For Outgoing AVMA Chief, the Show Must Go OnJanuary 16, 2016This week may be the last chance for NAVC attendees to say goodbye—and congratulations—to Ron DeHaven, who has led the American Veterinary Medical Association since 2007 as its CEO and executive vice president. Dr. DeHaven, DVM, MBA, announced last week that he will retire this year. He said after his arrival in Orlando that he will become a bicoastal resident, living in California and Maryland so he and his wife, Nancy, can be closer to and spend more time with their son, daughter and four grandchildren. “We’ve been planning this for a long time,” said DeHaven, who resides in Chicago. “Because of my previous career with USDA I left a daughter in California. She now has two sons. We moved from there to Maryland, so I left a son in the D.C. area. He has two daughters. “For five years the plan has been [to buy] a small house in California and then a small house in Maryland. We would travel back and forth.” The decision by DeHaven, 64, to retire and maybe “do a little bit of consulting” may surprise veterinary professionals he has met or worked with, …
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Many Win-Win Opportunities at NAVCJanuary 15, 2016Come to Orlando in an airplane, go home in a car. Or go home with an iPad Mini, Beats headphones or bar of silver. Companies set up at NAVC’s two exhibit halls—the Gaylord Palms and the Marriott World Center—are offering all types of prizes to lure convention-goers to their booths. From a 2016 Subaru Forester to a basket of veterinary pharmaceuticals, rewards for simply saying hello, listening to a sales pitch or entering a raffle run the gamut. Here is a sampling of the free things that NAVC attendees can claim at the 2016 conference: 2016 Subaru Forester: Get the NAVC Passport stamped at the booths of 14 participating Gaylord Palms exhibitors and 11 Marriott exhibitors. Then place the completed passport into a drop box outside an exhibit hall. Don’t win the car? Runners-up will receive a Disney vacation package, a 2017 NAVC conference package or an assortment of Apple products. $1,000 worth of generic veterinary drugs: Putney Inc. (Gaylord, Booth 724). Keurig brewing system: Wedgewood Pharmacy (Gaylord, Booth 2009). Trip to France (veterinarians only) or smart watch: Royal Canin (Gaylord, Booth 1715). iPad Mini: Aratana Therapeutics (Gaylord, Booth 339). Smoothies: …
Meet the Man Behind NAVC’s ArtworkJanuary 15, 2016If Jim Wilson is really 107 years old, as he claims with a twinkle in his eye, that means he started creating North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) artwork when he was 82. More likely he was in his 40s. Wilson, a Gainesville, Fla., wildlife artist, plays a major role in how visitors remember the NAVC conference. From the front cover of proceedings books to the annual poster to the T-shirts, coffee mugs and calendars sold at souvenir stands, his work is constantly on display. He was introduced to NAVC in 1990 after he created a 20th anniversary Earth Day poster for the University of Florida. The artwork earned front-page coverage in the Gainesville Sun, and NAVC’s executive director at the time, Colin Burrows, “asked me to design a conference poster—an owl flying and a bunch of other wildlife,” Wilson recalled. “They just never let me go,” he said, “so I’ve been doing proceedings books, posters, advertising, the yearly poster.” Wilson draws his artistic inspiration not from TV, the Internet or books, but from photographs he takes during trips to wildlife areas. Two years ago he spent a month in Africa, traveling to Botswana and …
Besser to Lead WSU Wild Sheep Research EndowmentJanuary 15, 2016Thomas Besser, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVM, a veterinary professor at Washington State University, has been named the Rocky Crate DVM and Wild Sheep Foundation Endowed Chair in Wild Sheep Disease Research. Dr. Besser succeeds Subramaniam Srikumaran, BVSc, Ph.D., who held this position since its beginning in 2004. “I am honored to be appointed to Dr. Crate’s chair,” Besser said. “Pneumonia is a very nasty disease that has severely limited the recovery of bighorn sheep in the western U.S. We’ve learned a lot about the disease in the past few years, and I am looking forward to trying new approaches to preventing the disease in bighorn herds that haven’t yet been affected, and in limiting the damage in herds that have. We are getting ready to start clinical trials that may lead to effective, manageable approaches for all parties, including domestic sheep producers.” Besser’s work on pneumonia in bighorn sheep ranges from basic investigations of the infectious process and immunity, to development of practical approaches to management of both domestic sheep and bighorn sheep to alleviate the disease, according to the university. “For decades, people smarter than I …
MSU Receives Grant to Support Mobile Veterinary ClinicsJanuary 14, 2016The Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine recently received a $20,000 grant from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to support its mobile veterinary clinics. The grant will help offset some of the expenses incurred as the Mobile Veterinary Clinics travel to 20 north Mississippi animal shelters, where students spay and neuter homeless animals, according to the college. The program is funded solely by grants and donations, the college further noted. “This is such an important program for our students and for our community,” said Jimmy Kight, director of development at the veterinary college. “This generous grant helps cover the many operational expenses it takes to keep the program successful.” Phil Bushby, DVM, retired MSU-CVM Marcia Lane Endowed Chair in Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare, has inspired students to help raise money to keep the program moving forward. “The grant from the ASPCA enables us to provide veterinary students with surgical experience, help get the animals adopted and educate pet owners about the importance of taking those animals to their community veterinarians to ensure good health …
Lysine for FHV? Researchers Say Don’t BotherJanuary 13, 2016Originally published in the January 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Two virologists are urging veterinarians to immediately stop lysine supplementation in cats suffering from feline herpesvirus-1 because they say the therapy is ineffective. Their conclusion, published Nov. 16 in the online journal BMC Veterinary Research, drew a measured response from two experts in the field who said anecdotal reports of successful lysine use leave open the possibility that the therapy does work. Husband-and-wife virologists Sebastiaan Bol, MS, Ph.D., and Evelien M. Bunnik, MS, Ph.D., reached the conclusion after conducting a systematic review—essentially a study of previous lysine studies. Bol, who like his wife is employed at the University of California, Riverside, began the review after their 8-year-old cat, Aguereberry, was diagnosed with FHV-1, a highly contagious infection of the upper respiratory system. Their veterinarian recommended lysine nutritional supplements to treat and manage the disease. “With my background in biology and nutrition, I was very suspicious, and I started clicking—doing some searches online—and I was not very convinced,” Bol said. “So I started looking into more and more of the publications, and it was really shocking to see that there’s absolutely no evidence [that lysine is effective in cats].” Bol …
WSAVA Injects Fresh Wisdom Into Vaccination GuidelinesJanuary 12, 2016The World Small Animal Veterinary Association has updated its vaccination guidelines for the first time in five years using continued emphasis on evidence-based medicine and recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach is impractical. The document, available at http://bit.ly/1Q3lXtg, identifies three core vaccines for dogs (distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus) and three for cats (parvovirus, calicivirus and herpesvirus). However, the organization’s Vaccination Guidelines Group acknowledged that core vaccines may not be administered widely in certain areas of the world, especially if a disease occurs infrequently or if economic and lifestyle factors intervene. “These guidelines are not a mandatory edict but rather should be used by national associations and individual veterinary practices to develop vaccination schedules relevant to the local situation,” the guidelines note. Rabies is one disease that may be worthy of a core vaccine in one region and a noncore, or optional, vaccine someplace else. “In areas of the world where rabies virus infection is endemic, vaccination against this agent should be considered core for both species, even if there is no legal requirement for routine vaccination,” the WSAVA guidelines state. Compared with the 2010 guidelines, the updated document, released Jan. 6, offers: A greater understanding of maternally-derived antibodies …
The Latest from the 2016 NAVC ConferenceJanuary 12, 2016Veterinary Practice News will be reporting daily from the NAVC conference beginning on Sunday, January 17, 2016. To get the latest, sign up for our special edition newsletter, sponsored by Royal Canin. Veterinarians be sure to visit the Royal Canin booth (Gaylord, #1715) for a chance to win a trip to France. The latest from the NAVC Conference 2016: NAVC Consolidating at Convention Center in 2017 First-Time NAVC Exhibitors Looking for Attention Check Out New Veterinary Products Featured at NAVC News and More at NAVC 2016 Many Win-Win Opportunities at NAVC Meet the Man Behind NAVC’s Artwork 5 CE Speakers Who Command Attention NAVC by the Numbers Other NAVC News Need a good way to navigate the North American Veterinary Community 2016 Conference? Download the app! According to the NAVC: "Bring the entire NAVC Conference to your …
3 Breed Groups Fund Canine Cancer StudyJanuary 12, 2016Researchers led by University of Minnesota Professor Jaime Modiano are launching a study of hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer in dogs. The disease is prevalent in golden retrievers, Portuguese water dogs and boxers. Three breed groups— the Golden Retriever Foundation, the Portuguese Water Dog Foundation and the American Boxer Charitable Foundation—pledged $432,000 to support the research project. “Hemangiosarcoma is the cause of death for an estimated one out of every five golden retrievers in the United States,” said Dr. Modiano, VMD, Ph.D., of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Portuguese water dogs and boxers also have an especially high risk for this disease, which is devastating for all dogs.” The research team wants to learn more about hemangiosarcoma and possibly find ways to prevent it. “Hemangiosarcoma is incurable partly because the cancer is detected at a very advanced stage when it is resistant to conventional therapies,” Modiano said. “Thus, an unconventional approach to improve outcomes for hemangiosarcoma patients will involve effective methods for early detection and for disease prevention.” The American Kennel Club’s Canine Health Foundation announced the $432,000 grant Jan. 6 and will oversee the funds and the scientific progress. “The collaboration between these three breed club foundations and …
Cougar Hunter Makes Startling DiscoveryJanuary 12, 2016A mountain lion hunted down in the Idaho wilderness was found to be sprouting teeth from its forehead, a weird find that left wildlife biologists with a couple of theories. The young cougar was legally tracked and killed in late December after it attacked a dog near the southeastern town of Preston, the state Department of Fish and Game reported. The hunter reported his kill, as he was required to do, and a state conservation officer showed up to confirm the hunter’s license and pull a tooth from the animal for age analysis, the department stated. The defect was easy to see. “The mountain lion had an unusual deformity,” the agency noted. “Fully formed teeth and what appears to be small whiskers were growing out of hard fur-covered tissue on the left side of the animal’s forehead.” Wildlife experts had two possible explanations for the abnormality: The teeth may be the remnants of a conjoined twin that died in the womb and was absorbed into the other fetus. The deformity may be a rare teratoma tumor—“tissue from which teeth, hair and even fingers and toes can develop,” Fish …
