Agreement To Facilitate International Collaboration On Avian Influenza Is SignedJune 18, 2007A Framework Agreement to facilitate greater collaboration between the United States Department of Agriculture and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization was signed Wednesday. The agreement, which was signed by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, will help address animal diseases, including avian influenza. “This agreement will facilitate greater international coordination and collaboration on a broad range of agricultural issues and help to protect our agricultural systems,” Johanns said. “I believe the benefits will be immediate by enhancing the worldwide response to highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.” The agreement will also bolster the effectiveness of the Crisis Management Center in Rome, Johanns said. The center, operated by FAO and the World Organization for Animal Health, provides animal disease analysis and deploys international resources to prevent and contain animal diseases. The center is currently focusing on avian influenza. Three USDA specialists are assigned to the center. Johanns also provided an update on USDA’s efforts concerning avian influenza. The USDA has focused on international efforts, wild bird monitoring, domestic poultry monitoring and avian influenza research. As part of its international efforts, the USDA is hosting a workshop this week in Washington to prepare 50 volunteers from more than …
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Acetaminophen Found In Dog, Cat FoodJune 7, 2007Pet food from multiple brands tested positive for acetaminophen, a common pain-reliever drug found in Tylenol, according to a Texas laboratory. Both wet and dry dog and cat food samples contained a low concentration of acetaminophen, Donna Coneley, a spokesperson for ExperTox of Deer Park, Texas, told Pet Product News International via e-mail correspondence. Calls to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding this new development were not immediately returned. The agency has not confirmed or denied the finding. In business since 1995, ExperTox was asked by “individuals or manufacturers” to analyze the pet food samples, Coneley said. The company declined to name which pet foods had positive tests for acetaminophen, saying only that there were “multiple” brands involved. ExperTox also found cyanuric acid and/or melamine in some of the samples, Coneley added. Pets that ingest acetaminophen might show signs of depression, weakness or difficulty breathing, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Cats might also have swollen paws or faces, the nonprofit agency said.
Admininstering ZubrinMay 24, 2007Zubrin (tepoxalin) tablets are a veterinarian-prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in dogs to reduce pain and inflammation due to osteoarthritis. Zubrin tablets are available as seemingly tasteless, rapidly disintegrating tablets that can easily be hidden in food or in a moist treat. Zubrin is approved only for oral use in dogs. It is not approved or intended for injection or intravenous use, and veterinarians are advised not to use it in that manner. A quote in a story about NSAIDs in the May issue of Veterinary Practice News indicated otherwise. Zubrin is manufactured by Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation. More information about Zubrin is available at www.zubrin.com.
Analgesic Considerations For Oral SurgeryApril 24, 2007Analgesics are an essential component to treating a variety of painful oral conditions in dogs and cats. Chronic pain and acute pain associated with oral surgery comprise the majority of pain states where analgesics are considered. Individual patient circumstances vary considerably and knowledge of individual agents and their mechanisms help us choose the correct analgesics for each patient. Surgical Pain National Pet Dental Health Month in February is a reminder of the importance of providing state-of-the-art oral care for our patients year round. Managing periodontal disease is by far the most common problem we encounter as general practitioners and specialists alike. Proper diagnosis of periodontal lesions involves a complete oral examination, periodontal probing and full-mouth dental radiography. Periodontal lesion therapy involves painful procedures including periodontal flap surgery and tooth extraction, requiring appropriate analgesic choices. Pre-emptive intraoperative and postoperative pain control should be considered in cases where surgical manipulation is expected to result in postoperative pain. A multimodal approach dictates the use of two or more analgesics to eliminate high doses required when using individual agents. Pure mu agonist opiates such as morphine and hydromorphone provide the basis for optimal pain management for oral surgery. These agents should be used …
Senators Grill Pet Industry On RecallApril 13, 2007 Senate Appropriations Subcommittee questioned the amount of government oversight in place to regulate the pet food industry at a hearing on Capitol Hill this afternoon. Led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who called for the hearing after the chemical melamine was found in wheat gluten used to make pet food, the senators grilled the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s top veterinarian, Stephen Sundlof, DVM, on his agency’s role in the recent pet food recall. “The FDA’s response to this situation has been wholly inadequate – we need to establish standardized inspections, impose penalties on companies who delay reporting health problems and increase communication between the FDA and the state inspectors so that we can catch potential problems more quickly,” said Durbin. “These sound like basic steps but the FDA has failed to put them in place.” Asked by Durbin how many pet food manufacturing plants the FDA regularly inspects, Sundlof said it had inspected about 30 percent of them (slightly more than 600 individual plants) one or two times since 2004. The FDA had issued conflicting reports on the recall, leaving people rightfully confused and angry, said Herb Kohl (D-WI) chairman of the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and …
Recalled Pet Food Might Remain On Shelves, FDA WarnsApril 12, 2007Nearly a month has passed since the initial Menu Foods recall cleared 60 million pet food items from store shelves, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned today that not all of the affected product was removed. Since the recall, the FDA says it has conducted 400 checks of retail stores across the country to determine whether the recalled products were in fact taken off of shelves. Most retailers are complying, the FDA said, but not all of them. The government agency charged with leading the investigation into the recall that has affected nearly 100 brands of pet food, called on both pet owners and retailers to remain vigilant as more items were recalled as recently as yesterday. “FDA’s priority is to make sure that cats and dogs have safe food to eat,” said Stephen Sundlof, DVM, director of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Many of us are pet owners and animal lovers, and we want pet owners to feel assured that we are doing everything we can to make sure that all contaminated food is off the shelves.” Sundlof is expected to testify on the FDA’s role in the recall to a Senate hearing led by Sen. …
Additional Cat Food Products RecalledApril 12, 2007Menu recalls more wet cat food items traced to contaminated wheat gluten. On Tuesday, Canadian manufacturer Menu Foods Inc. recalled additional cat food produced by its Streetsville, Ontario, plant for both the U.S. and Canada markets. Menu decided on the action after learning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the agency leading the recall investigation, that its Canadian plant had received some of the Chinese supplied wheat gluten tainted with melamine from Las Vegas-importer ChemNutra. Initiated March 16 by Menu Foods due to complaints of cats and dogs falling ill after consuming its wet-style products, the pet food recall has now embroiled nearly 100 brands of pet food made across the United States and Canada, including both dry and wet varieties. A full listing of the new recalled products is below, and the most updated listing of all recalled products can be accessed on the FDA’s(http://www.fda.gov/ora/fed_state/recalls/Recall.xls) site. It includes 5,511 entries. Earlier this week, pet food company Royal Canin Canada recalled all of its Medi-Cal Feline Dissolution Formula prescription canned cat food, which was produced by Menu’s Ontario plant. Read more about it at http://www.catchannel.com/News/cat-food-recalled-april-11.aspx. Later today, the Senate Subcommittee on Agriculture, …
Researchers Find Gene Associated With Small Stature In DogsApril 5, 2007A team of researchers have identified a genetic variant that is a major contributor to small size in dogs. The finding may help efforts to better understand genetic influences on stature in other mammals and even humans. "The identification and characterization of a key genetic variant that accounts for differences in dog size is particularly exciting because the underlying gene is present in all dogs and other diverse species, including humans," said researcher Eric Green, MD, Ph.D., scientific director of the National Human Genome Research Institute Division of Intramural Research. "Discoveries like this illustrate the exciting promise of genomics research for understanding the inheritance of a wide range of traits, including those that have an impact on health and disease," he said. In their study, researchers compared the DNA of various small dog breeds, including Chihuahuas, toy fox terriers and Pomeranians, to larger dog breeds, including Irish Wolfhounds, Saint Bernards and Great Danes. They found that the variation in one gene—IGF-1, which codes for a protein hormone called insulin-like growth factor 1—is very strongly associated with small stature across all dog breeds studied. "We have been intrigued by the population structure of dogs, which over the years have been selectively …
Alta, Utah Beyond The Bond?March 21, 2007Darlene Arden, the author of "Small Dogs, Big Hearts," e-mailed me an article that revealed a human-animal bond dilemma in one of my favorite ski towns, Alta, Utah. She writes: Dear Alice: I don't know why they haven't voted to overturn this, but is there something that the American Assn. of Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians can do to turn this ugly situation around? It made me sick. The Associated Press article published in the New York Times on Dec. 31 was titled "A Ski Town with 42 Dogs and Many Lonely Dog Lovers." The article said that a city ordinance limits the number of dogs to 12 percent of the human population in an effort to protect the city's alpine watershed. The article said that, "No canine visitors are allowed, even inside cars, and violators can go to jail. Alta occupies four square miles inside a national forest where an act of Congress left Salt Lake City in charge of the water supply. City and county officers police the canyons, keeping out nonresident and unlicensed dogs to curb bacterial contamination of streams and protect Salt Lake's drinking water." The city limits the number of dog licenses to 42 and, according to …
A Labor Of Love For The Human-Animal BondMarch 21, 2007A few years ago, I was asked to write a textbook for Iowa State Press on geriatric oncology. I asked David Rosenbaum how many chapters and contributors he wanted. He said no contributors; he wanted me to be sole author and write in my "clinically breezy" style, similar to the tone of the Oncology Outlook articles that I wrote for Veterinary Practice News from 1999 through 2004. At first, I was shocked, humbled and filled with dread just thinking of taking on such a monumental task. So I mentally declined the offer but told David that I would think about it. David kept after me to remove the walls of my exam rooms and let veterinary students and practitioners in on consultations and decision -making. He wanted this to be a legacy book based on my 33 years of real-world experience. I recalled the grueling job that my University of California, Davis, oncology mentor, Dr. Gordon Theilen, and his wife, Carolyn, endured as they verified the numerous references for his landmark textbook, "Veterinary Cancer Medicine," published by Lea & Febiger. David agreed that I could emphasize the bond and use source books without citing specific references. After I sold my …
