WSAVA Turns Focus to Animal WelfareSeptember 16, 2014 The World Small Animal Veterinary Association is making animal welfare a higher priority with the unveiling of a number of initiatives at the organization’s 39th World Congress. The campaign, announced this week at the meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, includes a partnership with the World Animal Protection charity, the launch of a fund for animal welfare projects and activities designed to highlight the role of welfare within the veterinary profession. Also introduced was a voluntary oath that reads: “As a global veterinarian, I will use my knowledge and skills for the benefit of our society through the protection of animal welfare and health, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, and the promotion of One Health. I will practice my profession with dignity in a correct and ethical manner, which includes lifelong learning to improve my professional competence.” The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) represents 92 veterinary organizations from around the world and 145,000 veterinarians. Shane Ryan, BVSc, MRCVS, the chairman of WSAVA’s Animal Welfare and Wellness Committee, called animal welfare “an integral and inherent part of the everyday practice of veterinary medicine.” “Animal welfare is also a specialist …
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Free Online ‘One Health’ Course ScheduledSeptember 16, 2014 St. George’s University, which operates veterinary and human medicine schools on the Caribbean island of Grenada, is offering a free online course titled “One Health, One Medicine: A Global Health Approach.” Veterinary professionals and other interested parties are welcome to enroll in the eight-week class, said instructor Satesh Bidaisee, DVM, MSPH, FRSPH, the deputy chairman of the department of public health and preventive medicine. “Together with colleagues, we designed this cutting-edge course to examine the global health ‘One Health, One Medicine’ practice to determine how humans and animals interact with the environment and the world as one,” Dr. Bidaisee said. An affiliation with St. George’s is not necessary for enrollment, but students who want to earn credits with the university must take a final exam Nov. 12. While the course begins Sept. 18, students may progress at their own pace, a St. George’s spokeswoman said. Seven modules are planned: the history of medicine; One Health, One Medicine; emerging infectious diseases; zoonotic diseases; food safety; environmental health; and international health. The course offers recorded lectures, discussion forums, case studies and virtual office hours with Bidaisee and staff members, the university stated. More …
UC Davis Solves Bluetongue MysterySeptember 16, 2014 The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, which isolated and identified bluetongue virus in the Western Hemisphere in the 1950s, has discovered how the ruminant disease manages to withstand the winter cold and reappear the next spring. The virus reproduces in female biting midges, the insect long known to transmit the disease, according to University of California, Davis, researchers. Their study, published Sept. 12 in the online journal PLOS ONE, for the first time explains why bluetongue returns years after year and why more animals could become infected during global climate change. “This discovery has important ramifications for predicting the occurrence of bluetongue in livestock and, we hope, for eventually developing controls for the disease,” said UC Davis professor and co-author James MacLachlan, DVM, Ph.D. Bluetongue virus is noncontagious and sometimes fatal. It mainly infects sheep, producing lesions on the lips and gums, but cattle and goats may be stricken as well. Bluetongue refers to the swollen lips and tongue of affected sheep, which may turn blue in the late stages of the disease, UC Davis reported. The cost to the U.S. sheep and cattle industries is estimated at $125 million a …
Veterinarian Wins High Praise for Saving GoldfishSeptember 16, 2014 George the goldfish is back in his home pond after an Australian veterinarian successfully removed a brain tumor. The 45-minute operation on an uncommon veterinary patient cost the owners a couple of hundred dollars, according to Lort Smith Animal Hospital, and brought admiration from around the world as news and photographs of the surgery went viral. “Thanks for treating fish with the respect they deserve,” one Facebook user wrote on the clinic’s page. “That might be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” another wrote. “And to those that question the use of financial resources for a goldfish, some varieties can fetch amazingly high prices. Some are treasured pets. Who are we to judge?” The International Brain Tumor Alliance weighed in as well, stating, “We have heard of dogs and cats having brain tumors removed, but this is the first time we have heard of a fish undergoing brain surgery. Way to go, George!” The doctor was Tristan Rich, BVSc, who heads exotics and wildlife medicine at the Melbourne hospital. “The fish was having trouble eating, getting around and he was getting bullied by other fish,” Dr. Rich told The Telegraph newspaper. …
Illinois University Vet Clinic Reveals New Name, Medical DirectorSeptember 16, 2014 The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine has renamed its pet care facility Medical District Veterinary Clinic at Illinois. The facility, formerly Furnetic Veterinary Clinic, is the only Chicago primary care clinic affiliated with the state’s veterinary college. The new name was introduced to better identify the University of Illinois connection and to highlight the clinic’s location, according to the college. Drew Sullivan, DVM, has been named medical director. Dr. Sullivan joined the university’s clinic last fall after practicing veterinary medicine in Decatur, Ill. The facility was established in 2009 to expand the college’s mission of education, service and discovery to the states metropolitan center. The location remains the same: 2242 West Harrison Street.
Auburn University’s Anatomy Lab Undergoes $1 Million RenovationSeptember 13, 2014 Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine recently completed a $1 million renovation to its anatomy laboratory. The focus was to improve the ventilation system within the laboratory, which had not undergone a significant upgrade in more than a decade, according to the university. “The goal was to create the safest dissection laboratory possible for first-year veterinary students as well as all other users and upgrade the technology within the laboratory for a thorough educational experience,” said Edward Morrison, Ph.D., head of the Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology. “We now have a state-of-the-art anatomy teaching lab.” The renovations, as listed by the university, included an update to the HVAC system; a sophisticated downdraft table system with more than 40 specially-designed and individually-ventilated dissection tables; an updated digital audio visual system including touch-screen monitors, speaker system, wall mounted computer system and wireless video system; a new ceiling and lighting; and a renovated anatomical preparation area to increase storage space within the lab. “Anatomy is pivotally important for a veterinary student’s future success,” said Elaine Coleman, DVM, Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary anatomy and neuroscience. “A veterinary students’ education begins in the anatomy lab.”
KC Animal Health Corridor BoomingSeptember 11, 2014 The heart of the veterinary world beats in the central United States. The Kansas City Area Development Council reported that 56 percent of global animal health, diagnostics and pet food sales can be linked to the KC Animal Health Corridor, an area stretching from Columbia, Mo., to Manhattan, Kan. “This latest survey is a powerful endorsement of nearly a decade of cooperation, teamwork and strategic focus that has driven the activities of the KC Animal Health Corridor effort since 2006,” said Scott Bormann, chairman of the Corridor Advisory Board and vice president of U.S. operations for Merck Animal Health. Merck is one of eight animal health giants with operations in the corridor. The others, all in the world top 10, are Zoetis Inc., Merial Ltd., Elanco Animal Health, Bayer Animal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc., Ceva Animal Health and Idexx Laboratories. Companies with a U.S. headquarters in the corridor accounted for 28 percent of worldwide sales of animal health products and diagnostics, or $7.1 billion a year out of $25.2 billion. Companies with a business location of some kind captured 75 percent of worldwide sales. The Kansas City Area Development Council has …
Study Seeks to Find Deeper Insight on Link between Domestic, Animal AbuseSeptember 11, 2014 A new study is underway to look deeper into the connections between animal abuse and domestic violence to assess the need for better services to protect both human and animal victims in Australia. “Around 70 percent of women escaping violent homes also report pet abuse,” said Lydia Tong, DVM, of the University of Sydney’s Faculty of Veterinary Science. “So vets are often the first to see evidence of abuse in a family, when they treat injured pets.” Dr. Tong is conducting the study with Domestic Violence NSW, an organization that offers domestic and family violence services in New South Wales, Australia. “Different forces on bones can tell a story—the skeleton of an animal keeps a distinct record that indicates the force applied to bones from past injuries, breaks or fractures,” Tong said. “But it can often be difficult for vets to say with confidence whether a fracture has resulted from abuse or accident.” In a previous study, Tong collected cases of abused dogs that were punched, hit with a blunt weapon or kicked, and examined the fractures from these injuries. She then compared these fractures to those caused by genuine accidents. Her results, …
Arizona’s New Vet Degree Program Backed by $9 Million GiftSeptember 10, 2014 #56789411 / gettyimages.com The University of Arizona (UA) will soon be the state’s first public veterinary medical and surgical program to train doctors of veterinary medicine thanks to a foundational gift of $9 million from the Kemper and Ethel Marley Foundation. The new program, slated to begin in fall 2015, will help address the critical veterinarian shortage in rural Arizona communities and tribal nations, benefit bioscience businesses and promote public health, the university noted. The UA program will run year-round so students can complete their degrees faster, accumulate less debt and enter the workforce sooner. In what is called a distributive model, the final two semesters will be spent working in private veterinary practices, government agencies or other community partnerships to secure hands-on, real-world learning in communities throughout the state. Other clinical training partners will include federal and state animal health labs and regulators, U.S. Border Patrol and Homeland Security and animal shelter and rescue agencies. The UA reported that it already has letters of interest from many prospective partners. “For me, real-world experience is something that is oftentimes lacking when students …
Study Looks at Responsiveness of Anti-Epilepsy TreatmentsSeptember 9, 2014 New research from the University of London’s Royal Veterinary College (RVC) may shed light on why some dogs respond to anti-epilepsy treatments, and become seizure-free, while others continue to have seizures long-term. Anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) are the most common treatment for canine epilepsy, according to the college. But in some cases, the side effects of drug treatment can impact upon quality of life as much, if not more than, a dog’s seizures, the college further noted. Past studies have also found that in a third of dogs, current drug treatments failed to reduce the number of seizures they experience by 50 percent. “Canine epilepsy is a complex condition and can be very distressing for the dog and their owner,” said Holger Volk, DVM, Ph.D., clinical director of the RVC’s Small Animal Referral Hospital. “Drug treatments can be successful in reducing seizures, but it is important to note that consistent remission is difficult to attain.” This new study analyzed patient data from six years of medical history taken from the epilepsy clinic at the RVC’s Small Animal Referral Hospital. At the point of follow up, only 14 percent of dogs studied were in seizure-free remission. It …
