Wisconsin-Madison leads nation in aquatic medicine

MADISON, Wisc. - 3/6/06 - An online training program for aquatic veterinary medicine was produced in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine's Dr. Michael Collins and the state's department of trade, agriculture and consumer protection.

The program was released Monday to complement the newly-developed Fish Health Medicine Certificate Program for veterinarians, which is modeled after a similar program Collins created with Department of Trade, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (DATCP) on Johne's disease.

This is the first program of its type in the nation. Though it's designed for Wisconsin veterinarians, the developers anticipate that other states will adopt it because trained veterinarians allow them to deal more effectively with emerging fish diseases as well as the resultant economic fallout if global trade partners implement trade controls.

In the past five years, the United States has experienced three of the diseases recognized worldwide as being major fish diseases, according to Dr. Myron Kebus of Wisconsin DATCP.

Veterinarians who successfully complete the certificate program will be knowledgeable about risk management, water quality, inspections and health assessments.

Development of the certificate program was supported by a United States Department of Agriculture grant through a Mississippi State University risk assessment program.

Veterinarians who want to participate in the new online Fish Health Medicine Certificate Program can find it at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicines Web site at http://vetmedce.vetmed.wisc.edu/fhm/.