App Can Help Eradicate Rabies in IndiaFebruary 1, 2016Rabies could be eradicated from street dogs in India with the help of a new smartphone app, a new study published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases declares. Researchers are using the app to track free-roaming dogs that have been vaccinated against rabies. According to the study’s abstract: “Over 20,000 people die from rabies each year in India. At least 95 % of people contract rabies from an infected dog. Annual vaccination of over 70 % of the dog population has eliminated both canine and human rabies in many countries. Despite having the highest burden of rabies in the world, there have been very few studies, which have reported the successful, large-scale vaccination of dogs in India. Furthermore, many Indian canine rabies vaccination programs have not achieved high vaccine coverage.” Monitoring them in this way has enabled vets to vaccinate 70 percent of the dog population in the City of Ranchi, which is the threshold needed to minimize the risk that the disease is passed to people. Adopting the approach more widely could help to eliminate rabies from people and animals, the researchers say. Teams vaccinated more than 6,000 dogs in …
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University of Guelph Researchers Get Funding for Canine Cancer StudyJanuary 28, 2016Researchers at the University of Guelph have received a $100,000 grant from Ontario Centers of Excellence (OCE) to further their work to improve cancer therapy for dogs. Brenda Coomber, BSc, Ph.D., the principal investigator, will work with Rna Diagnostics of Toronto to study dogs with advanced lymphoma. This project builds on her research begun in 2013 with the company. “Ultimately, our goal is to ensure that all dogs with lymphoma get the best treatments we have available,” said Dr. Coomber, a biomedical sciences professor in the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) and co-director of U of G’s Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation. “Since lymphoma in dogs is very similar to lymphoma in humans, the results of this study may also improve our understanding and treatment of human cancer.” Certain molecules called biomarkers can help predict disease outcome or response to therapy in order to improve treatment. Rna Diagnostics has developed a novel biomarker test called an RNA disruption assay (RDA), intended to pinpoint cancer patients unlikely to respond to chemotherapy, according to the university. Coomber used RDA previously at OVC’s Mona Campbell Center for Animal Cancer to …
A Journey Through Canine OsteosarcomaJanuary 14, 2016Originally published in the January 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! My wife pointed out a slight swelling on the left distal radius of my beloved great Dane, and my heart sank instantly. Canine osteosarcoma hit me very personally that day, July 22, 2014. Taylor Dane, as we named her, had come into our lives eight years earlier as a beautiful 7-month-old from Great Dane Rescue. Her original owners had relegated her to a lonely existence, isolated in their backyard. Having spent her early important socialization months isolated from new people and pets, she was terrified. At first, we had to keep a house leash on her, even indoors, just to be able to get hold of her. But as her fear turned to trust, Taylor took over our house, and my heart. I have had many dogs since childhood, dogs that I have loved dearly. But never had I experienced the depth of connection that I would have with Taylor. A tall and elegant fawn female, Taylor …
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 …
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 …
