American Association of Feline Practitioners revises declawing positionSeptember 7, 2017The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has revised its previous 2015 position statement on declawing to strongly oppose onychectomy as an elective procedure.
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Diabetes PetCare Alliance program terms expandedSeptember 7, 2017For four years running, Merck Animal Health, Purina, and Zoetis have partnered via the Diabetes PetCare Alliance to help veterinary practices diagnose new canine and feline diabetes cases and jump-start disease management. Now, the collective has lifted the previous enrollment cap of 1,000 clinics, meaning there's no limit to the number of veterinary practices that can enroll in the annual educational program, and the program enrollment period has been extended from one month to two. Veterinarians participating in the program, which is timed to prepare veterinary practices for Pet Diabetes Month in November, diagnosed an estimated 300 pets with diabetes in 2016. Veterinarians who enroll gain access to tools and resources related to diabetes awareness and screening. In addition, clients whose pets are diagnosed during the program period receive a free disease management kit from participating clinics. The kits include the following: One AlphaTRAK 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Zoetis One 6-pound bag of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets DM Dietetic Management Feline Formula for cats or Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Fiber Balance Dry Formula for dogs One 10 mL vial of Vetsulin …
UA researchers get $4.8 million to develop valley fever vaccineSeptember 6, 2017The University of Arizona's (UA) efforts to prevent valley fever in dogs received a boost in the way of a $4.8 million, four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, providing the funding necessary to get the disease's delta-CPS1 vaccine to market, according to John Galgiani, MD, director of the UA Valley Fever Center for Excellence and principal investigator of the NIH grant. The vaccine, which could hit the market as soon as five years from now, will be developed for dogs first, but the end goal is to use it in humans, as well, according to Dr. Galgiani. There is currently no prevention or cure for valley fever, which is potentially deadly in both humans and dogs. Every year, an estimated 30,000 people and 60,000 dogs in Arizona get sick from valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis, according to UA. The cocci fungus that causes the disease is found mainly in dusty areas of Arizona and California, and it contributed to the deaths of 54 people in Arizona last year, state officials said. Treatment for valley fever is expensive: $4 to $6 per-day meds, blood tests, and additional …
Protégé Biomedical partners with VEDCO veterinary distributingSeptember 6, 2017Protégé Biomedical, the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based manufacturer of ClotIt and ClotIt VETTM products, has entered into a veterinary distribution partnership with VEDCO Inc., which offers multiple lines of products for veterinary clinicians through a network of 51 distributor locations nationwide. Through the partnership, ClotIt VETTM products now are available for veterinarians to order through their preferred distributor, with fulfillment through VEDCO, and their distribution partner companies. "We have a great line of every day and life-saving hemostatic products, and this partnership opens a lot of new doors for us," said Ron Shay, vice president of sales for Protégé Biomedical. "Our partnership will allow convenience for veterinarians worldwide to order ClotIt VETTM products directly through their preferred distributors."
AAFP Cat Friendly Practice endorsements promote programSeptember 6, 2017The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has announced endorsements of the Cat Friendly Practice (CFP) Program by CATalyst Council, Cat Healthy, and the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. The program is a global initiative designed to elevate care for felines by reducing stress for the cat, their caregiver, and the entire veterinary team, according to the AAFP. The CFP program, launched in 2012, currently includes more than 1,100 clinics in North and South America. It provides tools to integrate the feline perspective into clinics' physical environments and the delivery of medical care, focuses on increasing the standard of feline care, educating practices about feline patients' needs, decreasing the stress of veterinary visits, and ensuring each cat receives the highest quality, according to the association. To earn the CFP designation, veterinary clinics must meet specific criteria, such as embracing gentle and respectful handling of all cats, providing adjusted procedures to make veterinary visits less stressful for cats and their caregivers, and training staff to understand the individualized needs of cats. "Visiting the veterinarian can be stressful for both cats and their caregivers," said Elizabeth Colleran, DVM, MS, DABVP (Feline), co‐chair of the CFP committee. "So often regular check-ups …
AVMA passes proposals on end-of-life care, SAVMA, allied groupsSeptember 5, 2017 The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) House of Delegates (HOD) approved a policy on end-of-life care for companion animals and approved bylaws amendments regarding the Student AVMA and allied veterinary organizations. The AVMA board of directors had submitted a revised version of the existing "Policy on Veterinary Hospice Care" to the HOD; delegates renamed the policy as "Veterinary End-of-Life Care" and made corresponding changes in the text of the policy. On recommendation of the AVMA steering committee on human-animal interactions, the policy now states that the AVMA endorses the 2016 guidelines on end-of-life care from the American Animal Hospital Association and the International Association for Animal Hospice and Palliative Care. The revised policy outlines the concept of veterinary end-of-life care as "the provision of palliative care (including medications) for the remainder of a pet's life followed by humane euthanasia if an acceptable quality of life can no longer be maintained." The policy specifies that advice on veterinary care should be provided only by veterinary professionals, and that veterinarians should be empowered as animal advocates in end-of-life care facilities for animals. The HOD approved a bylaws amendment paving the way for transfer of the student chapters …
Zoetis seeks to simplify genetic data management for Jersey, brown Swiss cattleSeptember 5, 2017 Zoetis' new SearchPoint data management tool aims to help U.S. dairy producers maximize genetic testing results for Jersey and brown Swiss cattle by sorting genetic results, evaluating genetic trends, and benchmarking genetic merit, according to the company. "It's critical for producers to get selection and breeding decisions right the first time," said Jason Osterstock, senior director, Global Genetics Strategic Marketing for Zoetis. "SearchPoint helps producers select the animals with the greatest genetic potential in their herds and breed them to produce even more valuable offspring." Similar to how U.S. dairy producers use Enlight to manage herd genetics for Holstein cattle, SearchPoint is designed for U.S. dairy customers who use the Zoetis portfolio of genetic tests for dairy cattle, including Clarifide for Jersey and brown Swiss breeders. Users can quickly access their genetic test results and easily convert them into custom reports, tables and graphs that are shareable with partners and herd advisers, the company stated. "This is a powerful, customizable online data management tool that takes analysis of genetic data to the next level," said Ben Vlug, director, Global Quality and Product Delivery at Zoetis. "SearchPoint helps producers visualize genetic variation information and identify outliers, enabling productivity and …
AAHA releases 2017 Canine Vaccination GuidelinesSeptember 5, 2017The American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has released its newly revised Canine Vaccination Guidelines. Experts and veterinary practitioners believe vaccination protocols should be individualized based on the patient's risk factors, life stage, and lifestyle, according to the Lakewood, Colo.-based organization. Published in the September/October edition of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association—and for the first time as an online educational resource for the veterinary medical profession—these revised guidelines offer important updates to the 2011 AAHA Canine Vaccination Guidelines that will help practicing veterinarians meet patient and client needs in a complex infectious disease environment, according to AAHA. The new guidelines include the Lifestyle-Based Vaccine Calculator, an interactive tool to support a veterinary team's vaccination recommendations based on risk factors and lifestyle, quick-reference tables for client-owned and shelter-housed dogs, antibody testing algorithms, recommendations for overdue patients, rabies law and exemption resources, vaccine storage and handling information, immunotherapeutic product summaries, and an expansion of the Frequently Asked Questions section. The guidelines also provide expert insight on several controversial issues, including frequency, dosing, scheduling, and duration of immunity for core and noncore vaccines; titer result interpretation; and adverse reaction identification and reporting, AAHA stated. The …
AVMA seeks board of directors candidatesSeptember 5, 2017The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is seeking candidates for its board of directors from Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah. Nominations are open for candidates for election to the board representing District 7 and District 9, whose current directors' terms will expire in 2018. District 7, currently represented by Dr. John Howe, includes Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. District 9, currently represented by the board chairman, Dr. Michael Whitehair, includes Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Utah. District directors serve six-year terms. Terms for the new directors sought for Districts 7 and 9 will begin during July 2018 and end in 2024. Candidacy requirements Candidates must live in the district they seek to represent and must have been active members of the AVMA for at least five consecutive years immediately prior to the election. Interested parties can either be nominated by the principal veterinary organization of a state within their district, or they can file nominating petitions signed by 50 AVMA voting members residing within the district. The AVMA's Elections web page offers a guide to the process …
Likarda receives $4M to expand companion animal diabetes researchSeptember 4, 2017Likarda, a regenerative medicine company for companion animals, has received $4 million in Series A funding from Werth Family Investment Associates to back the company's proprietary Kanslet insulin-producing cell clusters, which can be infused into animals with diabetes, allowing veterinarians to offer a minimally invasive and cost-effective answer to pet owners, according to the company. Microencapsulated islets (the insulin-producing cells of the body) are transplanted via injection into the belly of a diabetic dog, removing the need for twice-daily insulin injections, the company stated. The additional funding allows Likarda to scale the project to thousands of animals, and the clinical research program is expected to launch by the end of 2017. "Partnership with Werth Family Investment Associates brings both funds to advance our product line and extensive experience in successful pharmaceutical licensing of new products for both human and animal health," said Lisa Stehno-Bittel, Ph.D., Likarda president and co-founder. "[It's] exciting and transformational for both animal health in the region and the global prospect of cell-based therapies for diabetic pets."
