Description of Externship:

The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) is a cooperative group established in 1957 as the first regional laboratory dedicated to the diagnosis and research of diseases affecting free-ranging wildlife species. Students should understand that our focus is on the population health of wildlife species, not the veterinary care of individual animals. In addition to the well-being of wildlife populations, SCWDS has made extensive contributions to human health concerns, through a better understanding of zoonotic diseases involving wildlife, and to the protection of animal industry through insights into diseases transmissible between wildlife and domestic animals. Mammalian and avian diseases garner the greatest portion of our effort. Specific activities currently in progress or recently completed at SCWDS include investigations of the epidemiology of tick-borne zoonoses; the pathogenesis and routes of transmission of vesicular stomatitis virus in swine; the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium ssp paratuberculosis in wildlife species; the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer; the pathogenesis of avian vacuolar myelinopathy; and numerous other activities. For a more complete assessment of SCWDS activities, students should visit our website at www.uga.edu/scwds/. SCWDS externs are exposed to varied experiences depending upon the projects being conducted during their stay in Athens. During periods of intensive field investigations students may spend a significant portion of their time in the field. At other times, diagnostic accessions and laboratory work may be the focus of the student‚s experience. Externs are expected to willingly participate in any such activities, whether they involve field work or laboratory work. In addition to hands on experience in the laboratory or field, students are encouraged to examine the autotutorial materials that are available. These will be followed by discussion with SCWDS faculty and may be supplemented by literature reviews of selected topics. Additionally, each student will conduct an extensive literature review of a wildlife health issue. Interested students are encouraged to visit the SCWDS website for additional information about the extern program as well as application materials.

Contact:
Kevin Keel, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP
SE Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study
College of Veterinary Medicine
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602
Phone: 706-542-1741
Fax: 706-542-5865
Email: kkeel@vet.uga.edu

Updated: 6/26/07

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