“The role of veterinarians in protecting society is underappreciated. We do more than just take care of fleas, bathe mascots and vaccinate Pooch.”

—DR. JUAN LUBROTH, chief veterinary officer of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, at whose headquarters in Rome health officials announced the eradication of rinderpest, or "cattle plague," the second disease to be wiped out of existence. (The first was smallpox.) A relative of the measles virus, rinderpest infected cattle, buffalo, yaks, deer, pigs and giraffes, among other animals; the most virulent strains wiped out whole herds and starved the humans who relied on them. The eradication was the work of many brave veterinarians who canvassed vast, war-torn and remote areas to track the disease and vaccinate herds. [via The New York Times]