U.K. Vets Remove Cataracts in Asian BearSeptember 22, 2014 The veterinary charity Animal Health Trust successfully performed cataract surgery on a moon bear that was rescued from the wild in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa province. The juvenile bear, named James, had learned to live and play in virtual darkness, according to Animals Asia, which hosted the surgery at its Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre. Animals Asia is a group dedicated to fighting the harvesting of bear bile, an ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine, and to other animal welfare causes. Ophthalmologists from the U.K.-based Animal Health Trust found a cataract in James’ left eye and a hypermature cataract in the right eye, which the veterinarians feared was permanently useless because it showed little to no reaction to light. The recent surgery should completely restore vision in the left eye and partially in the right, the veterinarians said. “It is very difficult for us to estimate how much James can see with his right eye, because blind bears will use their keen sense of smell and hearing to move around,” said Animals Asia senior veterinarian Joost Philippa, DVM, Ph.D. “Even with cataracts in both eyes it was sometimes difficult to notice that James could …
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Merck Awards $5,000 Student ScholarshipsSeptember 18, 2014 Fifteen veterinary students with a strong interest in dairy or beef medicine each received a $5,000 scholarship from Merck Animal Health. The annual Bovine Veterinary Student Recognition Awards were announced today on the first day of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners conference in Albuquerque, N.M. “The contributions that large animal veterinarians make to our world are immeasurable,” said Norman Stewart, DVM, livestock technical services manager with Summit, N.J.-based Merck, a manufacturer of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and other products. “They help keep our animals healthy and our food safe and affordable.” The scholarships and a free trip to the conference went to: Chelsea Allan (Ontario Veterinary College) Benjamin Baird (Washington State University) Lindsey Borst (University of Minnesota) Julie Conner (University of California, Davis) J.D. Folsom (Oklahoma State University) Jacob Hagenmaier (Kansas State University) Jennifer R. Holle (University of Wisconsin) Daniel J. Lopez (Cornell University) Lee Michels (University of Minnesota) Halley Oliveira (Cornell University) Emily K. Severt (Ohio State University) McKenzie Steger (Iowa State University) Peter A. Strassburg (University of Wisconsin) Holt Tripp (Oklahoma State University) Ashley Zondlak (Michigan State University) The scholarship recipients must be in their third or fourth year of …
Jaguar Animal Health Has Taste for New DrugsSeptember 18, 2014 A treatment for obesity-related metabolic dysfunction in dogs is the latest proposed product from a fledgling San Francisco drug developer. Jaguar Animal Health Inc., which focuses on gastrointestinal concerns in pets and production animals, reported Wednesday that the company has submitted its eighth Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD) application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. The newest candidate would address obesity-related metabolic dysfunction, which in dogs can mean altered lipid profiles, insulin resistance and mild hypertension. “Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome occurs not just in humans, but also in dogs,” said Serge Martinod, DVM, Ph.D., the company’s chief veterinary officer. “However, while physicians worldwide have a vast array of drugs that have been approved to treat this condition in humans, veterinarians have no approved products available to treat these issues in dogs.” Jaguar stated that the active ingredient in the metabolic drug “is isolated and purified from a plant indigenous to the southwestern United States.” “In traditional medicine, the plant was brewed as a tea and used for the treatment of diabetes and other various illnesses,” the company added. Three other candidates in the Jaguar pipeline …
OSU Vet College Raises Funds for Cancer ResearchSeptember 18, 2014 The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine is raising thousands of dollars for cancer research as part of Pelotonia 2014. The annual fundraiser for cancer research was founded in 2008 and is described as a three-day experience that includes a weekend of cycling, entertainment and volunteerism. The college group, led by Michelle Harcha, DVM, has raised $12,565 so far through cycling a total of 375 miles between five riders and volunteering. The college’s student group, led by Katie Huter, rode a total of 2,505 miles between 26 riders and has raised $32,230 so far. Fundraising continues until October. Many veterinarians on the college’s campus are striving to understand how cancer works by conducting research and clinical trials, the university noted. The college is partnered with the Wexner Medical Center, and a number of the college’s professionals hold joint appointments in the Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Solove Research Institute and Nationwide Children’s Hospital. More than 7,270 people participated in Pelotonia this year. For details, visit the Pelotonia website.
Proposed Microchip Would Track Lost PetsSeptember 18, 2014 Lost pets and drained batteries will be a thing of the past if Escape Alert gets its way. Coming as soon as 2015, if the Los Angeles company raises enough money and perfects the technology, is a veterinarian-implanted microchip with GPS capability. Pet owners could set virtual boundaries, receive a text message or email if the cat or dog strays across the line, and follow and recover the animal. Unlike today’s competition—battery-powered GPS collars that owners must remember to recharge—Escape Alert intends to use piezoelectrical nanogenerator technology. That means the microchip would be recharged through the pet’s body movement alone. Compared with the common rice grain-sized implanted microchip, which reveals owner information only when scanned, the first-of-its-kind Escape Alert chip would be much larger—at least initially. “There is a lot of technology which needs to fit in that tiny space, including, but not limited to, the GPS, battery and antenna,” spokeswoman Karen Zaxton said. “We know we can make it as small as a postage stamp and are now working to make that even smaller.” Escape Alert reported that patent applications have been filed, and in the meantime the company is looking …
Space Available in Golden Retriever StudySeptember 17, 2014 Two years down, 10 to go. Morris Animal Foundation’s Golden Retriever Lifetime Study this month entered the third year of a project designed to document the long-term health of one of the United States’ most popular dog breeds. More than 1,900 golden retrievers are enrolled in the study, which uses owner questionnaires, veterinary exams, blood tests and genetic sequencing to provide researchers with an in-depth look at the breed and help them better understand cancer and other canine diseases. Morris Animal Foundation, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Denver, hopes to ultimately enroll 3,000 dogs. Owners of golden retrievers younger than 2 years old and living in the contiguous United States may apply at caninelifetimehealth.org. David Haworth, DVM, Ph.D., the foundation’s president and CEO, volunteered his golden retriever, Bridger. The 1,900 families who enrolled their dogs “hate disease in their beloved companions so much that they are willing to participate fully in this study,” Dr. Haworth said. “It is not easy, but it is so important,” he said. Information gleaned from the study will grow over the years as the dogs age, become sick and die. “When …
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 …
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. …
