Housing & health: A guide to evidence based investigation of housing and BRD, with John Donlon, MVB, PhD, PGDip VCP, DipECBHM

What Delegates Will Learn:

• A Systematic framework for the housed environment investigations: a structured, evidence-based approach for identifying and resolving housing risk factors for BRD. Focusing on categorizing environmental variables into those that have a direct effect on the respiratory tract and those that have a more general effect of calf health. 
• An introduction to the air microbiome: The role of airborne bacteria and viruses in respiratory health.
• Architecture vs. Management: Identifying critical housing design flaws that influence disease pressure and management techniques to improve pre-existing housing. 

Dr John Donlon, MVB, PhD, PGDip VCP, DipECBHM, 

Lecturer in Veterinary Medicine, Atlantic Technological UniversityJohn gained his veterinary degree from UCD in 2018 and went on to complete an internship in production animal practice with the Royal Veterinary College. He returned to UCD in 2019 to complete his PhD and ECBHM residency.

His PhD title was “Characterisation of preweaning dairy calf respiratory disease in Irish dairy farms with focus on the relationship between housing environment and respiratory disease prevalence”. He has subsequently worked as the beef herd health research officer for Teagasc (Ireland’s agricultural research agency). John has been co-investigator on projects focused on topics such as Summer Scour Syndrome and calf microbiome development. He is now a lecturer in veterinary medicine in Atlantic Technological University. His research interests include investigating the air microbiome in calf housing and early life interventions to improve the health of Irish dairy-beef calves. He is a member of the Animal Health Ireland calf care technical working group. 

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