Zoonotic disease expert to speak at WCVM

Veterinary microbiologist Dr. Scott Weese will speak about links between pets, humans and health at the WCVM on December 4. Photo courtesy of Dr. Scott Weese.Dr. Scott Weese of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College will be talking about links between pets, zoonotic diseases and animal and public health during a noon-hour presentation at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in early December.

Dr. Scott Weese of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College will be talking about links between pets, zoonotic diseases and animal and public health during a noon-hour presentation at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in early December.

Weese is an associate professor in the OVC’s Department of Pathobiology and a public health and zoonotic disease microbiologist for the University of Guelph’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

His one-hour presentation, “Fluffy and Fido . . . friend or foe: The animal and public health consequences of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance,” will take place from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 4, in Room 2115.

Weese will be giving the 2012 J.G. O’Donoghue Memorial Lecture at the WCVM. Established in 1981, this memorial lecture series honours the memory of the late Dr. J.G. O’Donoghue, Alberta’s former deputy minister of agriculture. The fund supports lectures at the University of Alberta and the WCVM by outstanding veterinarians or scientists in related fields.

Weese previously visited the WCVM during the spring of 2011 and spoke about the issue of whether spending time with our pets can make us sick. The veterinary microbiologist is a well-known instructor, lecturer and researcher whose program focuses on infectious diseases — particularly those that can be transmitted between animals and people.

He also co-ordinates the popular Worms and Germs Blog with Maureen Anderson, a colleague at the OVC’s Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses.

After graduating with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and spending time in private practice, Weese completed an large animal internal medicine residency and Doctor of Veterinary Science graduate program. He is board certified in internal medicine by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and is Chief of Infection Control at the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital.

Weese lives outside of Guelph, Ontario with his family and a collection of pets, including a dog, cat, fish and a herd of rare-breed sheep.