Kansas, Texas Researchers to Conduct Beef Cattle Production Health StudyMarch 18, 2016Kansas State University and Texas Tech University have teamed up to learn more about feedlot cattle production and health. They are seeking feedlots to participate in the study, which is slated to begin in May. Researchers will focus on two areas of cattle feeding, according to Dan Thomson, DVM, Ph.D., a member of the collaborative research group and a professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology at Kansas State University. The two areas: starting cattle on feed and associated risks with bovine respiratory disease and the end of the feeding period focused on performance, carcass quality, fatigued cattle syndrome, heat stress, acute interstitial pneumonia, liver abscesses, cattle transport and others. The research group will work with feedlots participating in the study to better understand risks associated with acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP) and liver abscesses. A parallel study involves interested feedlots to participate in advanced necropsy training for their feedlot employees in coordination with their consulting veterinarian better understanding acute interstitial pneumonia lesions by sending samples from necropsied cattle to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Kansas State University. “AIP cases and liver abscesses are economically crippling issues in our cattle feeding operations,” …
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More Apoquel on Way for Dogs, Zoetis SaysJanuary 25, 2016The popular anti-itch drug Apoquel, which remains in short supply two years after its release, should be freely available in the months ahead as Zoetis Inc. continues to increase production, according to company officials. “Hopefully by this time next year we won’t be having conversations [like this],” said J. Michael McFarland, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, the company’s group director of companion animal marketing. Dr. McFarland addressed several subjects during a media briefing this month at the North American Veterinary Community conference in Orlando, Fla. He was joined by Shelley Stanford, DVM, MS, MBA, the group director of companion animal veterinary professional services, as they outlined the Apoquel distribution strategy and how the drug compares with Zoetis’ newer Canine Atopic Dermatitis Immunotherapeutic. Zoetis will gradually lift Apoquel purchase restrictions, McFarland said. “We’re understandably concerned at this point in time that if we just open up the dike and let product flow that there could be some product hoarding,” he said. “It may be awhile before we know what the real, true pent-up demand for the product is, so we want to release the product in a more slow and steady manner.” Why Zoetis has had trouble mass-producing Apoquel has not been …
Biogal Offers Rapid Distemper, Lepto TestsNovember 18, 2015An Israeli company this week released time-saving tests for the diagnosis of feline distemper and bovine leptospirosis. Biogal Galed Labs reported that the in-clinic PCRun Veterinary Molecular Detection Kits deliver results within 75 minutes, an improvement over waits of up to a week when polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are done in outside laboratories. The new tests confirm feline panleukopenia virus, also known as feline distemper, and bovine leptospirosis, a bacterial infection that causes miscarriages and other serious health problems in cattle. The feline test also may be used to check for canine parvovirus. The distemper test uses blood or feces samples, while the bovine test requires blood or urine. Both tests are available for research purposes only in the United States pending U.S. Department of Agriculture approval, said Lenny Small, Biogal’s vice president of marketing. Biogal previously released PCRun test kits for canine Leptospira (leptospirosis), Ehrlichia canis (canine Ehrlichiosis), Anaplasma platys (anaplasmosis), parvovirus, Leishmania and feline Mycoplasma haemofelis (feline infectious anemia). Biogal’s U.S. distributor is Phoenix-based Spectrum Labs Inc.
Merck Plans Takeover of HarrisvaccinesNovember 13, 2015Veterinary drug maker Merck Animal Health has agreed to acquire Harrisvaccines, an Ames, Iowa, company that has led the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and avian influenza. The terms of the transaction, which was announced Thursday and is expected to close by year’s end, were not disclosed. Harrisvaccines Vice President Joel Harris said he and his father, company founder and CEO Hank Harris, DVM, Ph.D., aren’t going away anytime soon. “I’m staying on in my capacity and Hank is staying on in some capacity,” Joel Harris said. “That’s as much as I want to say.” Harrisvaccines will become a subsidiary of Merck, he said. “I think the plan is business as usual as we go through the integration process,” Harris said. Privately-held Harrisvaccines focuses on food animal vaccines. The company made headlines in 2013 upon winning government approval of a vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) and this past fall for the conditional license of a vaccine targeting highly pathogenic avian influenza. PEDv has killed millions of U.S. piglets since 2013, and avian flu has led to the death or destruction of an estimated 50 million American chickens and turkeys over the past year. On the …
U.S. Orders Stockpile of Avian Flu VaccineOctober 15, 2015Ceva Animal Health and Harrisvaccines have been awarded separate $6 million contracts to produce millions of doses of avian influenza vaccine for the National Veterinary Stockpile. The vaccine will be held in reserve in case of another outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a virus that led to the deaths this year of at least 50 million U.S. chickens and turkeys. The contracts were awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The agency stated that the drug stockpile is merely a defensive measure and “does not signal a decision to vaccinate.” Harrisvaccines, based in Ames, Iowa, agreed to manufacture 48 million doses of Avian Influenza Vaccine, RNA, which received conditional license approval in September. Nearly half of the supply will be available within 45 days, the company noted. Ceva Animal Health, a Lenexa, Kan., division of the international company Ceva Santé Animale, will produce 100 million doses of Vectormune AI. “We hope the U.S. poultry producers do not have to suffer through an avian influenza outbreak this fall or during 2016,” said Kristi Moore Dorsey, MS, Ph.D., Ceva Animal Health’s vice president of research and development. “As part of the USDA …
AABP Has No Beef With New OrleansSeptember 23, 2015Describing its latest conference as the “strongest in years,” the American Association of Bovine Practitioners drew nearly 1,400 veterinarians and students to New Orleans and awarded nearly a quarter-million dollars in scholarships. The 48th annual convention, held Sept. 17 to 19, also saw Canyon, Texas, veterinarian Steve Lewis, DVM, named Bovine Practitioner of the Year and Fred Gingrich, DVM, of Ashland, Ohio, installed as president. The meeting was heavy on education, with 17 preconference seminars, dozens of classes and a half-day session on bovine respiratory disease. “Our overarching goal for the continuing education content of the program was to focus on the issues that the cattle veterinarian faces on a daily basis,” Dr. Gingrich said. “Animal welfare, bovine respiratory disease, practice management, providing new services to clients and current research topics are all important topics for cattle veterinarians.” The organization’s immediate past president, John Davidson, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, was very pleased with how things went. “This meeting was the strongest in years and a testament to our AABP member veterinarian’s commitment to a life of learning,” he said. Scholarships totaling $239,000 were awarded to veterinary students. The largest—$7,500 Amstutz Scholarships—went to Lisa Dauten of Purdue University, Tyler Grussing and …
USDA Approves Avian Influenza VaccineSeptember 21, 2015Chicken and turkey producers will finally possess a weapon in the fight against the deadly and highly contagious avian flu. Harrisvaccines of Ames, Iowa, reported today that the company received the first conditional license of a vaccine targeting highly pathogenic avian influenza. The virus has killed an estimated 50 million chickens and turkeys in the United States since the initial outbreak was reported this past spring. The drug, Avian Influenza Vaccine, RNA, is not ready for distribution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which granted the license, wants a stockpile of 500 million doses readied in time for the next outbreak, which could begin as wild birds migrate south for the winter. “Although we cannot sell the vaccine today, we are in a better position to apply this robust and rapidly produced vaccine, if and when the virus re-emerges once again,” said Joel Harris, vice president of Harrisvaccines. Another reason is that some countries are wary of buying the meat of vaccinated poultry. “There’s concern that if we start vaccinating against avian influenza [now] our trading partners will stop importing meat from the U.S.,” Harris said. Avian Influenza Vaccine, RNA is a single-dose injectable formulated for use in day-old chicks and adult hens. …
Virginia Tech Gets OK for Proposed Design of New Dairy, Animal Science FacilitiesSeptember 17, 2015Virginia Tech recently reported that its Board of Visitors has approved the proposed design for the second phase of the new Dairy Science Complex. Phase II builds upon the new state-of-the-art research facilities and provides additional space for research, teaching and Virginia Cooperative Extension initiatives in dairy and animal sciences. Scientists working at the new complex will collaborate with partners in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, the Department of Dairy Science, the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, the Agricultural Technology Program and with colleagues from industry and universities across the United States. The $7.6 million facility will include an applied reproductive physiology facility, an intensive metabolic research facility at the Kentland Farm complex and a bovine extension, teaching and research facility on Plantation Road. Virginia tech The new dairy facilities will be a boon to collaboration and applied research and teaching structures will allow unparalleled experiential learning for students. “The new buildings are an indication of the university’s support of the land-grant mission and will ensure the continued success of our award-winning dairy science program,” said Mike Akers, Ph.D., the department head and …
Illinois Alters Protocol After Cow DeathsSeptember 14, 2015The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine has changed procedures after one cow died and four were euthanized in a case the U.S. Department of Agriculture attributed to possible unsanitary conditions and inadequate post-surgical monitoring. The college-owned cows underwent invasive surgery during a student laboratory and later developed post-operative peritonitis, or inflammation or infection of the abdominal lining, USDA stated. A USDA inspector reported that the operations involving six student groups and six cows were conducted in “a prep area” rather than a surgical suite and that the cows were moved days later to the campus farm, where oversight was assigned to two animal caretakers. University administrator Lyndon J. Goodly, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACLAM, described the matter as “extremely important.” “We will address and correct any shortcomings,” Dr. Goodly, the associate vice chancellor for research, wrote in an Aug. 25 response to a USDA regional director. A USDA veterinary medical officer, Susan Kingston, DVM, raised questions about the deaths following her routine inspection. “At some point in a …
MetaStim Adjuvant Added to Swine VaccineAugust 25, 2015Zoetis Inc. has released a reformulated porcine circovirus (PCV) vaccine that includes the MetaStim adjuvant. MetaStim, a common vaccine emulsion, slows the release of antigens, giving a pig’s immune system more time to respond to the virus, the company reported today. “MetaStim has been used in swine, bovine and equine vaccines for years, including most recently, Fostera PCV MH,” said Darrell Neuberger, DVM, of Zoetis’ Pork Technical Services. The new Fostera PCV MetaStim swine vaccine is indicated to protect against diseases caused by porcine circovirus Type 2 (PCV2). The vaccine carries 23-week duration of immunity, the Florham Park, N.J., company stated. Fostera PCV MetaStim, which replaces Fostera PCV, is available in 50- and 250-dose vials.
