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Avian Pathologist, Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Dr. Victoria Bowes, BSc., DVM, MSc, dip. ACPV
Find out more about her exciting career and contributions by clicking below My Job
Job Description: I provide specialized expertise in the diagnosis of disease in avian species.
Day in the life of your position: Probably the only routine part of my day is the first hour at work. I’ll read up on listservs and scientific articles dedicated to avian pathology and I’ll catch up on email correspondence. While waiting for new diagnostic cases to be submitted I work on finalizing any open cases. Throughout the day I provide telephone consultation to clients and colleagues. I serve on a number of committees related to animal health and welfare. On Wednesday morning we have rounds where we share interesting cases amongst the professional staff at the Animal Health Centre. The daily case load is quite unpredictable. Cases are submitted as needed by animal owners, practicing veterinarians, poultry & livestock producers, the SPCA, the Canadian Wildlife Service, the CFIA, and other government agencies.
Why would someone submit a case to the BCMAL Animal Health Centre? A case is submitted to find out why a bird or a group of birds has died or is displaying signs of illness. Knowing the specific disease allows the appropriate treatment to be initiated in other birds at risk. Steps can then be taken to prevent the disease in future flocks. The SPCA may bring in animals to support their investigations into animal abuse. We can then provide expert witness testimony as necessary.
What is involved with a case? The case can comprise of a whole dead bird, tissues, swabs or blood samples. A good history or description of the problem is essential. If the submission is a bird carcass I perform a necropsy, or post-mortem examination involving careful dissection. Often a presumptive diagnosis can be made based on the visible lesions. If any further testing is required I will harvest the appropriate samples and send them to different sections of the lab such as virology, bacteriology, or toxicology. As the results are generated, I’ll analyze them, formulate a diagnosis, and produce a final report. There may be follow-up telephone conversations with the submitter to discuss the results and any preventative measures to be taken. Another valuable service we provide is that we’ll also take into account the results for the bigger picture – could this be the beginning of a multi-farm outbreak? Is this a new disease we’ve never seen before? What are the public health implications?
Is it only birds at this location? The Animal Health Centre provides full diagnostic services for all species and we take animal health very seriously – it’s not only about helping the individuals who submitted the case and the animals in their care, but it’s also about ensuring that all BC’s animal populations remain healthy and sustainable. However, I’ m an Avian Pathologist (one of very few in Canada), and my expertise is specific to diseases in birds.
What happens to the birds once you’ve done a post-mortem? For bio-safety reasons, all animal remains are incinerated after we’ve finished testing.
My Career
Who do you work with? The Animal Health Centre has a team of veterinary pathologists that cover all the animal species and some wonderful lab scientists, technicians, and clerical support staff. We have veterinary specialists in virology, bacteriology, epidemiology and public health. I work very closely with the poultry extension veterinarian as part of the Avian Health Program. Like I said earlier, we work with a lot of outside agencies such as the SPCA, the Ministry of Environment, and the Canadian Wildlife Service. We do the all of the testing for Avian Influenza in wild birds as part of the national AI surveillance program. We collaborate with the BC-Centre for Disease Control (BC-CDC) in relation to animal diseases of public health significance. Recently, our staff has been working with them on some H1N1 work and we provide all of the corvid (crow etc.) testing for West Nile Virus as an early warning system for humans. Everyone here is very enthusiastic about their work. We’re very collegial and academic, and we keep each other excited about the work.
What tools do you need to succeed at your job? This laboratory facility is the main tool we need to be successful at our jobs. An office sanctuary and microscope are vital. Our employer helps us keep up our expertise by providing us with journal subscriptions, text books, academic conferences and any other intellectual tools that we need.
My History
What’s been you career path so far; what brought you to your current position? I’m doing exactly what I’ve always wanted to do, and I don’t see myself ever changing careers. My work is challenging, invigorating and intensely rewarding. I’ve been a diagnostic avian pathologist for 21 years, 20 of which have been in this position (I spent one year at the Winnipeg Vet Lab before being enticed to come to Abbotsford). Undergraduate veterinary training doesn’t provide a solid background in avian medicine but it does provide the general skills and abilities to learn from. The Veterinarian’s Oath includes the commitment to continual lifelong learning and I take that to heart. It’s a good day when I’ve learned something new. I’ve always been fascinated by birds, they are quite magical to me in their ability to fly and it was in vet school that I realized I really enjoyed pathology. I thought that if I understood the pathology aspect, then I would understand the clinical medicine better. I had an opportunity to receive post-graduate training with a world-renowned avian pathologist at the Ontario Vet College and from that point I went directly into that specialization. There are very few diagnostic avian pathologists in Canada. My position is quite unique in the niche that it fills.
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome? Without question, the biggest personal and professional challenge was the 2004 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak in commercial poultry in the Fraser Valley. I made the initial diagnosis and I immediately knew we were dealing with something very serious, but I didn’t realize how it would change the poultry industry, the work of the Animal Health Centre and the way that animal health emergencies are handled in this country. We were completely unprepared for the nature and scope of the outbreak. It took a huge emotional toll for everyone involved and we still talk about it to this day in hushed tones. That active outbreak lasted over 90 days - a time of chaos. The official disease control strategy involved the depopulation of millions of healthy birds which was heart-breaking, especially for veterinarians trained to do no harm and who have a special appreciation of the bond between humans and animals. Basically, we were at war with this awful disease and it took a while for us to gain control. It was quite traumatic and a true test of our courage, commitment and professionalism.
What were the outcomes of that outbreak? Five years later, we know we are now better prepared to detect, to respond to and to contain a poultry disease outbreak. A lot of work has been done and continues to be done so that we don’t experience those catastrophic losses again. Like I said, this was a true test of professionalism.
What do you mean by that? Just because you have the training or credentials doesn’t necessarily make you a professional. You can tell someone what their job is going to be and what they’re expected to do and anybody can do the job to that standard but I think that anyone that is driven by higher personal standards and self-directed dedication to their work is a true professional. We take ownership of our work and are accountable to ourselves first, and the job naturally benefits from that commitment.
What’s the most recurrent hurdle you overcome? Not so much a hurdle, but a recurring task is keeping on top of my discipline, self educating to new and emerging diseases, maintaining proficiency, and to be constantly learning.
My Thoughts
What value does your job bring to your community? There are several layers of value. We enhance the health and welfare of animals by understanding their diseases and how they are controlled and prevented. We help breeders and livestock producers maintain their production efficiencies, because poor health has a negative impact on productivity and profitability when you are engaged in an animal industry. Personally, I work more for the animals, and I think as the Animal Health Centre we provide a very strong greater good component. We monitor for the emergence of new diseases and take steps to control existing diseases. I’m a strong believer in the greater good of the government in looking out for the interests of all British Columbians. Our work also benefits the health of BC residents. We can quickly recognize and diagnose diseases that are communicable between animals and humans. We can identify animal diseases that may potentially impact food safety. We also assure that certain standards of care are provided to animals. Things like the humane transport of animals and basic animal husbandry – we educate animal owners to the best practices of animal care. We want to prevent unnecessary animal suffering. Another thing we do is provide closure to people who have lost pets. Knowing the definitive cause of death gives many people the assurance that they did their best for their pet.
That is a lot that you bring to the community! It’s humbling that we get to do so much good work, and work that we love to do. My career has been challenging and frustrating at times but I just can’t imagine doing anything else.
What do you think is in the future for BC? There’s always going to be animals in our lives – pets, wildlife, food – our role is to ensure that they’re healthy. As humans, we will always rely on pets for companionship and we’ll always need livestock to feed us. On top of that, we can’t ignore how wildlife, especially birds, adds to BC’s natural beauty. Wild animals are a shared natural resource that we want to ensure remains healthy for future generations to enjoy.
I think we are generally undervalued because many people don’t understand the significant roles we play in their daily lives. We’re ready and willing to take on huge amounts of responsibility. We set high personal standards and always work toward exceeding the expectations of others – we strive towards excellence because we’ve made a commitment to our profession from our soul. I think the productivity of professionals is unquestioned. I don’t know a professional who does a mediocre job or isn’t proud of their accomplishments. You just get more value for your money from professionals – a reliability and commitment to BC and a willingness to over extend. We are the people who drop everything in an emergency and step forward without question. We bring skills that go beyond our training.
What does the phrase Professionals Making a Difference in BC mean to you? We’re the silent engine – each one of us doing our individual jobs collectively makes it all work. We do make a difference, it may not be a loud and obvious one, but it is significant. A lot of us work outside the limelight and we’re happy to do so. We all appreciate that we have our piece of the puzzle that fits to complete the bigger picture.
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