Why you should increase lab complianceSeptember 22, 2022Every day, we see pets come and go from our practices. Every day, we have the opportunity to be proactive as opposed to reactive when it comes to their health. One of the greatest gifts we can offer our clients and their pets is the early detection of diseases that have the potential to be managed for many years.
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USDA no longer experimenting on cats and kittensApril 3, 2019The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says it will no longer carry out parasite experiments on cats and kittens, a practice that ultimately resulted in their being euthanized. The announcement comes weeks after U.S. congressmen Brian Mast and Jimmy Panetta introduced the Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019. At the time, Mast said the USDA was breeding kittens for the sole purpose of feeding them raw meat laced with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a parasite considered to be a leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the U.S. ARS says cats were used in the research because they are the only host in which T. gondii can complete its life cycle and produce oocysts. The kittens were then killed even though they were healthy. In May 2018, the USDA reviewed its procedures after hearing feedback from its customers and stakeholders. ARS maintains cats have not been infected with toxoplasmosis pathogens or euthanized since September 2018. "Food safety research in ARS is of paramount importance for agriculture and the public we serve," said ARS administrator, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, PhD. "We are continually assessing our research and priorities and aligning our resources to the …
Why do we run diagnostic tests?February 7, 2018The purpose of any diagnostic test should be to improve the outcome for our patients. Tests should be selected so that they give us information that leads to reduced morbidity and mortality. Testing has risks, as well as benefits, so if the results of a test will not meaningfully affect our clinical decisions or the wellbeing of our patients, then it should not be run.
