Are modified rabies recommendations backed by the latest scientific findings?January 31, 2023Rabies pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) recommendations were recently amended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); they replace the previous three-dose PrEP schedule with a two-dose one.
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COVID-19: Tips for protecting you and your staffMarch 9, 2020As novel coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to affect people around the world, many are wondering what can be done to protect themselves and others.
Drug, medical supply shortages due to COVID-19 may disrupt veterinary careMarch 5, 2020The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is actively monitoring developments on COVID-19 as it relates to animals and sharing what it learns on its website.
Dog in Hong Kong tests "weak positive" for COVID-19March 2, 2020A dog belonging to an individual in Hong Kong infected with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been quarantined after samples taken from the animal’s nasal cavity and mouth tested “weak positive” for the virus.
Animal welfare agency tackles rabies in MyanmarApril 20, 2018 Within four weeks of launching its "Don't Wait, Vaccinate" campaign in Myanmar, global animal welfare agency Four Paws International has administered rabies vaccinations to more than 30,000 dogs and cats in 220 villages surrounding Naypyidaw, the country's capital city. The area, which is three times the size of Singapore, is now considered rabies free. The mission is reflective of the World Health Organization's (WHO) goal to eradicate rabies in humans by 2030. According to WHO and the Myanmar Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department, nearly 62,000 people in Myanmar were bitten by dogs in 2017, with 40 percent of those bitten under the age of 15. Approximately 1,000 of those bites resulted in deaths due to rabies infections. In response to the frequency of the disease, residents and authorities have started mass-killing many of the estimated four million stray and community-owned dogs across the country, especially throughout summer months. "The misconception that dogs are particularly aggressive when it is hot is unfortunately widespread in Myanmar," said Marina Ivanova, DVM, with Four Paws. "Therefore, our task is not only to vaccinate the animals, but also to educate people about …
WHO urges end to antibiotics use in healthy food-producing animalsNovember 10, 2017The World Health Organization (WHO) launched new guidelines regarding the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, urging farmers and the food industry to stop using antibiotics to promote growth and prevent disease in otherwise healthy animals. The guidelines were announced ahead of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Nov. 13-19. The WHO recommends an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis. Healthy animals should receive antibiotics only to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population, according to the WHO. The new guidelines aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics important for human medicine. They recommend that antibiotics used in animals should be among those that are the least important to human health, and not from those classified as "critically important." The European Union barred the practice in 2006, and a US ban on use of "medically important" antibiotics kicked in at the beginning of this year, according to the WHO. "A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat …
