Don’t Skip Vaccinations, AVMA AdvisesFebruary 24, 2015Diseases such as rabies and distemper have been held in check but could roar back if the anti-vaccination movement making headlines in human medicine emerges on the animal side, the American Veterinary Medical Association is warning. The Schaumburg, Ill., organization last week issued a statement about vaccinations and how the failure to immunize a growing number of children has led to a measles outbreak in the United States. AVMA noted that the domestic dog variant of rabies has been eliminated in the United States because of widespread vaccinations and that diseases such as distemper, parvovirus, and panleukopenia aren’t prevalent anymore. “This trend could easily be reversed, however, by the same circumstances that are allowing measles to spread in the United States,” AVMA reported. The rabies vaccine in animals also reduces the chance of people contracting the deadly disease. “Unvaccinated pets are not only at risk themselves, but pose a threat to other animals, including young pets that have not yet received their full series of vaccines and thus are not fully protected, or those individuals that can’t be vaccinated due to pre-existing health issues,” said AVMA President Ted Cohn, DVM. “Vaccinating your pets helps to keep them safe …
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Virginia Tech Vet College to Host Human-Animal Bond SymposiumFebruary 24, 2015The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech will be sponsoring a human-animal bond symposium on March 6 at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. The event, “The Animal Human Experience: Exploring the Bond,” aims to bring together experts from multidisciplinary fields to explore the benefits and challenges of human-animal interactions, services and therapies. Marie Suthers, DVM, professor of anthrozoology at Carroll College in Helena, Mont., will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Suthers served as the founding director of the veterinary college’s Center for Human-Animal Relationships between 1999 and 2006. “Dr. Suthers has more than 25 years of experience in veterinary practice, academic and community education and the study of human-animal interaction,” said Bess Peirce, DVM, the current director of the center and symposium organizer. “She is a well-known national and international speaker on the relationship between people and animals, including the impact of human-animal interaction of specific human populations and the well-being of animals employed in therapeutic interventions for humans.” Symposium speakers will cover a range of topics, such as the link between animal abuse and abuse of vulnerable human populations and equine-assisted psychotherapy. A panel discussion on an integrated approach to animal-assisted therapy …
Virbac Strengthens Ties to Heartworm SocietyFebruary 23, 2015Virbac Animal Health, which last month added the Sentinel brand to its catalog of heartworm-fighting medications, has taken another step by becoming a platinum-level sponsor of the American Heartworm Society. Virbac’s three-year commitment of $100,000 in annual funding gives the Fort Worth, Texas, company a non-voting seat on the Heartworm Society’s executive board. The nonprofit organization counts on sponsors to help pay for research into heartworm disease and for education of the veterinary industry and public. Four other companies hold top-level Platinum status: Bayer Animal Health, Elanco Animal Health, Merial Ltd. and Zoetis Inc. Virbac acquired the U.S. rights to the popular heartworm drugs Sentinel Flavor Tabs and Sentinel Spectrum in early January from Novartis Animal Health. Novartis was required to spin off Sentinel because of a merger with Elanco. Virbac’s other heartworm medications are Iverhart Max and Iverhart Plus. The acquisition of Sentinel reinforced Virbac’s commitment to heartworm education and compliance, said President and CEO Paul Hays. “We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with veterinary professionals as well as the AHS,” he said. Virbac was a silver-level sponsor since 2007—a group that includes veterinary product manufacturers Ceva Animal Health, Heska Corp., Idexx Laboratories Inc. and Merck …
UF Hospital Earns Top Emergency CertificationFebruary 23, 2015The University of Florida Small Animal Hospital has become the state’s only VECCS-certified Level 1 veterinary emergency and critical care facility. Thirteen hospitals nationwide have received the highest-possible designation from the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society (VECCS). The only other on-campus Level 1 facility is Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital at the University of Pennsylvania. The honor, which UF announced Feb. 16, was well-deserved, said Carsten Bandt, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC, chief of the Small Animal Hospital’s emergency and critical care service. “We achieved this certification due to our capabilities and high standards of our emergency and critical care facility,” Dr. Bandt said. San Antonio-based VECCS mandates that Level 1 hospitals be open around the clock, meet strict staffing and equipment standards, and employ full time at least one American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care diplomate. The Florida hospital has six of the board-certified specialists, who see cases ranging from trauma and acute kidney disease to lacerations and exposure to toxins, according to the university. More than 4,000 small animal patients are brought to the hospital each year, said Dana Zimmel, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ABVP. “In collaboration with our surgery service, our hospital can provide emergency neurosurgery …
Georgia Teaching Hospital Set for DebutFebruary 23, 2015The University of Georgia’s newly constructed Veterinary Medical Center will become the training ground for third- and fourth-year veterinary students when it opens March 25. The 300,000-square-foot complex includes the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Veterinary Education Center, an equine performance arena, and the Field Services Building, which will feature an equine dental suite and housing for mares and foals. The facilities replace a 35-year-old teaching hospital that sees more than 24,500 small and large animal visits a year and ranks as one of the smallest in the United States. “The future of veterinary education in Georgia will be well served through this facility for many years to come,” said Sheila Allen, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, the dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. The new hospital can be expanded as needs change and is three times larger than the old building, which will be turned into research and instructional space. Among the architectural features are open lobbies and corridors partly illuminated by natural light, an outdoor courtyard and green space. The adjacent Veterinary Education Center offers 80-seat and two 40-seat classrooms for third-year students as well as a 160-seat auditorium for lectures and continuing education courses. First- and second-year students …
Wisconsin Vet School to Host Pre-Conference EventFebruary 21, 2015The University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Lab will be hosting tour and lab demonstrations for veterinarians on March 30 as part of a pre-conference event held by the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA). The session, limited to members on a first-come, first served basis, will feature presentations and hands-on labs on calf respiratory scoring, ultrasound imaging of the calf thorax, pharyngeal swabbing and other diagnostic tests. The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association’s annual conference will be held March 31-April 1 at the Madison Marriott West in Middleton, Wis. “The conference committee has been collaborating to develop an agenda that includes calf and heifer management strategies, new industry technologies, employee management sessions, producer roundtables, hands-on demonstrations, farm tours and many networking opportunities,” said Tamilee Nennich, associate professor at Purdue University Department of Animal Sciences, who will be serving as the co-chair of the upcoming conference. The conference is open to veterinarians, custom heifer raisers, dairy producers, nutritionists and anyone with a vested interest in raising calves. For details, visit the DCHA website.
More IV Fluid on Way From AustraliaFebruary 20, 2015The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will permit the importation of sterile saline solution from an Australian company to help deal with an ongoing shortage in both veterinary and human medicine. The announcement, reported today by the American Veterinary Medical Association, should benefit large animal veterinarians because 3- and 5-liter bags of intravenous fluids are particularly hard to find. “Today’s announcement comes at a time when large-volume parenteral fluid shortages have become critical in equine medicine,” wrote AVMA@Work blogger Lynne White-Shim, DVM, MS, the assistant director of AVMA’s Scientific Activities Division. “In collaboration with the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the AVMA shared members’ concerns in a letter to the FDA last month, and we continue our discussions with FDA and other stakeholders to identify a long-term solution,” Dr. White-Shim added. Reasons vary for the shortage of sterile fluids such as Sodium Chloride 0.9% Injection. Media reports have pointed to increased demand in human medicine, especially during flu season, occasional recalls of contaminated product and manufacturers’ freedom to produce as much IV fluid as they see fit. The FDA will allow the temporary distribution of Hartmann’s IV solution, a product made by Sypharma Pty Ltd. of Australia, …
U.K. Vet Techs Win Full RecognitionFebruary 20, 2015Veterinary technicians across the United Kingdom this week were brought under a single regulatory body and compelled to obey the same code of professional conduct. A new Royal Charter that went into effect Tuesday requires technicians to register with and be regulated by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS). They also are subject to the college’s disciplinary system when serious professional misconduct occurs. John Blackwell, BVSc, MRCVS, the president of the British Veterinary Association, called the change a “landmark occasion” because it “sees the entire veterinary surgeon and nursing professions regulated for the first time.” “All veterinary surgeons know that the work we do is reliant on the veterinary team and the key role that the expertise and professionalism of veterinary nurses play within that team,” Dr. Blackwell said. The United States does not have nationwide regulations for veterinary technicians. All 50 states maintain separate guidelines under which technicians work, starting with licensing requirements in most places. Julie Legred, CVT, the executive director of the National Association for Veterinary Technicians in America, doesn’t expect the British model to be copied anytime soon. “We’ve been trying to work towards that for a long time,” Legred said. “Giving a …
WesternU Takes Over Campus Veterinary ClinicFebruary 20, 2015The on-campus pet hospital at Western University of Health Sciences has completed its transition from a Banfield facility to a university-operated clinic. The renamed WesternU Pet Health Center remains a community hospital, “only with direct WesternU ownership and oversight,” said chief of staff David Clark, DVM, Dipl. ABVP. The Banfield Pet Hospital chain ran the Banfield Veterinary Clinical Center under a 10-year agreement, employing its own staff as well as clinical faculty members from the College of Veterinary Medicine. All the onsite veterinarians are now Western faculty. Portland, Ore.-based Banfield will maintain ties to Western by hosting third- and fourth-year veterinary students at Southern California hospitals under the university’s distributive education model. Students also will spend time at the on-campus clinic. “The Pet Health Center is included as part of clinical skills courses for first- and second-year CVM students, is home to the two-week medicine rotation for third years, and is a general practice location for fourth-year students,” Dr. Clark said. The Pomona, Calif., clinic is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. A grand opening celebration is planned this summer.
Dog Owners Lodge Fewer Jerky ComplaintsFebruary 19, 2015The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reported today that jerky treats remain the suspected cause of some pet illnesses and deaths even as the number of new cases has waned. The agency has spent the past several years looking at a possible connection between jerky consumption and pets, doing everything from laboratory testing and animal necropsies to soliciting veterinarian input and inspecting factories in China, where many of the treats are produced. No conclusive evidence has been found to pin the blame on jerky—specifically, chicken, duck or sweet potato treats—but the FDA isn’t backing down. “Although it is impossible to determine in every case whether the events reported were in fact caused by eating jerky pet treats, the FDA continues to believe that there is an association between some of the reports and consumption of jerky pet treats,” the agency stated. The periodic FDA update revealed that about 270 complaints were received over a five-month period ending Sept. 30, 2014. In the previous period, from October 2013 to May 2014, some 1,800 complaints were collected. Altogether, the consumption of jerky treats has been loosely connected to illnesses in more than 5,800 dogs, 25 cats and three people. More than …
