Many Canadian Piglets Low on IronAugust 24, 2015Young pigs may need a second round of iron supplementation to stave off anemia and disease, according to a study conducted at Ontario Veterinary College. Doctoral student Amanda Kubik weighed nearly 1,200 piglets being raised on commercial farms across Ontario and collected blood samples, the University of Guelph reported Aug. 17. All the pigs had received a standard 200-milligram iron supplement in the first few days after birth. Kubik randomly chose one small, medium and large pig from each litter just before weaning and returned three weeks later for more testing. By that point the pigs were getting their iron from feed. “There were statistically significant results,” Kubik said. “The between herd prevalence of iron deficiency in the sampled pigs prior to weaning was 28 percent and the prevalence of anemia was 6 percent. When the same pigs were sampled three weeks later, the between herd prevalence had increased to 43 percent for iron deficiency and 18 percent for anemia.” Advancements in nutrition, genetics and on-farm management mean piglets are born into larger litters and grow at a faster rate than in previous decades, the university noted. As a result, standard supplement protocols may not meet their needs. …
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Registration Opens for AABP ConferenceJune 29, 2015The American Association of Bovine Practitioners is advertising a schedule chock-full of continuing education and in-depth training when the organization holds its 48th annual conference. Registration for the convention, set for Sept. 17 to 19 at Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, is available at http://bit.ly/1Lyx7mU. The conference theme, “Embrace Change, Expand Skills, Explore Opportunities,” refers to the evolution of bovine medicine and the need to adopt new skills, the organization stated. “The general sessions will focus on cattle welfare topics for beef and dairy farms, and keynote speaker Dave Daley will present current thoughts on animal welfare and the changing social ethic,” said AABP president-elect and Ohio veterinarian Fred Gingrich, DVM. “Attendees will also have the opportunity to learn from veterinarians and producers who have experienced undercover videos released from their farms,” Dr. Gingrich added. Nearly 20 preconference seminars will be held beginning Sept. 13 on topics ranging from “The Veterinarian’s Role in the Dairy Fresh Pen” to “Dairy Cattle Lameness.” Ten limited-enrollment clinical forums are scheduled for Sept. 17 and 19. Subjects include “The Life of a Young Veterinarian: Debt, Purchasing a Practice, Work/Life Balance” and “VFD’s—What Veterinarians Need to Know.” Also planned are …
Drugs in Livestock Feed Put Under Vet SupervisionJune 2, 2015The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, looking to reduce the threat of antibiotic resistance in people and animals, today released the final rule governing the judicious use of antimicrobials in livestock feed and drinking water. The Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) final rule empowers veterinarians to authorize antimicrobials when necessary for medical purposes only. Some drugs linked to antibiotic resistance have been used to improve the efficiency of livestock feed or fatten animals. “The actions the FDA has taken to date represent important steps toward a fundamental change in how antimicrobials can be legally used in food-producing animals,” said Michael R. Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner for foods. “The VFD final rule takes another important step by facilitating veterinary oversight in a way that allows for the flexibility needed to accommodate the diversity of circumstances that veterinarians encounter while ensuring such oversight is conducted in accordance with nationally consistent principles.” The American Veterinary Medical Association stated that it worked closely with the FDA to ensure the rule is “practical and in the best interests of animal health, public health and the veterinary profession.” “Particularly critical” to the final rule, according to AVMA, is the requirement for a veterinarian-client-patient relationship when …
UT Helps Get Steer Back on His FeetMarch 27, 2015Dudley’s done all right since a rescue group, a prosthesis manufacturer and University of Tennessee veterinarians teamed up to provide the young steer with a new foot. The 800-pound Hereford was moved from a Nashville, Tenn., farm to the university in Knoxville after losing his left rear hoof in a tangle with baling twine. More of his lower limb was amputated at the UT veterinary hospital, a cast was applied and about a month later, in February, a prosthetic limb was installed. By late March, Dudley was still learning to walk normally again. “We are pleased to announce that Dudley is now safe and recovering,” said David Anderson, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the university’s director of large animal clinical services, who performed the amputation. “The next stage of recovery is crucial as Dudley adjusts to walking and improves his balance and strengthens his muscles with his prosthetic foot.” Stepping in to rescue Dudley was The Gentle Barn, a nonprofit group based in Santa Clarita, Calif. The organization took possession of Dudley after learning that his owner couldn’t afford his care, and co-founder Ellie Laks arranged for his move to the University of Tennessee. Dudley was an outstanding patient after …
K.C. Corridor Snags Another Animal Health TenantMarch 20, 2015An Australian company is making itself at home in the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor before building its new global headquarters. Integrated Animal Health Inc., which has a few products on the market and more under development, in mid-March signed an agreement with Northwest Missouri State University and the institution’s Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Hubbard Center, a business incubator in Maryville, Mo., will work with Integrated Animal Health on the testing and developing of products designed to improve the health of cattle, sheep, swine, poultry and fish. Formed in December 2013, Integrated Animal Health makes horse fertility feeds and equine performance supplements. The company is designing feed additives to help control mastitis, reduce antibiotic use in dairy cattle, and improve weight gain in dairy calves and feedlot cattle. Also in the pipeline are an Oxycodone pain-relief patch for racehorses suffering from leg soreness, other feed additives, parasiticides, and a gender-selection technology for the breeding of hogs and dairy cattle. “Providing adequate protein to the world is one of the key challenges facing people and governments around the world,” said Blake Hawley, DVM, who will oversee the company’s U.S. operations after serving as chief commercial officer …
Zoetis Funds 2 Pig Virus Research StudiesFebruary 19, 2015A swine-exclusive veterinary clinic and university researchers will use $157,000 in grants to study porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), which has killed millions of piglets across the United States and Canada. Drug and vaccine maker Zoetis Inc. awarded the money to Suidae Health and Production, a veterinary practice with offices in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska, and to Iowa State University. The research grants are intended to find better ways to control PEDv in breeding and farrowing herds, according to Florham Park, N.J.-based Zoetis. “We were interested in proposals that help discover novel approaches for optimizing the immune response of sows and gilts to help control PEDv,” said Steve Sornsen, DVM, MS, senior director of Veterinary Business Solutions at Zoetis. “The outcome of these projects should provide insights into new PEDv control methods that can be incorporated into current production systems for the industry,” Dr. Sornsen added. Grant applicants were narrowed to eight finalists and then to the two recipients. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2015, Zoetis stated. Suidae was awarded $98,000 to study the efficacy of vaccination in boosting the immune response to PEDv in both naïve sows and previously exposed sows, Zoetis reported Wednesday. Some naïve …
Another Investigation Takes Vet Industry to TaskDecember 29, 2014Two leading U.S. veterinary organizations are criticizing a published report that questions the financial ties between food animal veterinarians and the drug industry and casts doubt on whether practitioners can be counted on to oversee the judicious use of antibiotics in animals such as chickens and cattle. The investigation by the news service Reuters came on the heels of a similar report in The Indianapolis Star, which examined potential conflicts of interest between pharmaceutical companies and small animal veterinarians. Both accounts noted that while financial connections between drug makers and doctors of human medicine are open to public scrutiny, the veterinary industry is free to arrange and keep secret its relationships. “That means veterinarians can be wined and dined and given scholarships, awards, stipends, gifts and trips by pharmaceutical benefactors without the knowledge of the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] or the public,” according to the Reuters series, titled “Farmaceuticals.” The American Association of Bovine Practitioners objected to the tone of the Reuters report and pointed out inaccuracies. One article in particular, headlined “Veterinarians Face Conflicting Allegiances to Animals, Farmers and Drug Companies,” was meant to “disparage the ethics, scientific training and food animal veterinarians’ relationship with …
Zebu’s Illness Was Tough Nut to CrackDecember 18, 2014Sluggishness, inappetence and constipation were the clinical signs. Acorns were the cause. A miniature zebu, the world’s smallest cattle breed, is recovering at home after University of Florida veterinarians treated the animal for kidney failure, which they believe was brought on by his taste for acorns. The zebu, named Brutus, underwent hemodialysis in what the university stated may have been the first time for a bovine patient with acute disease. The life-threatening episode began Nov. 18, when 1-year-old Brutus was brought to the Gainesville, Fla., hospital. “He’d had a two-day history of lethargy, not eating and constipation,” said Rob MacKay, BVSc, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, a professor of large animal medicine. “When he arrived at UF, his vital signs were stable, but he was not having the stomach contractions that move food from the stomach into the intestines, and he wasn’t producing urine. He also was lethargic and trembling.” Blood work and ultrasound revealed acute kidney injury, Dr. MacKay said. The “aha!” moment came during a discussion with owners Mark and Rachel Duncan of Ocoee, Fla. “It was revealed that there were oak trees in Brutus’ pasture and that they had seen him eating acorns,” MacKay said. “Unfortunately, unbeknownst to his …
Texas Now Free of VS, But Colorado Isn’tOctober 20, 2014An outbreak of vesicular stomatitis appears to have run its course in Texas, but dozens of locations in Colorado remain under quarantine. The Texas Animal Health Commission last week reported no active cases of vesicular stomatitis (VS), a viral disease that forms blisters on the mouth, tongue, muzzle, teats or hooves of horses and cattle, making eating and drinking painful or difficult. Pigs, sheep, goats and llamas may be stricken as well. The first Texas case of the year was identified in late May in Kinney County. In the end, 62 premises in 13 counties were quarantined, bringing restrictions on the movement of infected or exposed animals. The release of the last two quarantined premises—in Bastrop and Travis counties—marked what Texas authorities hope is the end of VS. Until May, the state had gone five years without a confirmed VS case. “I would like to thank all cattle and equine owners and Texas veterinarians for the constant support and generous help with harnessing the spread of VS,” said Dee Ellis, DVM, the state veterinarian and executive director of the Texas Animal Health Commission. “All livestock that were tested positive for VS this year have been released because of …
Antibiotic Use in Animals on Decline in EuropeOctober 16, 2014An international push to reduce antibiotic resistance in people by limiting the use of antimicrobials in animals is showing promise. The European Medicines Agency reported Wednesday that animal antibiotic sales across Europe declined by 15 percent from 2010 to 2012. The drop-off in 18 nations ranged from 0.4 to 49 percent. “These latest figures, which suggest a positive trend in terms of the responsible use of antibiotics in animals in Europe, are highly welcome,” said David Mackay, BVetMed, Ph.D., MRCVS, who directs the agency’s Division on Veterinary Medicines. “However, the report also shows that there is scope for further decrease.” Antibiotic resistance is potentially life threatening in people. In the United States, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a report in September recommending the improved surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, the smarter use of existing antibiotics and the development of new drugs. “The evolution of antibiotic resistance is now occurring at an alarming rate and is outpacing the development of new countermeasures capable of thwarting infections in humans,” the task force stated. “This situation threatens patient care, economic growth, public health, agriculture, economic security and national security.” The American Veterinary Medical Association has taken action …
