PURDUE    _,    ,
vererinor/ medical
VOLUME 8, NUMBER J
WINTER -SPRING 1982
University Bestows Honoris Causa
William J. Tietz, Jr. Fourth Veterinarian Honored by Purdue
The University's 130th Commencement
held on Saturday, 15 May, saw the conferral of 75 D.V.M. degrees, highest number
thus far from our program, and the awarding of an Honorary Doctor of Science degree to William J. Tietz, Jr., D.V.M., Ph.D.,
currently president of Montana State University. Dr. Tietz's name was presented
to the University Honorary Degree Committee upon the recommendation of the
faculty of the School of Veterinary Medicine. This is the fourth veterinarian with
academic experiences at Purdue to have
been awarded an honorary doctoral degree by the University.
Dr. Tietz is a native of Chicago and following U.S. Navy service he earned the
B.A. degree in zoology from Swarthmore
College. This was followed by an M.S.
degree in zoology from the University of
Wisconsin, the D.V.M. degree from Colorado State University and the Ph.D. degree from Purdue in 1961. He remained
on the faculty at Purdue, attaining the
rank of associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
and in 1964 returned to CSU as leader of
the Radiologic Health Laboratory. This
was a newly established laboratory supported by the Atomic Energy Commission and the National Institutes of Health
to monitor the long-term effect of low-
level radiation in Beagle dogs.  In 1967 he
was appointed Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics and
William J. Tietz, Jr.
served in 1970-71 as vice president of
Student and University Relations, before
being appointed dean of the College of
Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in 1971. In 1977 he accepted the
presidency of Montana State University
and also became vice chairman of the
Board of Directors of the Montana Ener
gy  Research and Development Institute.
Dr. Tietz's main professional-scientific interests were in mammalian physiology.
His efforts were primarily in the area of
neurophysiology with emphasis on the effects of radiation on the central nervous
system and the developing fetus. His
work on the effects of X-irradiation on
the implanting canine blastocyst is particularly noteworthy. Colleague recognition in 1971 saw him elected to the presidency of the American Association of
Veterinary Physiologists and Pharmacologists and in 1975 he was elected president
of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. He served as a consultant to Mississippi State University as
that institution implemented an educational program in veterinary medicine and
also served as an appointed member of
the National Institutes of Health Research   Resources Advisory Council.    He
currently  is chairman of the Commission
on Veterinary Medicine, National Association of State Universities and Land
Grant Colleges.
While serving as dean at CSU, one of his
major accomplishments was the development of a project with the Navajo Health
Authority in Window Rock, Arizona.
The basic thrust of this program is to provide  improved  health  care  to the herds
and flocks of the Navajo Indian Reservation in Southwestern United Slates. Centered primarily at CSU, the program was
national in scope and provided opportunities for veterinary medical students across
the nation to participate directly in the
program affording unique experiences in
animal husbandry and animal disease prevention and management. Also while
dean, he was able to convince eight western states to collectively fund, over a period of years, a veterinary medical teaching hospital on the CSU campus. This
teaching hospital was a part of the professional D.V.M. degree program which accommodated students from those states.
This was an achievement without precedent in any section of higher education in
that eight-state region.
While serving as vice president for Student Services at CSU in the early 1970's
his interpersonal skills with students and
faculty calmed many stressful situations
during that period of campus unrest. As
president of Montana State University, he
has seen enrollments continue to increase
and fiscal resources continue to improve
which is the reverse of the trend in much
of higher education.
Dr. William J. Tietz, Jr. is a builder. Everything with which he associates improves as the result of his ability and energy. There are very few who can match
his overall qualifications, and Purdue University is proud to claim him as one of
her distinguished products.
J.J. Stockton
Diagnosing Mycoplasmal Pneumonia of Swine
ELISA May Provide Reliable Diagnosing of MPS
Mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS)
is one of the world's most important diseases due to the fact that it has a high attack rate, occurs in all of the hog producing regions of the world and causes severe
economic losses. The causative agent of
MPS is Mycoplasma (M.) hyopneumoniae,
a fastidious organism that has been difficult to grow in the laboratory. Problems
in growing the agent have hampered the
development of reliable diagnostic procedures.
Most cases of MPS arc diagnosed solely
on the basis of lesions. The lesions induced by M. hyopneumoniae are characteristic. However, they are not specific,
and therefore are not a reliable means of
making a definitive diagnosis. A definitive diagnosis requires that M. hyopneumoniae be visualized microscopically by a
method such as the fluorescent antibody
(FA) procedure or that it be isolated culturally. The FA procedure is inexpensive,
specific and rapid. However, it is not as
sensitive as one would wish; i.e., a negative examination does not prove absence
of infection. The cultural examination is
the most sensitive method of diagnosing
MPS. Unfortunately it is expensive and
time-consuming, and consequently, its
use is limited. Both the FA and cultural
examinations are used at Purdue's Animal
Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. The FA
test is used routinely and the cultural examination is used in special cases when
negative FA results are obtained. This ap-
T. Huffman
t sens
Ms. Linda Sands-Freeman and Drs. Chuck
Armstrong and Jim Freeman examine results of an ELISA study. An automated
processor-reader, interfaced with a computer, is used in the serology research.
proach provides a reliable means of diagnosing MPS, but has the disadvantage that
the suspect animal must be sacrified.
There is an obvious need for a reliable
antemortem test that can be applied on a
large-scale basis. Several serologic procedures are being used, but none is completely reliable due to lack of sensitivity
(which causes false negative results) and/
or lack of specificity (which gives false
positive results). This matter is being investigated at Purdue University by Drs.
M. James Freeman, Lewis J. Runnels,
Alan B. Scheidt, Ms. Linda Sands-Freeman
and Dr. Charles H. Armstrong. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELI
SA) is being used in this research. Initial
studies revealed that the ELISA was very
sensitive but that it was not completely
specific. Further research has revealed
that the probable cause of the non-specificity is the existence of another porcine
respiratory mycoplasma called M. floccu-
lare, an organism first discovered in Denmark in 1972. Mycoplasma flocculare, a
non-pathogenic agent, appears to have a
world-wide distribution and an attack rate
similar to M. hyopneumoniae. The two
species are related antigenically; i.e., antibodies to one species cross-react with anti-
T. Huffman
Dr. AI Scheidt delivering pigs by caesar-
ian-section. The pigs will be deprived of
colostrum (to prevent the acquisition of
maternal antibody) and used to study the
immunogenicity of Mycoplasma infections.
gen of the other species. Thus, in performing field tests, one is apt to encoun-
See Mycoplasmal Pneumonia, page 3