An Adventure in Diseases

Dr. Dennis Hughes ('82)
In Dennis Hughes’ long career in both the private and public sectors he has had lots of “disease adventures.” “It’s been a wild and crazy ride with lots of ‘disease adventures’ we’ve had to eradicate or mitigate in my career,” Hughes said. Hughes is retiring as the state veterinarian with the Nebraska Department of Agriculture at the end of the calendar year. He became a veterinary field officer (field veterinarian) with the department in 1990, covering 18 counties of northeast Nebraska. He was selected as the Nebraska State Veterinarian in early 2005. During his tenure at NDA, Hughes enforced state and federal livestock programs and became proficient in animal disease diagnostics. As a field veterinarian, he was instrumental in the eradication of pseudorabies and brucellosis from Nebraska swine and cattle herds. As Nebraska State Veterinarian, he led several animal disease response events of concern to the livestock and poultry industry including avian influenza and bovine tuberculosis.