AAHA releases preventive care protocol publicationSeptember 6, 2018The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has released a new publication, developed with the support of an educational grant from IDEXX—Promoting Preventive Care Protocols: Evidence, Enactment, and Economics. "A focus on preventive care can give pets a greater chance at longer and healthier lives. Pet owners are more receptive than ever to engaging in conversations on preventive care and innovation in diagnostics, diets, and treatments," said Janice Trumpeter, DVM, AAHA deputy CEO. Preventive care exams remain a veterinary professional's best chance to influence good outcomes throughout a pet's lifetime, according to AAHA. Through these hands-on moments with patients and regular consultations with pet owners, practitioners can provide advice, preventive care services, and additional recommendations tailored to individual pets, the association said. The new publication features results of various studies and concludes that regular health checks and screenings improve detection and allow for early therapeutic intervention. Notably, it includes findings from a landmark big-data analysis of preventive care profiles from IDEXX. Analysis from 268,817 patient samples across more than 5,000 North American veterinary practices revealed that veterinary professionals who screen pets regularly find significant results in all adult life stages that require further action. The publication also …
SPONSORED CONTENTThe Reality of Veterinary Surgery ErgonomicsOne of the greatest challenges of Work-Related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders (WRMSD) is that they can come on slowly. They can be easy to ignore initially. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) issued ergonomic guidelines to help veterinarians catch problems early. + Learn More
Alzheimer's drug used in cognitive dysfunction syndrome clinical trialSeptember 5, 2018Ropesalazine, a drug candidate for Alzheimer's disease (AD), has shown efficacy in a pilot clinical trial conducted for dogs with cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), according to the drug's manufacturer, South Korea-based GNT Pharma. There currently is no cure for CDS, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder of senior dogs characterized by altered interaction with family, disorientation, sleep/wake cycle changes, increased house soiling, and activity change. It is accompanied by nerve cell death, amyloid plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles similar to AD, leading GNT Pharma scientists to design the pilot study to investigate whether Ropesalazine would alleviate signs of CDS, as well. "The companion dogs failed to recognize their owners before the treatment," said Jae Bong Moon, DVM, head of Irion Animal Hospital in Seoul, who led the study. "It was so amazing to see the dogs that wagged their tails for their owners and cuddled up to them within eight weeks of Ropesalazine treatment. [It] appeared to cure CDS." The study was conducted on six companion dogs age 10 or older who revealed severe cognitive dysfunction according to canine cognitive dysfunction and canine dementia rating scales. Within eight weeks following daily oral administration of Ropesalazine, all six dogs returned …
Veterinary Career Network to host first online career fairSeptember 5, 2018The Veterinary Career Network (VCN) is hosting its first online career fair, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, Sept. 27. The AVMA developed the VCN to allow veterinary associations and colleges to share job postings across their career centers. "The purpose of the online career fair is to provide an efficient and convenient way to connect employers and job seekers from the comfort of their own homes or offices," said Patricia Wohlferth-Bethke, DVM, manager of veterinary career services in the American Veterinary Medical Association Membership and Field Services Division. Employers will schedule chat times for all or part of the four-hour fair and job seekers who express interest in employers will wait in virtual lines to chat with those employers. Positions are available in the following categories: veterinarian, relief veterinarian, medical director, extern, intern, veterinary technician, veterinary assistant, practice manager, hospital administrator, and other. The individual associations hosting the fair are the AVMA; the American Association of Equine Practitioners; the American Animal Hospital Association, the Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Nevada VMAs; and the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association. CareerEco is holding the fair. Registration is $350 per employer and free for job …
AAEP Foundation earmarks $700K for equine welfare projects September 5, 2018The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Foundation has approved 2018 funding of $701,723 for 28 organizations, projects, and programs committed to its mission of improving equine health and welfare. Since its inception in 1994, the foundation has distributed more than $5.4 million to support its mission. Some of the support, earmarked for helping to financially stabilize students' transition into practice, funded 49 scholarships at $340,000. The disbursement also includes support for a record 10 equitarian (working equid) programs. Also funded were two disaster training and preparation programs at veterinary schools to include veterinarians, students, first responders, and horse owners, as well as an equine disaster planning session for veterinarian leaders and industry stakeholders. Among new programs receiving support is the Equine Welfare Data Collective, a collaborative effort to enhance programming for transitioning and at-risk horses, as well as iBooks at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and up to four $20,000 first-time faculty awards for research projects. The recipients, by mission category: Benevolence Equine advocacy/Unwanted horses Equine Welfare Data Collective Unwanted Horse Coalition/Operation Gelding Program Equitarian (working equid) programs Equitarian Projects in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and South Dakota Equitarian …
AVMA offers new veterinary team development resourceSeptember 4, 2018The American Veterinary Medical Association's (AVMA) new teambuilding resource is designed to help create a more positive veterinary work environment. Team-building Exercises: Three Paths to Stronger Teams provides step-by-step instructions for running a variety of team-based challenges and fun competitions at work. These activities can help veterinarians engage with their staff in exciting new ways while offering opportunities for them to grow and overcome challenges together and to build camaraderie. The new team-building activity guide joins a suite of other AVMA tools designed to practitioners manage and build a stronger team for their businesses: New Hire Training helps veterinarians connect with new employees as soon as they join the staff Employee Performance Feedback helps implement a formal communication plan that supports employee growth Effective Team Meetings helps run gatherings that motivate, elevate, and inform staff All four resources are free and available exclusively to AVMA members. Located in the practice management section of our website, access them directly by visiting avma.org/TeamCPR. Practice owners or managers looking for more teambuilding strategies can visit the AVMA Veterinary Career Center's latest webinar,
Kindred Biosciences joins AAEP educational partnersSeptember 4, 2018Kindred Biosciences Inc. has joined the American Association of Equine Practitioners' (AAEP) Educational Partner Program. Educational Partners provide resources and education through the AAEP to equine veterinarians and horse owners to improve animal health and welfare. "KindredBio's partnership with the AAEP brings together two organizations that share a passion for improving equine wellness," said Denise Bevers, co-founder and COO. "Our company is focused on addressing the numerous unmet medical needs that equine veterinarians encounter daily. In addition, many of us at KindredBio are horse owners, so we understand there is no better equine partner than the AAEP." At the upcoming AAEP convention in San Francisco, the company will be the Health and Wellness Initiative sponsor, will underwrite a Sunrise Session, and will have a large presence in the exhibit hall. The company focuses on drug development for cats, dogs, and horses. Equine products in development include a product for control of pyrexia (fever) in horses, which is currently under review by the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. The company becomes the 11th equine health corporation in the AAEP's Educational Partnership Program. The 10 other AAEP Educational Partners are Boehringer Ingelheim, Cargill, Dechra Veterinary …
KSU food animal medicine research receives investment from alumni coupleSeptember 4, 2018Kelly and Marcie Lechtenberg have created the T.G. Nagaraja and M.M. Chengappa Excellence Fund at the Kansas State University (KSU) College of Veterinary Medicine to support graduate student work and research in food animal medicine. T.G. Nagaraja, BVSc, MVSc, PhD, is a University Distinguished Professor of Microbiology in the Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University whose research expertise is in gut microbiology of cattle. M.M. Chengappa, BVSc, MVSc, MS, PhD, DACVM, also a KSU University Distinguished Professor, primarily researches the pathogenesis of important infectious diseases of animals in an effort to develop strategies to protect animals from such diseases. "This gift and past contributions to the department from the Lechtenbergs are vital in helping us maintain and build programs critical to our missions in teaching, research discovery and contributions to animal and human health," said Derek Mosier, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, head of the diagnostic medicine and pathobiology department. "The Lechtenbergs' gift in particular helps support a wide variety of department needs, from infrastructure, student support, support of specific research projects and as an investment in the future of our training and research programs." The Lechtenbergs both are KSU …
One Health Research Foundation announces inaugural board of directorsAugust 31, 2018The One Health Research Foundation (OHRF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity, has named its inaugural board of trustees along with its mission to "improve human, animal, and environmental health in the Caribbean and other tropical areas of the world through support of integrative, multidisciplinary research and innovation." Established in 2017, the One Health Research Foundation is based in Miramar, Fla., with an office at the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) in St. Kitts. RUSVM contributes to the foundation and provides research space in its new research and pathology building and office space on campus. The foundation was organized for charitable research and training purposes, and its charitable activities will be both in the U.S. and abroad, with a special focus on the Caribbean. "The One Health Research Foundation aims to be recognized as a premier charitable organization that promotes and advances a One Health, transdisciplinary approach to address societal needs," said Robert Bergquist, MD, PhD, OHRF board president. "OHRF provides support to qualified scientists and students, partners, and programs through grants for research, innovation, and training, primarily aimed at security in relation to zoonotic, vector-borne, and other infectious/parasitic diseases, food and feed safety, ecosystem health, and health …
IVAPM kicks off Animal Pain Awareness Month campaignAugust 31, 2018The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management (IVAPM) is sponsoring a campaign for September's Animal Pain Awareness Month that works to call greater attention to acute and chronic pain in companion animals. Animal Pain Awareness Month is a time when clinics, veterinarians, technicians, veterinary industry publications, and veterinary educators work to raise public awareness about veterinary patient pain and pain management. This year's theme, Pets Feel Pain Too, was chosen to illustrate that humans and animals alike process and feel pain similarly—if something is thought to cause pain in humans, it also may produce pain in our animal counterparts. "Pets deserve a good quality of life and the aim is to provide that to animals suffering from chronic and acute pain when and where possible. Combining traditional and medicinal modalities of pain management with complementary treatments such as acupuncture, rehabilitation and physical therapy, can have a substantial impact on improving an animal's quality of life," Tasha McNerney, BS, CVT, CVPP, VTS (anesthesia). September is Animal Pain Awareness Month and human medicine's Pain Awareness Month. To help spread the word about Animal Pain Awareness Month, visit the organization's Facebook page, where posters for clinics …
Pet King Brands donates $240K in ear infection products to dogs in need August 30, 2018Pet King Brands Inc. has donated 12,000 bottles of Zymox Plus Advanced Otic-HC Enzymatic Ear Care Solution to assist animals suffering from ear infections and increase adoptions of rescued dogs. Ear infections, among the top health issues seen among dogs in animal shelters, rescues, humane societies, and animal sanctuaries across the U.S., can cause a myriad of symptoms, including pain, discharge, irritability, and even hearing loss if left untreated. "We receive stories all the time regarding the impact Zymox has had on pet ear health. We are also aware that shelters are overcrowded and under-funded with a large pet population suffering from painful ear infections," said Pamela K. Bosco, Pet King president. "We realized we could help on a large scale. We want pets to become more adoptable, sooner. Plus, Zymox is very easy to use, which reduces the demands on the shelter staff." Pet King Brands said it will continue helping to promote pet adoptions, reduce the number of homeless pets, and support pets in shelters through additional future donations.
