HVMC’s Ladies of the Lab
Posted at 10:09 am March 23, 2006 by Valerie StoddardThe Harter Veterinary Medical Center (HVMC) is privileged to be among the most state-of-the-art facilities in the world – if not the most – for treating exotic animals. One area at HVMC that is essential to its daily operation is our clinical laboratory, which was made possible by a generous donation from Audrey Geisel, wife of the late Theodore Geisel (a.k.a. “Dr. Seuss”). The HVMC laboratory processes over 400 samples each month so veterinarians can review and evaluate the results. That’s almost 5,000 in a year!
As you might imagine, there are many similarities between animal and human laboratory work, but there are vast differences as well. Some of the most complicated aspects are the large number of exotic animal species that exist, and the fact that, unlike their human counterparts, there are very few resources available from which to provide normal ranges for comparison and standardization of these species. Because of the many variations in cell structures and parasites, the laboratory technicians are, in effect, entering uncharted territory each time a sample is processed and examined.
That uncharted territory also happens to be one of the most enjoyable aspects of their job, according to Laura Keener, clinical laboratory manager, and HVMC senior laboratory technicians Donna Shephard and Debbie Fisher. For them, every day brings exploration and discovery, and the ability to provide valuable information to veterinarians in order to care for the animals at the Wild Animal Park, all 3,000 or more of them! While being a laboratory technician for exotic animals is certainly a demanding career, it is also very rewarding.
A not-so-common procedure for the laboratory technicians occurred two weeks ago when six lesser spot-nosed guenons were brought to the HVMC’s specially constructed primate quarantine facility after arriving from Singapore. Any time an animal enters the hospital for quarantine purposes, it must be examined and have blood and fecal samples taken to evaluate for the presence of any disease or parasites. Blood is also taken to harvest serum (the clear, yellow fluid portion of the blood that remains after coagulation and removal of the red blood cells by centrifugation) for storage or “banking.” Banked serum is stored for future use if needed for retrospective studies in the event of a disease occurrence.
The process for examining primates in this extremely protective environment is very complex. Standard precautions for primates in international quarantine require the laboratory technicians to work within a special bio-safety “hood” (a metal “box” with a protective plexiglass door in which the technicians process the primate samples, pictured at right), and wear head-to-toe protection, including a custom-fitted mask that covers the mouth and nose. A face shield and two pairs of gloves are also used for full protection as required by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These precautions are imposed by the CDC for the protection of the primates and those who care for them, though there is an extremely low risk of any zoonotic disease transmission.
The personal protective equipment also presents a very unique situation for our laboratory technicians: it is very awkward to see with the plastic shield between their eyes and the lenses of the microscope! Additionally, the full-body suits they must wear are very hot and uncomfortable, and it can take hours to process six sets of primate samples. Our hospital laboratory technicians were up to the task, however, with nearly 45 years of experience between the two of them!
The San Diego Zoo’s Clinical Pathology Laboratory remains one of the largest laboratories of any zoo in existence today. In addition to HVMC’s two senior laboratory technicians, the Zoo laboratory, which is also managed by Laura Keener, employs four technicians. The importance of these laboratory technicians’ work to the care and research of the animals we are responsible for cannot be overstated, and the work that Debbie and Donna do for us each day at Harter Veterinary Medical Center is something we are all very proud of; they are consummate medical professionals. Thank you, ladies!
Valerie Stoddard is the senior administrative assistant at the Wild Animal Park’s Harter Veterinary Medical Center.
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March 23rd, 2006 at 6:25 pm
Back in the 1960s, straight out of college, I worked in a hospital lab for 7 years. Very early every morning we made the rounds drawing blood and collecting samples, then spent the day working in Hematology, Chemistry, Microbiology, Histology, etc. The patient contact and the knowledge that the doctors and nurses were depending on us to produce fast and accurate analyses were wonderfully rewarding and sometimes frightening; after all, a mistake could kill someone.
Many patients and doctors pretty much ignored us as ” vampires” or ” lab rats,” but there were always a few good people who would take the time to come down to the lab, stick their head in the door, and say ” Thank you.”
It’s tough enough producing fast, accurate results under ordinary conditions; I can only imagine how hard it is wearing full PPE under high contamination control protocols. Many, many kudos to Debbie and Donna. I’ve been there – in a small way – and I have the highest respect for them and the work they do. And thanks to you, Valerie, for reminding us of all the unsung heroes who help keep our precious creatures healthy. You obviously have a great team at HVMC.
March 24th, 2006 at 9:52 am
Thank you, ladies of the lab!!!