough skilled professionals to service this growing need," said Professor Dirk Pfeiffer, Professor of Veterinary Epidemiology at the Royal Veterinary College.

"Government develops policy control measures to limit the spread of infectious diseases on the basis of scientific evidence and epidemiologists make a significant contribution to this policy development.

"This is why we need to invest in students so that they have the skills to do this in future."

Joint teaching

The RVC’s course is taught by four organisations; the RVC (animal epidemiology), London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (human epidemiology), the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (veterinary surveillance and epidemiology) and DEFRA (UK government surveillance).

"Veterinary epidemiology is like detective work, trying to identify the reasons behind occurrence of disease," explained Professor Pfeiffer.

"You’re piecing together information from many scientific disciplines including microbiology, ecology, social sciences and animal husbandry in order to understand how a disease is spreading. 

"This is exactly what scientists are trying to do with the spread of avian flu at the moment. They investigate how contact is made between wild and farmed birds, whether other animals - such as rats or cats - can carry and transmit the virus and how humans interact with birds."

The RVC is seeking applications from graduates with a degree in veterinary science or medicine, or an honours degree (first or second class) in biological science, medicine, mathematics or statistics, preferably with relevant post-graduation or work experience.

Job opportunities after successful completion of the MSc include a variety of UK, European or international governmental organisations such as DEFRA, the Veterinary Laboratory Agency and the World Health Organisation, in addition to the possibility of working in academic or purely research environments. 

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