Deducing Domestic Animal Disease

Dr. Hana Van Campen has many aliases; sometimes she is called a pet detective, while other times, she is referred to as an "interpreter of results". This is because, in her field of veterinary sciences, she is a jack of all trades.

Having been performing these investigations for over 20 years, she has diagnosed a vast amount of animals and has encountered over 80,000 medically significant cases, making her very knowledgeable in her area of expertise. In general, she diagnoses companion animals and livestock, such as dogs, horses and sheep.

"We get calls from all kinds of clients coming to us with problems with everything from rabies to parasites," Dr. Van Campen said. "Basically, we collaborate with other virologists and microbiologists in order to develop new tests and find new results to create preventative measures and even possible solutions."

Working with a team of researchers, she collects data from samples including worms, animal tissue, muscles and bacteria in order to find what ails animals; this includes doing field investigations. Dr. Van Campen will often be called to farms or certain habitats in order to carry on her research.

Her focus of study is currently Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus (BVDV), a major virus that affects many cattle in the western areas of the United States. The pathogen, which often goes undetected, is responsible for the premature abortion of cattle fetuses.

According to a survey done by the Journal of Veterinary Investigation, the Diagnostic Medical Center, Dr. Van Campen's base of operations, is one of the 55 percent of diagnostic laboratories that studies this disease.

Since the facilities and tests are not supported by the state of Colorado, the Diagnostic Medical Center must fund their own studies by charging fees for test results. However, because there are so many reports and requests for testing, funds are not necessarily a problem for them.

Although the bulk of Dr. Van Campen's work involves the interpretation of lab results and data, she also teaches undergraduates at Colorado State University as a professor; in the fall, she teaches virology and molecular science, while in the spring, she focuses on teaching veterinary classes.

She also gives presentations, teaching CSU students about her work as well as enlightening them about her process of deduction as a pet detective. Much of her audience is made up of microbiology majors who find themselves engaged in her studies.

Adrian Bedrarski, a freshman and microbiology major, was among those who found her most recent presentation, a case study on horses that were suddenly becoming ill with no signs of disease, to be fascinating.

"I initially showed up just to meet new students, and was curious about what the topic was," Bedrarski said between bites of pizza. "I had heard that Van Campen was an interesting professor, and her presentation turned out to be really cool."

With her wide range of experience and knowledge, Dr. Hana Van Campen seeks to educate students, Veterinary residents and farmers, while continuing her research in hopes that potential cures can be found and the cycle of animal disease can be reduced significantly.