Food Animal Vets Dispute Abuse ChargesJune 9, 2011 When animal abuse is called the standard of care in food animal production, food animal practitioners take issue, maintaining that the acts of a few bad apples do not define the industry. Food animal veterinarians say special-interest groups release video footage and anti-farming propaganda in an effort to quash the use of animals for food in any capacity. The practitioners fear that using the popular media to spread negative messages is just the first leg in the activists’ campaign to pass legislation that would virtually annihilate producers’ and farmers’ financial ability to operate. “The topic of the level of care for animals raised for food is one of the most misrepresented facets of animal agriculture,” says M. Gatz Riddell Jr., DVM, executive vice president of the 4,000-member American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP). “What food animal veterinarians and the industry in general must do is supply good information to the public about modern agriculture, animal care and food safety,” Dr. Riddell says. “The public needs to be made aware of the efforts being made in the areas of animal welfare, food safety and resource sustainability while maintaining the integrity of the food production systems in the …
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Plan For Expansion In Clinic DesignJune 9, 2011 A good equine hospital needs to offer enough services to be attractive to clients and top veterinary school graduates, says architect Heather Lewis of Animal Arts Design of Boulder, Colo. “[We encourage] equine veterinarians to build hospitals that offer diagnostics, internal medicine, reproductive services and surgery,” says Lewis, AIA, NCABB. Animal Arts Designs has designed more than 600 hospitals in 40 states, Canada and overseas. Specialization of surgical services draws clients. “Each service often requires its own staff and its own space,” Lewis says. “But a hospital that can provide minor surgical procedures, orthopedics and colic surgeries under one roof can become the full-service surgical center for an entire region.” Brad Jackman, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, owner of Pioneer Equine Center in Oakdale, Calif., says the first step in planning an equine hospital is to determine what a practice can afford. Pioneer Equine has 10 veterinarians on staff and specializes in surgery and lameness. “First, look at your existing business,” Dr. Jackman says. “If rent is 8 to 10 percent of your revenue, you’ll be making more profit than if rent is 6 to 7 percent of your revenue.” “Realize that new construction …
Boehringer Ingelheim Calls For Equine Research Award ProposalsJune 9, 2011 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. announced their first sponsored Equine Research Awards, which were designed to support veterinary research that results in insights or treatments for equine diseases. The awards are open to U.S. and Canadian veterinarians, diagnosticians and public and private researchers to submit proposals for research programs that help advance the diagnosis, treatment and understanding of equine diseases. Boehringer Ingelheim will provide three $25,000 awards to fund the selected research proposals. The award, projected to become an annual event, will focus on a specific equine disease each year. For 2011, the equine disease of focus is Equine Rhinitis Virus (ERV). Specifically, four areas of interest surrounding ERV have been identified: • Pathophysiology of ERV in the horse • Incidence and implications of co-infection with ERV and other equine respiratory pathogens • Incidence of ERV related to geographical location and equine discipline • Acute/chronic effects of ERV on lower airway disease in the horse Research proposals will be reviewed by an independent equine research review board comprised of practicing equine veterinarians and researchers. Research proposals must be submitted by Sept. 1 and will be awarded during the 2011 American Association of Equine …
Merial Launches Equine Outbreak Alert ProgramJune 9, 2011 Merial today launched the Outbreak Alert Program to help build awareness of equine diseases and emphasize the importance of prevention. The program will be used to notify veterinarians and horse owners about reports of equine disease throughout the country. Diseases such as Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), rabies, Potomac Horse Fever and West Nile virus (WNV) are dangerous to the infected animal as well as surrounding horses, so Merial says being armed with information provided by the outbreak alert program can help minimize the risk of disease. “The primary focus of the program is to help keep horse owners informed about the threat of disease in the area where they live or where they may be traveling,” says Beckie Peskin, product manager, equine vaccines and dewormers, Merial. “Owners want the best for their horses and knowing where the threat of disease exists will help them take the appropriate preventive measures to help protect their horse - whether it is in their own barn or competing halfway across the country.” When a disease report occurs, those who have signed up for the notification and live within a 250-mile radius of where the report occurred will receive a text …
Education Is KeyJune 9, 2011 The American Assn. of Equine Practitioners has set its own Equine Veterinary Compounding Guidelines. The organization wants to educate veterinarians on compounded drugs so they can make the best choice for patients, says Eleanor Green, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ABVP. “Veterinarians need to be aware that compounded products are not FDA-approved products and that they have not gone through the rigorous testing nor have they gone through the rigorous quality assurance process that FDA-approved drugs do,” she said. “They also need to educate their clients when they are faced with picking a drug for their patient to weigh the benefits versus the risks. And it is a risk because there is a larger percentage (of compounded products) that do not contain what the label says, so it can either be insufficient treatment or it can be toxic.” Prescribing veterinarians should understand that their professional liability policy may not respond to allegations of negligence arising from the use of compounded drugs, according to the AAEP’s guidelines. The organization encourages veterinarians insured with the AVMA-Professional Liability Insurance Trust to review comments at AVMAplit.com. In addition, veterinarians need to be aware that compounding, including formulation in a …
NAVRMA And Equine Practice Host Educational Forum In KentuckyJune 9, 2011 To increase horse owners’ awareness and understanding of regenerative medicine, the North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association (NAVRMA) and Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital is hosting “The Horse Owner’s Guide to Regenerative Medicine,” an educational forum from 2-5 p.m., June 4 at the Marriott Griffin Gate Hotel in Lexington, Ky. The forum will offer information about regenerative medicine and help owners understand what has been achieved with regenerative therapies, what current research reveals and what still needs to be explored. Discussions about veterinary use of advanced scientific therapies for previously untreatable joint disease and equine injuries will take place. The focus will be on therapies such as nterleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IRAP), platelet-rich plasma and stem cell therapies to manipulate horses’ biological mechanisms to stimulate healing. Research for these therapies is ongoing, but equine veterinarians say it is important for horse owners to understand the science behind each therapy in order to have reasonable expectations for success. The program will be moderated by Gregory Ferraro, DVM, president of NAVRMA, and it offers four presentations with opportunities for attendees to ask questions after each presentation. The meeting will conclude with an open question and answer forum …
Parasite Resistance On The UpswingJune 9, 2011 Equine parasites are becoming more resistant to dewormers, several veterinarians and equine parasitologists say. They differ on how to handle the problem. “Multiple studies across the country are showing that entire classes of dewormers are no longer working against small strongyles,” says Frank Hurtig, DVM, MBA, director of Merial Veterinary Services of Duluth, Ga. “The threat of parasites is nothing like it was through the 1980s,” Dr. Hurtig says. “The difference between then and now (is that) small strongyles are not as pathogenic as large strongyles, especially bloodworms. “We have to make sure that we preserve the effect of dewormers in the future,” he says. “Anthelmintic resistance is a problem. We are just now learning about drug resistance from other species—specifically, sheep and goats.” Of the three major chemical classes of dewormers, Hurtig says, well-documented resistance to small strongyles has been demonstrated against benzimidazoles, one of the older classes of dewormers. He also cites a study led by Ray Kaplan, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. EVPC, of the Department of Infectious Diseases at the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine, that showed 40 percent of the farms surveyed had small strongyles that were resistant to …
APHIS Delays Published Interim Rule On Equine ImportationJune 9, 2011 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published an interim rule in the Federal Register on the importation of horses from contagious equine metritis-affected countries. The interim rule was published March 25. Implementation of the rule has been delayed until July 25. “We consider the U.S. to be contagious equine metritis (CEM) free,” says Dr. Ellen Buck, senior staff veterinarian, Equine Imports, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS. “This is why the rule doesn’t include U.S. states. The 120-day delay will end July 25.” APHIS’ rule change amending 9 CFR part 93, published at 76 FR 16683-16686 will now incorporate an additional certification requirement for imported horses 731 days of age or less and adding new testing protocols for test mares and imported stallions and mares more than 731 days of age. “This action is necessary to provide CEM testing facilities time to make adjustments to their operating procedures that are necessary for the rule to be successfully implemented,” Dr. Buck says. “Once in place this will add security and protection against CEM to U.S. equine.” <Home>
Hartville Group And ASPCA Renew PartnershipJune 9, 2011 The Hartville Group, Inc., and The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) today, renewed their partnership for pet insurance. Initially established in 2006, the partnership allowed the Hartville Group to develop and launch ASPCA Pet Health Insurance. The ASPCA says the society chose Hartville Group because of its commitment to pet health and humane coverage philosophy. “By renewing our strategic partnership, Hartville and the ASPCA will continue to educate pet parents about the value of pet health insurance and to design coverage worthy of the ASPCA’s humane goals,” says Dennis Rushovich, CEO of the Hartville Group. “The ASPCA’s mission is paramount in the design of our plans and we work very closely with the ASPCA as our coverage evolves to remain the best value to pet parents and the best coverage for pets. We look forward to continuing to contribute to the ASPCA’s worthy mission in this way for the long term.” According to Hartville, rising veterinary costs and more sophisticated treatments equates to more pet owners needing help to afford pet care. U.S. pet owners are expected to spend $14.1 billion on veterinary care this year—up 53 percent from 2006, according …
Lyme Disease Bacteria Take Over Lymph NodesJune 9, 2011 The bacteria that cause Lyme disease appear to hide in the lymph nodes, triggering a significant immune response, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. However, the triggered immune response isn’t strong enough to destroy the infection. The National Institutes of Health –funded study conducted at the university, may explain why some people experience repeated infections of tick-borne Lyme disease. “Our findings suggest that Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease in people, dogs and wildlife, have developed a strategy for subverting the immune response of the animals they infect,” says Nicole Baumgarth a professor and authority on immune responses at the UC Davis Center for Comparative Medicine. “At first it seems counter intuitive that an infectious organism would choose to migrate to the lymph nodes where it would automatically trigger an immune response in the host animal, but B. burgdorferi have apparently struck an intricate balance that allows the bacteria to both provoke and elude the animal’s immune response.” The UC Davis research team explored the mechanisms that cause enlarged lymph nodes and determined the nature of the resulting immune response. Using mice, researchers found when animals were infected with B. …
