Lysine for FHV? Researchers Say Don’t BotherJanuary 13, 2016Originally published in the January 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Two virologists are urging veterinarians to immediately stop lysine supplementation in cats suffering from feline herpesvirus-1 because they say the therapy is ineffective. Their conclusion, published Nov. 16 in the online journal BMC Veterinary Research, drew a measured response from two experts in the field who said anecdotal reports of successful lysine use leave open the possibility that the therapy does work. Husband-and-wife virologists Sebastiaan Bol, MS, Ph.D., and Evelien M. Bunnik, MS, Ph.D., reached the conclusion after conducting a systematic review—essentially a study of previous lysine studies. Bol, who like his wife is employed at the University of California, Riverside, began the review after their 8-year-old cat, Aguereberry, was diagnosed with FHV-1, a highly contagious infection of the upper respiratory system. Their veterinarian recommended lysine nutritional supplements to treat and manage the disease. “With my background in biology and nutrition, I was very suspicious, and I started clicking—doing some searches online—and I was not very convinced,” Bol said. “So I started looking into more and more of the publications, and it was really shocking to see that there’s absolutely no evidence [that lysine is effective in cats].” Bol …
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3 Breed Groups Fund Canine Cancer StudyJanuary 12, 2016Researchers led by University of Minnesota Professor Jaime Modiano are launching a study of hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer in dogs. The disease is prevalent in golden retrievers, Portuguese water dogs and boxers. Three breed groups— the Golden Retriever Foundation, the Portuguese Water Dog Foundation and the American Boxer Charitable Foundation—pledged $432,000 to support the research project. “Hemangiosarcoma is the cause of death for an estimated one out of every five golden retrievers in the United States,” said Dr. Modiano, VMD, Ph.D., of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Portuguese water dogs and boxers also have an especially high risk for this disease, which is devastating for all dogs.” The research team wants to learn more about hemangiosarcoma and possibly find ways to prevent it. “Hemangiosarcoma is incurable partly because the cancer is detected at a very advanced stage when it is resistant to conventional therapies,” Modiano said. “Thus, an unconventional approach to improve outcomes for hemangiosarcoma patients will involve effective methods for early detection and for disease prevention.” The American Kennel Club’s Canine Health Foundation announced the $432,000 grant Jan. 6 and will oversee the funds and the scientific progress. “The collaboration between these three breed club foundations and …
Four Paws Helps Injured Bulgarian DogDecember 22, 2015A stray dog that lost a lot of skin in a fight with another animal is recovering after a three-hour autologous skin graft procedure. The operation was performed Dec. 18 in Sofia, Bulgaria, at a veterinary clinic operated by the animal welfare group Four Paws International. The 3-year-old dog, named Johnny, was missing a chunk of skin from his back when he was brought to the hospital in late October. Ruling out the possibility of a burn injury, veterinary staff reached out to Four Paws science director Sabine Hartmann, DVM. Dr. Hartmann then contacted Austrian wound expert Dieter Ponweiser, who agreed to help Johnny for free. Ponweiser brought with him the CelluTome Epidermal Harvesting System, manufactured by Texas-based Kinetic Concepts Inc., to transfer epidermal micrografts from Johnny’s shaved underside to the wound site. “The main advantage of this method is that the recovery period is much shorter in comparison to a conservative treatment, much less painful compared to classic skin transplants and there is no risk of infection,” Four Paws reported. Before the operation Johnny was given drugs and daily bandage changes, a routine that caused him “a lot of stress and pain,” according to Four Paws. …
What We’re Learning About New Canine FluDecember 16, 2015Middle-aged dogs, not puppies or the geriatric, were hardest hit by the H3N2 influenza strain last March in Chicago. A survey conducted by Merck Animal Health found that 71 percent of stricken dogs were ages 1 to 7 and that day care and boarding facilities were the potential infection source in 8 out of 10 cases. Those are also the places commonly filled with adult dogs that are very social and active—locations perfect for transmitting a virus that infected more than 1,000 animals in Chicago, killing a small number, before spreading to other states. “In human literature they say the very young and the very old are the most susceptible to influenza,” said Jill Lopez, DVM, senior specialist for drug safety at Merck, who supervised the survey. What happened in Chicago with H3N2 disproved that axiom. Veterinarian-submitted data on 81 patients provided insight into the newly identified strain. Clinical Signs Nearly all of the 81 dogs—95 percent—presented with a cough, 70 percent were lethargic and 58 percent had a fever, some as high as 105 degrees Fahrenheit. “With many of the canine infectious respiratory diseases, you mainly see coughing,” Dr. Lopez said. “With influenza, you see fever and lethargy, too.” …
Cancer Drug Kinavet No Longer Approved for UseDecember 15, 2015Kinavet-CA1, a daily drug indicated for the treatment of mast cell tumors in dogs, is off the market in the United States at least temporarily because its five-year conditional approval expired. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported today that sale of the oral tablets, produced by AB Science of Chatham, N.J., must cease immediately. The company’s president of U.S. operations, Albert Ahn, DVM, expressed hope that Kinavet (mastinib mesylate) will return in the near future. “The short answer is that we are working to make it the shortest timeline possible,” Dr. Ahn said. “We are working closely with the FDA. We are in regular contact with them.” AB Science submitted documentation in a timely manner, he said. “We have been, over the past five years, generating the data that are needed for earning full approval,” Ahn said. “The FDA has reviewed that information and apparently they feel that there may be some information that may not be complete.” He called Kinavet an effective cancer drug. “We are very, very proud of Kinavet,” he said. “It has helped thousands of dogs that have suffered from mast cell tumors, which is one of the most common canine cancers and unfortunately …
World’s First ‘Test Tube’ Dogs Born at CornellDecember 14, 2015Nearly 40 years after the birth of the first human “test tube” baby, a team of scientists has produced the first litter of puppies conceived by in vitro fertilization (IVF). The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine reported that the achievement could lead to the preservation of endangered dog species and the elimination of certain canine diseases. The researchers had to overcome peculiar challenges in order to successfully transfer to a host female 19 thawed embryos, seven of which developed into puppies that were delivered by Caesarian section in July. The findings were published Dec. 9 in the online journal PLOS One. “Since the mid-1970s, people have been trying to do [IVF] in a dog and have been unsuccessful,” said co-author Alex Travis, VMD, Ph.D., an associate professor of reproductive biology at Cornell’s Baker Institute for Animal Health. The healthy puppies—four males and three females—have different parentage. Eggs came from three female donors while sperm was taken from two males, leading to five purebred beagles and two beagle-cocker spaniel mixes. IVF is different from cloning, which has been achieved in dogs, in that IVF creates a new genome through fertilization while the latter procedure involves the transfer of DNA …
Cats and Toothache Vet CostsDecember 4, 2015Dental diseases are extremely common in cats. The American Veterinary Dental Society reports that approximately 70 percent of cats are affected by a dental disease by the time they’re 3 years old, and the likelihood increases as they age. Excessive tartar and plaque or tooth decay can cause painful dental problems in cats. These problems can also lead to other medical conditions in the heart, liver and kidneys, many of which can be fatal. Veterinary experts agree that regular oral care is essential to helping your cat live a long, healthy life. According to the Dr. Carol McConnell, vice president and chief veterinary medical officer for VPI, in Veterinary Pet Insurance article “Cats and Dogs Need Dentists, Too:” “Most people brush regularly and take care of their teeth because they know dental conditions can be painful and costly … Ideally, this mindset should translate to how people care for their pets’ teeth.” Treating dental disease in cats can also be costly. In 2011, VPI policyholders filed more than $8.5 million …
Merck Launches H3N2 Canine Flu VaccineNovember 20, 2015Merck Animal Health today matched competitor Zoetis Inc. with the release of a dog flu vaccine that protects against the new H3N2 strain. Merck, based in Madison, N.J., received a conditional license from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Canine Influenza Vaccine, H3N2, Killed Virus. Zoetis announced the same achievement, the first company to do so, on Nov. 12. Merck’s vaccine will be made available to U.S. veterinarians starting Monday. H3N2, which emerged in Chicago in March before striking dogs in other states, quickly caught the drug maker’s attention. “Early on, we suspected veterinarians were dealing with an outbreak of canine influenza and not kennel cough, which spurred us to implement the collection of nasal and pharyngeal samples from sick dogs that were tested by Cornell University,” said Kathleen Heaney, DVM, director of Companion Animal Technical Services. “We came to realize what was actually unfolding was the transmission of an influenza strain, H3N2, never before seen in the United States. “Based on the highly contagious nature of the strain, the severity of clinical disease and the rate at which we were seeing newly diagnosed cases, we knew we needed to act fast,” Dr. Heaney said. The canine …
When Breeds Cross, Hybrid Dogs AppearNovember 19, 2015Breed a border collie with an Australian shepherd and what do you get when a puppy emerges? The most popular hybrid dog in the Pets Best Insurance Services database. The pet health insurer teamed up with policy partner Farmers Insurance to determine which two purebred canines get together most frequently to produce offspring. Procreating border collies and Australian shepherds yield a hybrid known simply as a border-Aussie. Hybrids are defined as the progeny of two purebred dogs. Mixed breeds, according to Farmers, are “the offspring of two or more different dog breeds where neither the mother nor the father is a registered purebreed dog.” Mixed breeds are the most common dogs in Pets Best’s massive file of 140,000 canine insurance policies. Labrador retrievers are second, followed by hybrids. A fashionable example of a hybrid is the Labradoodle, the product of a Labrador retriever and poodle. But Labradoodles aren’t No. 1—or even No. 5—on the Pets Best list. Boise, Idaho-based Pets Best provided descriptions of the most popular hybrids from the perspectives of veterinary adviser Eva Evans, DVM, MBA, and the dogs’ owners. 1. Border-Aussie (border collie and Australian shepherd) The product of highly intelligent and agile livestock herders, …
Zoetis Unveils New Drugs for Dogs, HorsesNovember 18, 2015Veterinary drug maker Zoetis Inc. is celebrating achievements on both sides of the Atlantic after winning European approval of a new flea and tick preventive and USDA endorsement of a canine flu vaccine. The Florham Park, N.J., company also announced the release of an equine leptospirosis vaccine. The flea and tick drug, Simparica (sarolaner), is a chewable tablet given monthly to dogs as young as 8 weeks. It also is indicated for the treatment of sarcoptic mange, a contagious skin disease. Zoetis described the active ingredient, sarolaner, as a new ectoparasiticide in the isoxazoline class. Simparica, approved by the European Commission, was tested on more than 800 dogs in seven countries, Zoetis reported. The drug was found “to provide efficacy for at least five weeks against ticks and fleas” and “demonstrated a rapid onset of action, killing fleas before they have a chance to lay eggs,” the company added. Simparica kills four common European ticks—Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus—as well as the fleas Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis. The tablets are expected to be released in early 2016 in dosages of 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 milligrams. U.S. veterinarians could see Simparica on …
