MSU Helps Dog with Wobbler’s SyndromeAugust 8, 2014 A 13-year-old pit bull named Dirty is back on his feet thanks to the veterinary staff at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dirty had been diagnosed with Wobbler’s syndrome, a neurological condition that can lead to unsteady gait, and with progression, can result in not being able to walk, according to Andy Shores, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, head of neurology/neurosurgery at the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine. A month before arriving at MSU, Dirty had begun walking unsteadily. Soon, he was falling over and unable to stand, according to MSU. His owners, residents of Alexandria, La., took him to their local veterinarian, who then referred them to the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine. Since LSU didn’t perform the surgery needed to correct the problem, Dirty’s owners, John and Paula Cormane, were referred to MSU. “Dirty’s condition was pretty severe with chronic changes,” Dr. Shores said. “We took pressure off his spinal cord over the span of three of his cervical vertebrae during the two-and-a-half hour surgery to give him relief.” The surgery was the first step in getting Dirty back on his feet, according to MSU. The next step was a …
SPONSORED CONTENTStart Treating Canine MMVD Patients at Stage B2Learn about early treatment with pimobendan for canine Stage B2 preclinical MMVD patients. + Learn More
Children Get Firsthand Veterinary ExperienceAugust 7, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Children are often asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Their responses vary from teacher and doctor to dancer and baseball player and everything in between. For a group of young teenagers who responded “Veterinarian,” their dream comes true a little early. At least in part. The Broome County Cornell Cooperative Extension, or CCE, in Binghamton, New York, offers a week-long Vet Science Camp to children with veterinary aspirations. For $150, including expenses, participants ages 10 to 13 delve into various aspects of veterinary practice, including learning the differences between a cow’s stomach and a sheep’s stomach, checking for tapeworms using slides of blood and droppings under a microscope and taking the vital signs of goats. While not always glamorous, organizers of the camp believe that the hands-on experience participants receive will make a great impression on them as they pursue a veterinary career. During the first four days of the camp, a licensed veterinary technician helps participants explore numerous veterinary medicine topics. This material stresses how important it is to be able to recognize the function, appearance and structure …
Texas Honors ‘Superheroes of the CVM’ at Awards CeremonyAugust 7, 2014 The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) recently honored 11 dedicated staff members at its annual Staff Awards Ceremony. The event recognizes staff members for their excellence, naming them “Superheroes of the CVM.” The 2014 Staff Awards recipients are: • Mary Sanders, veterinary technician in Small Animal Medicine & Surgery • Amy Savarino, pharmacist at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital • Kay Duncan, medical technologist in Clinical Microbiology • Kit Darling, veterinary medical teaching hospital infection control coordinator • Lora Gonzales, business associate in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences • Sheila Carter, veterinary medical teaching hospital compliance coordinator • Elizabeth Scanlin, veterinary technician in Neurology • Katrina Lacaze, veterinary technician in Equine Theriogenology • Samantha Watson, veterinary technician in Small Animal Oncology • Tina Lilly, veterinary technician in the Intensive Care Unit Cindy Voelker, business administrator in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, received the 2014 Pearl Enfield Staff Leadership Award. Voelker was not able to be at the awards ceremony, so her granddaughter accepted the award on her behalf. Pearl Enfield was “a highly professional and committed mainstay” of the …
Veterinarian Saves Kitten’s LifeAugust 6, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. CIOLI/I5 STUDIO A black kitten clung to life after being abused by its owner. Found with a rope tied around its neck, presumably dragged by a car or thrown to the ground, the small creature was lifeless. Several of its teeth were knocked out and its face was bleeding. Authorities rushed the helpless animal to HOPE Veterinary Clinic in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Jennifer Magilton, VMD, was on hand to care for the kitten. Upon examining the feline, Dr. Magilton concluded it was suffering from trauma to the head and was unresponsive and lethargic. The first conclusion was euthanasia. Further examination revealed the kitten had ingested heroin. Magilton quickly gave the kitten Narcan, a drug for reviving humans having a drug overdose. The kitten’s condition improved immediately. Had heroin not been in the kitten’s system, Narcan, also known as naloxene, would have had no effect. James Myers, the kitten’s owner, is being charged with drug possession and animal cruelty. He is currently being held at Chester County Prison. The kitten is still recovering at HOPE Veterinary Clinic. Once fully recovered, it will …
Idexx Moving to Direct Sales Across U.S.August 6, 2014 Idexx Laboratories Inc., a manufacturer of diagnostic and information technology-based products and services, will drop its U.S. distributor partners and sell directly to all customers beginning Jan. 1, 2015. The change will affect companies such as MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. The Boise, Idaho, distributor disclosed July 31 in its third-quarter financial report that the Idexx account is responsible for about 3.4 percent of MWI’s multibillion-dollar annual revenue. MWI President and CEO Jim Cleary tried to allay any fears, saying the company is “strategically well-positioned with competitive diagnostic products, which we have marketed and sold since January 2013.” MWI previously announced the layoff of 5 percent of its U.S. workforce and the shuttering of warehouses in Mauston, Wis., and Phoenix. Jonathan Ayers, Idexx’s chairman and CEO, called the direct sales of U.S. Companion Animal Group diagnostics “a natural evolution of our business model.” “Under this approach, we intend to take orders, ship product, invoice and receive payment, and recognize revenue for all rapid assay test kits and instrument consumables in the U.S., aligning with our direct model for instruments, reference lab services and other [Companion Animal Group] products and services,” Ayers said. Idexx …
Virginia Tech Presents Annual Teaching Hospital AwardsAugust 6, 2014 The Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech recognized the accomplishments of its Veterinary Teaching Hospital faculty and staff during an awards ceremony in late June. Among the winners: Dr. Hollie Schramm, clinical assistant professor of production management medicine in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, and Dr. Tom Cecere, assistant professor of anatomic pathology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, received the 2014 Director’s Faculty Service Award. Dr. Sarah Holland, production management medicine resident, and Dr. Julia Coutin, surgery resident in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, received the 2014 Director’s House Officer Service Award. Samantha Suroski, hospital admissions supervisor, and Sharon Dunn, office services specialist, received the 2014 Director’s Staff Service Award. The hospital’s oncology service received the 2014 Director’s Award for Exemplary Service as a Unit. Award winners include Dr. Shawna Klahn, assistant professor of oncology; Dr. Nick Dervisis, assistant professor of oncology; Dr. Paulo Vilar Saavedra, oncology resident; Dr. Erin Fagan, oncology resident; Stefanie Olsen, licensed veterinary technician; and Lauren Scaletta, licensed veterinary technician. Several faculty and staff members also earned Lifetime Service Awards for their long-term service to the teaching hospital. These included Dr. Phil Sponenberg, professor …
Veterinarian’s Memoirs PublishedAugust 5, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Most people probably know him as “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” his alter ego (or perhaps not so alter ego) on the Nat Geo Wild program of the same name. But Jan Pol, DVM has been a veterinarian for decades and has multitudes of stories to tell. Much of which he shares in his memoirs, “Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow.” Dr. Pol, 72, first began practicing veterinary medicine in his native Netherlands. He graduated from Utrecht University in 1970 and in 1981 he and his wife, Diane, opened his first practice, Pol Veterinary Services. Pol, known as a no-nonsense but empathetic veterinarian, is also a natural, charismatic storyteller. His memoirs, which he penned with the help of author David Fisher, is full of crazy, compelling, funny and sometimes bittersweet accounts of his veterinary career. His memoir, subtitled “My Life as a Country Vet,” includes stories on using an animal’s breath to determine what’s its ailment is, making tough judgment calls, and why it’s important to turn your car around before leaving them to attend to farm calls. Reviews have compared …
Idexx Prevails in Advertising Dispute With AntechAugust 5, 2014 The National Advertising Division has rejected assertions that Antech Diagnostics’ AccuPlex4 screening test is superior to Idexx Laboratories’ SNAP 4Dx Plus. The advertising industry’s self-regulating arm in July recommended that Antech Diagnostics discontinue certain claims. The Irvine, Calif., company, which operates more than 50 veterinary reference laboratories, responded that it was “extremely disappointed” with the findings and would modify its advertising. AccuPlex4 and SNAP 4Dx Plus each test for heartworm and the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis. Idexx, headquartered in Westbrook, Maine, challenged these claims: Tests prove that AccuPlex4 provides significantly more accurate and sensitive testing of low-worm burden heartworm infection than SNAP 4Dx Plus, with the ability to detect positive results up to one week earlier. Tests prove that AccuPlex4 permits substantially earlier and more sensitive detection of Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, with fewer false negatives, than SNAP 4Dx Plus. Tests prove that AccuPlex4’s Lyme disease test detects infection earlier and provides broader disease information than Idexx’s SNAP 4Dx Plus and stand-alone Quant C6 test, and can distinguish between false positive and exposure/infection. Unlike AccuPlex4, the Quant C6 Lyme disease test is not a quantitative test, cannot measure antibody response …
Elanco, FDA Say Trifexis Played No Role in Dog DeathsAugust 5, 2014 Trifexis, a flea killer and heartworm preventive introduced in 2011, is being blamed for nearly 1,000 dog deaths, but both the manufacturer and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cautioned that no evidence has been found tying the drug to the claims. Atlanta television station WSB learned after filing a Freedom of Information Act request that the FDA had received 965 complaints of Trifexis-related dog deaths. Pet owners have debated the drug’s safety on multiple websites and even started a Facebook page called Does Trifexis Kill Dogs? FDA, which approves and regulates human and animal drugs, acknowledged that dog owners and veterinarians have lodged formal complaints about Trifexis (spinosad and milbemycin oxime). “FDA is aware of adverse event reports in connection with Trifexis and continues to closely monitor them,” the agency reported in a prepared statement. “It is very important to realize that reports of adverse events do not necessarily mean that the product caused the event. Other factors, such as existing disease, exposure to chemicals or contaminants, foods, or other medications may have triggered or contributed to the cause of the event.” WSB-TV also reported in late July that 1,500 Trifexis complaints were …
CAPC Urges Additional Heartworm TestsAugust 4, 2014 The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) has updated its heartworm guidelines to recommend that a microfilariae test be performed annually on all dogs in addition to the customary antigen test and that veterinarians consider administering tests twice a year in heartworm-prevalent areas. Reports of an increasing number of false-negative antigen results led the Salem, Ore., organization to modify the guidelines July 28 after a meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Parasitologists. Some dogs appeared to have developed immune complexes that led to a rising number of false negatives involving commercial antigen tests. “Some of the CAPC parasitology specialists speculate that one of the reasons for the increase in these false-negative test results may be related to the practice of placing heartworm-infected dogs on long-term regimens of macrocyclic lactone preventives and antibiotics rather than treating them with an approved adulticide,” the organization stated. The combination treatment, known as the slow-kill method, came into favor with some veterinarians because of an ongoing shortage of Immiticide, an adulticide manufactured by Merial Ltd. Dogs managed with these protocols may experience prolonged inflammation, which could result in the formation of immune complexes that mask the detection …
