W - College of Veterinary Medicine - Oregon State University

Department News
West Nile Virus Vaccinations Recommended
Biomedical Sciences Updates
New Faculty
Dr. Ling Jin joined the College
as assistant professor this fall
to teach virology. She is also
the new section head for the
Virology Diagnostic Lab.
Dr. Jin received her DVM from
Nanjing Agricultural University
in Nanjing, China, and her PhD
(1999) from the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Her research interests include
the pathogenesis of the herpes
virus, host and virus interaction
in the central nervous system,
and mechanism of herpes virus
latency-reactivation cycles.
Dr. Daniel D. Rockey recently
came back to OSU as associate
professor of bacteriology. Dr.
Rockey received his PhD at
Now that the West Nile virus has
arrived in Oregon, veterinarians
throughout the state should
consider increasing the urgency
of their recommendations to
clients regarding vaccinating horses and
other equids, says Rocky Baker, virology
lab supervisor in the Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory (VDL). The mortality rate for
horses becoming ill with West Nile virus
is 30–40 percent.
Many vertebrate animals may become
infected with the virus, but most species do
not exhibit any signs of infection. “They
may appear depressed for a day or two, but
there will be no real signs of the disease,”
he says. “In mammals, the risk of West Nile
encephalitis appears highest in equids.”
He says it’s important for veterinarians
to be aware that the disease has been
detected so tests can be run in a timely
manner and thereby increase the chances
of saving the animal’s life.
“Eventually West Nile virus will become
endemic in Oregon like it is back
OSU in 1989. His research interests
include chlamydia, pathogenesis disease,
sexually transmitted disease, trachoma,
and cell biology.
Dr. Manoj Pastey has accepted an
assistant professor position to teach
immunology. Dr. Pastey received his
BVSc from the University of Agricultural
Sciences, Bangalore, India, and his
master’s and PhD (1996) from the
University of Maryland. He has board
certification from the American College of
Veterinary Microbiologists in virology and
immunology, and prior to this position
was a Research Fellow at the National
Institutes of Health. His research field is
HIV-1 and respiratory syncytial virus.
Dr. Siobhan Baggot, joined the faculty as
instructor for gross and microscopic
Page 14 O S U V E T E R I N A R Y J O U R N A L
East, then we’ll just have to live with it,”
he says. “But until that point, veterinarians
need to know it’s around so they don’t
waste their time on wrong treatments.”
Baker says that until August of 2004,
the VDL had received about 100 bird
samples to test for the virus. Between
mid-August and mid-October, after the
first positive case was discovered in Vale,
Oregon, they tested more than 200 birds.
The lab uses a polymerase chain reaction
test to detect the virus.
“It’s a great technique because we
don’t have to replicate the virus,” says
Baker. “And it’s quick—it only takes a
couple of hours.” Baker’s lab detected the
virus in a crow that was found near the
steps of the Benton County Courthouse
on September 30.
Baker and Drs. Donald Mattson
and Michelle Kutzler recently published
a paper in the Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association called
Humoral response to West Nile virus
vaccination in alpacas and llamas.
anatomy. She received her DVM in 2001
and her master’s in 2004 from Oregon
State University.
Faculty Changes
Dr. Rob Bildfell was promoted to associate
professor with indefinite tenure.
Dr. Luiz Bermudez was promoted to
professor.
Dr. Susan Tornquist was elected chair
of the Clinical Pathology Specialty group
of the American College of Veterinary
Pathologists and chair of the 2004
American Society of Veterinary Clinical
Pathologists program committee for their
annual meeting.
Continued on page 15