Author: jsodani

Letter from the President – Fall 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, fellow veterinarians!

We are coming up to one of my favorite times of the year: the annual HVMA Conference! And this year, we’ll be enjoying a new venue: the Hawaii Convention Center! In addition to the great CE sessions that have been organized, the conference also represents a time where we can see old friends and meet new members of our veterinary community. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so! And if you have already registered, please encourage other veterinarians that you work with to register as well! Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff are all welcome!

As our organization and the profession continue to evolve, please let us know what directions you’d like to see us take or discuss issues that are important to you with us. Your island representatives and board members are here to listen. There are many opportunities for participation on our committees if you’d like to increase your level of involvement as well.

Lastly, after the conference, I’ll be stepping down as President. Serving in that role been one of the greatest honors of my career. We have much work ahead of us for our organization and our profession, and I look forward to working alongside our new President, Heather Kihara, in the coming years!

With deepest gratitude,
Jenee

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – Summer 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha, everyone! I hope this message finds you well in these final days of summer! Like many of you, I have had the pleasure of seeing students who I’ve mentored apply to veterinary school and start their journey toward becoming veterinarians. I always take a moment to relive certain moments of my path, like the stress of typing applications (the days before we had personal computers) and the unbelievable joy when I got my letter of acceptance.

You may have noticed that there have been a number of new veterinary programs that have been established throughout the US. This is good news for the profession as it makes vet school more accessible to potential applicants and, therefore, will ensure that there are enough new graduates to fulfill the need for veterinary services. It does make me wonder whether Hawaii could start thinking about starting a 2+2 program in conjunction with one of our WICHE PSEP partners or another existing veterinary school. I’m curious to hear what your views on this are, and hopefully, we can start having some real conversations about this over the next few years. 

The rest of this newsletter contains information about our upcoming conference, annual business meeting, and other activities. If you would like to get involved with any of the committees, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – April 2024

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha everyone! I hope you are all content and well this Spring! The 2023 Honesty and Ethics Gallup Poll was recently published, and I was pleased to see that veterinarians hold the 2nd highest approval rating amongst professionals. This is in part due to the perception the public has that veterinarians are compassionate and dedicated to helping animals and their owners. The Pet Expo is a perfect example of this, so please volunteer a few hours of your time to support this free public event! 

HVMA has been closely watching the Non-Veterinary Surgical Bills (SB 2562 and HB 1527). The current House and Senate versions are slightly different and will go back to committee for final revisions prior to approval. We are lucky to have Senator Tim Richards, DVM in the State Legislature, and he will advocate for the best language to close the current loophole allowing owners to perform surgery on their animals, whilst allowing livestock producers to continue to perform customary husbandry procedures. 

Dairy cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Idaho, North Carolina, and South Dakota have been found to be infected with avian influenza virus Type A H5N1. This is the same virus that causes Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in birds; however, the disease in cattle is not characterized by high morbidity and mortality.  It is important to note that pasteurization of milk kills pathogens in milk, including the influenza virus, so there is no threat to human health from milk and dairy products. This virus has not been detected in Hawaii, but farms containing multiple species such as poultry, swine, or cattle should continue to strengthen their biosecurity programs to prevent the introduction or spread of disease. The Center for Food Security and Public Health has excellent resources for developing a biosecurity program for various species.

See you at the Pet Expo! 

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – January 2024

2023 HVMA Hui
70th Annual Business Meeting

As I write this message, the new year is just beginning, and I find that it’s a time for reflection on the past and looking forward to new accomplishments in the future. The HVMA annual conference last November was a success thanks to the hard work of Dr. Yoshicedo and the conference committee. The dance party after the Saturday dinner was so much fun! 

The HVMA has a busy year planned for 2024. We will be tracking animal-related bills this legislative session and will share more information in the next few weeks. We are also going to continue disaster planning with the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency. Later this year, we will be electing new officers to the board, so if you are interested or have a great nominee in mind, please let us know!

Please renew your membership early this year and encourage your colleagues to join as well. The benefits of HVMA membership can be found here. Please share the HVMA scholarship application with any current veterinary students that you know. 

In closing, I hope that 2024 sees that you and your loved ones have new happiness, new goals, and new achievements! 

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Letter from the President – October 2023

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

Aloha fellow veterinarians!

We are coming up to one of my favorite times of the year: the annual HVMA Conference!

Apart from the great CE sessions that have been organized, the conference also represents a time where we can see old friends and meet new members of our veterinary community. If you haven’t yet registered, please do so! And if you have already registered, please encourage other veterinarians that you work with to register as well. Veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary staff are all welcome!

As our organization and the profession continue to evolve, please let us know what directions you’d like to see us take, or feel free to discuss issues that are important to you with us. Your island representatives and board members are here to listen. There are many opportunities for participation on our committees if you’d like to increase your level of involvement as well.

One thing that the recent wildfire tragedies on Maui have shown us was how quickly veterinarians are willing to stand up to help animals in need and each other. So many of you have volunteered your time and donated supplies and funds to help efforts on the ground; I struggle to find the words to adequately describe the collective greatness you have shown. Going forward, however, we need evaluate what we have learned and find ways to improve our statewide emergency readiness. Stay tuned for more information in the coming months!

Hope to see you all soon!

Jenee Odani, DVM, DACVP
HVMA President

African Swine Fever

African Swine Fever (ASF) virus is a highly contagious Asfivirus that can cause serious disease and death in domestic and feral swine. The disease originated in Africa, then spread to Europe (2007) and Asia (2018). In 2021, the disease was detected in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, marking the first time the disease was diagnosed in the western hemisphere in 40 years.

ASFV is transmitted directly between pigs or indirectly via Ornithodoros ticks, ingestion of infected meat, or fomites. Meat from infected animals can remain infectious for up to 5 months.

After exposure, the incubation period is between 3-19 days. In the peracute form, sudden death may be observed. In the acute form, pigs demonstrate high fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abortion, and mortality (up to 100%). Less virulent subacute or chronic forms are often seen with less intense symptoms and lower mortality. A small number of animals can become lifelong carriers. No vaccine or treatment for this disease exists. The disease does not infect humans and poses no food safety threat.

International travelers should understand the risk of bringing ASF into the US, declare items and farm visits to US Customs, and avoid farms or locations with pigs for at least 5 days upon return.

Meet a Local Vet – Anya Cotliarenko

Dr. Anya Cotliarenko

Anya Cotliarenko, BVetMed, MPVM, has been the Hawaii Liaison Veterinary Medical Officer for the USDA APHIS Vet Services since July 2021, filling the position vacated by Dr. Tim Falls when he retired at the end of 2020. She is originally from the Pacific Northwest and is a graduate of Royal Veterinary College/University of London. 

Following graduation, she completed an internship at the Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center, an exclusive equine veterinary practice in central California. She then decided to pursue veterinary public health and completed a Master of Preventive Veterinary Medicine degree at UC Davis before joining USDA/FSIS. 

She served in several roles during her seven years of service with FSIS: Enforcement Investigations and Analysis Officer; Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian (SPHV), and Supervisory Veterinary Medical Officer/Frontline Supervisor. She started as a VS field veterinarian in the Ontario District of California from September 2019. While there, she helped close out the 2018 vND outbreak and assisted in the development of CAHEN (California Avian Health Education Network) program: an education/outreach program for backyard poultry producers geared toward decreasing the risks associated with introducing Newcastle disease into the US.

She and her husband Guilherme have two children, Enzo (5) and Anita (2), one dog and two cats. Her other interests include Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, running (has completed 3 marathons!), water sports, photography, painting, piano, and equestrian activities.

In Remembrance – Lei Yamasaki

The Hawaii Veterinary Medical Association regretfully reports the unexpected passing of Dr. Lei Sachiko Yamasaki, D.V.M., M.S. on May 8, 2021. Lei was born and raised in Honolulu, HI, graduated from Roosevelt High School, and earned a B.A. in Zoology (with a Marine Options Program Certificate) at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. She completed an M.S. degree in Animal Sciences also at UHM, and she received her DVM from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. During her years as a student, she participated in many programs that led to cherished friendships and future collaborations, including: Hanauma Bay, Oceanic Institute, HDOA Aquaculture Development Program, AquaVet I/II, Los Angeles Zoo, University of Arizona Aquaculture Pathology Laboratory, USGS Honolulu Field Station, USDA APHIS/Veterinary Services, and the University of Florida Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory.

Following graduation, she returned to Hawaii to work at Moana Technologies, LLC and in 2012 joined the Hawaii Department of Agriculture as the Aquaculture Veterinary Medical Officer. At HDOA, she supervised the Hawaii Shrimp Health Certification Program and provided dedicated diagnostic and regulatory services to support the aquaculture industry that she loved. She worked on projects relating to the presence of Nile tilapia and Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis in Hawaii and molecular and histologic diagnostics for fish/shrimp/oyster pathogens. She supported education and aquaculture in the community as a Hawaii State Science & Engineering Fair judge, Technical Committee member for the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture, Advisory Subcommittee member on invertebrate and aquatic biota for the State of Hawaii, and many other events with endless energy and a smile that lit up every room.

Lei was a lifelong scholar and never tired of pursuing new projects or learning new things. Yet she still managed to carve time out to enjoy the natural beauty of the world through her hobbies of surfing, hiking, fishing, traveling, conservation, and animal rescue. She was a dedicated and respected veterinarian whose love of animals was evident in the menagerie of animals that she cared for over the years: her beloved Simon, Emma, Mao, Copper, Atsila, and many others.

Lei will be forever remembered and missed by her family (parents Michael and Joann, sister Ann), friends, and colleagues from around the world.