USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is mobilizing a strong and comprehensive effort to reduce Salmonella illnesses associated with poultry products. Swine producers took note since Salmonella I 4, [5],12:i:- has emerged as one of the most identified serotypes in pigs, pork and humans worldwide. Salmonella is an opportunistic bacterium that loves to get into something at … [Read more...]
House Rabbit Society updates RHDV2 info
In December 2021, new cases of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type-2 were confirmed in New York and Kentucky, bringing the total of affected states to 18. Officials report a death rate of about 90 percent, which is why strict precautions must be taken by rabbit guardians, including vaccination.” There have been confirmed RHDV2 cases in Arizona, California, Colorado, … [Read more...]
Canadian researchers trying to develop vaccine for IBDV in poultry
Infectious bursal disease virus is costly and deadly to poultry. It targets and destroys most of the antibody-producing cells in a chicken’s immune system. Susantha Gomis, veterinary pathologist at Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, likens IBDV in chickens to HIV in humans. Once the birds are infected with IBDV, they’re more susceptible … [Read more...]
3 keys to handling injectables when it is below freezing
Shannon Williams reminds us to keep injectables at the proper temperature. It is vitally important to maintain their effectiveness. She shares three key practices to keep your injectables from being too cold. Setting your injectables on the defroster or under the heater in the pickup is NOT the solution. . . you could end up “cooking” it and damaging the product. . . … [Read more...]
Prepare for calving time
Calving seasons is nearly here. David Rethorst, DVM with Production Animal Consultation, presents sound reasoning to prepare for the time and how sound animal stewardship makes the best use of resources, puts more quality beef on consumers’ tables and creates value for the industry. Source: Protein Producers, winter 2021-2022, pages 23 – 27. Link. The key for these changes … [Read more...]
That latest scoop on feline vaccines, VETgirl
The most recent updates to the AAHA/AAFP Feline Vaccine Guidelines have adjusted how veterinarians and cat owners approach vaccination and disease prevention. Now pet owner clients are included as essential members of their cats’ healthcare teams, cats have been defined into five populations and lifestyle has been taken into consideration. The result is a much more … [Read more...]
How to raise a barn cat right
Barn cats deserve to be treated like other high-performing work animals. If you want an animal to perform work for you, then you should feed it adequate nutrition, so it has the energy and stamina to perform, asserts author Janet Garman. She addresses spay and neutering, veterinary care, shelter, nutrition, feeding locations, collars, microchips and monitoring working cat … [Read more...]
Managing intellectual diversity
Most workforces are equally divided into thirds among conservatives, moderates and liberals when it comes to social issues. Forty-one percent strongly favor their employer requiring Covid-19 vaccinations to enter the workplace, while 31 percent strongly oppose. The list of differences goes on, so these three suggestions are essential to getting the work done. Source: Gallup, … [Read more...]
National Influenza Vaccination Week Begins December 5
If you or your team members haven’t been vaccinated for the flu, there’s no better time than next week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed December 5 through 11 as National Influenza Vaccination Week. Source: CDC. Link. The free digital toolkit includes social media content, shareable assets, Twitter chat and sample newsletter blurbs and … [Read more...]
AABP develops cattle vaccination guidelines for members
The American Association of Bovine Practitioners’ Committee on Pharmaceuticals and Biologics has developed vaccination guidelines for its members to use when designing client vaccination protocols. Likely the first of its kind for cattle, the guidelines provide member practitioners with the base knowledge necessary to construct protocols customized to bovine client needs across … [Read more...]
Keys to systematically minimizing and eliminating diseases in pig production
Joseph F. Connor, DVM, MS, is well known for applying his experiences and knowledge to the management and elimination of diseases in pig production. He shares how diseases were managed in the past and how to use what was learned to better manage current and potential future diseases. When you have multiple pathogens, the strategy should be first to focus on the one that can be … [Read more...]
Preparing cattle for transport saves time, money and stress
Every year after harvest, millions of cattle are trucked to graze crop residue, get to winter pasture or to be put in dry lots. With current challenges in the trucking industry, reviewing best practices is appropriate. . . .several factors should be considered when cattle are being transported. These include loading conditions, time in transit, weather conditions, comingling, … [Read more...]
When do we need to re-treat? Cattle Chat discussion.
Treatment intervals and comfort care were discussion topics on a recent Cattle Chat podcast hosted by the Kansas State University Beef Cattle Institute team of veterinary experts. Producers need to start a protocol and track the results. Research has shown that the response rate improved if we followed a 5-7 or 7-10-day window as opposed to an immediate retreatment. . . … [Read more...]
Reinforcing the need for rabies vaccination
Rabies vaccination of dogs remains one of the more effective strategies for preventing rabies in humans. Arguments about titers and vaccination intervals aside, most U.S. states mandate revaccination for rabies regardless of medical history or antibody levels. Source: Today’s Veterinary Practice, January/February 2021. Link. Research is continuing to evaluate the duration of … [Read more...]
USDA vaccine candidate successful in blocking ASF
One of the USDA African swine flu vaccine candidates has been shown to prevent and effectively protect both European and Asian bred swine against the current circulating African strain of the virus. Source: Feedstuffs, September 30, 2021. Link. A major step for science and agriculture, a commercial vaccine for ASF virus will be an important part of controlling ASF in … [Read more...]
Fall checklist for horses’ health
Fall is a good time to arrange veterinary care, assess horses’ conditions, secure winter forage and restore pastures in preparation for winter. Katie Navarra shares fall horse keeping tasks broken down into four areas with checklists. Source: Horse and Rider, September 23, 2019. Link. The fall-health checklist includes: Provide optimal veterinary care Evaluate horse … [Read more...]
Leptospirosis: diagnosis & treatment
Leptospirosis is a thing, according to Dr. Jen the Vet. She says, “Every dog, EVERY dog is at risk for lepto. Every dog ought to be vaccinated for lepto.” <Link> But what needs to occur if a patient is presented with clinical signs consistent with leptospirosis? Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM, provides a step-by-step guide to managing suspected leptospirosis … [Read more...]
Merck Animal Health announces new naming for cattle vaccine portfolio
Complimentary Commercial Content New packaging and naming will appear on cattle vaccines produced by Merck Animal Health soon. All cattle vaccines will lead with Bovilis followed by the current product name, such as Bovilis Vista, Bovilis Vision or Bovilis Guardian,” said Scott Nordstrom, DVM, director of livestock innovation and discovery, Merck Animal Health. “In … [Read more...]
Pointers for pinkeye
Commercial Content Moraxella bovis is a commensal organism of the bovine eye meaning that it can be found on the eyes and periocular tissues of healthy animals nearly all the time, writes Tim Parks, DVM, and Lowell T. Midla, VMD, MS. The veterinarians explain Moraxella bovis generally does not cause infectious bovine keratoconjunctivitis, also known as pinkeye, unless there … [Read more...]
Concerns over loosening of biosecurity in U.S. pork industry
Heightened biosecurity efforts done to prevent ASF may be waning, according to Cassandra Jones. She raises concerns that the industry is slipping back into some of the old habits, thereby leaving biosecurity gaps for ASF or PRRS to sneak into herds. . . . biosecurity under the premise of PRRS prevention, or under the premise of ASF prevention, is the same darned thing.” – … [Read more...]
Tick cases on the rise. Lyme vaccines omitted, questioned.
Entomologists have noted the tick population has climbed 15 percent since last year, making Lyme disease more prevalent this year according to CNet’s associate writer Katie Teague. She shares tick information for consumers, including information specific to Ehrlichiosis and Lyme disease. NOTE Teague's article does not identify Lyme vaccines as an option for dogs. She does … [Read more...]
Rabid puppy exposes dozens in Georgia and South Carolina
Opinion If you’ve not read this recent account of rabies exposures, please do so. We still have gaps in rabies management and prevention. . . . only 39 states mandate rabies vaccination for dogs; 11 states have no statewide legal requirement for rabies vaccination of any species. Feline rabies vaccination is required in 34 states, and vaccination of ferrets is required in … [Read more...]
Flies: Nature’s nuisance, costly pests
Just 200 horn flies start to hurt cattle production. It is not unusual to find 3,000 flies per cow, writes Curt Arens. Fly prevention is one of the basic animal stewardship practices. Horn flies can suck as much as a gallon of blood per month per cow. Face flies feed on proteins from the eyes often becoming vectors for pinkeye. Stable flies are just a plain nuisance. They feed … [Read more...]
PRRS defense from the gut
Last week we shared a status update on porcine circovirus type 2 commonly considered to be subclinical. It is also seen as a co-infection with porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome. For both viruses, first and second line defense strategies are the same; biosecurity and vaccination. Researchers are now investigating how to influence the microbiome as a new defense … [Read more...]
Porcine circovirus type 2; where do we stand?
First seen in the 1990s in swine, PCV2 has been observed to be involved in a wide variety of clinical presentations. Thirty years later with millions of dollars lost by producers and millions spent chasing this virus, it is still a conundrum. The most common form of the disease is considered to be subclinical, write the authors. The evolution of the virus has followed a … [Read more...]
Purchase growth plateaus, but still ahead of 2020, VetWatch™
Monitoring the scope, velocity and importance of developments in the U.S. veterinary care sector, VetWatch™ helps veterinary hospitals and the animal health industry stay on top of the ever-changing landscape affected by current events through multiple sources of real-time data. Source: VetWatch, week ending July 3, 2021. Link. For the week ending July 3, aggregate YTD … [Read more...]
Society ignores low-probability events that have far-reaching consequences
Vaccines are still beating the variants, but the unvaccinated world is being pummeled. Ed Yong shares three simple rules that underscore the danger of Delta, the name for the B.1.617.2. variant, a SARS-CoV-2 mutation <Link>. Source: The Atlantic, July 1, 2021. Link. Even highly vaccinated nations should continue investing in other measures that can control COVID-19 but … [Read more...]
8 strategies to reduce dry period mastitis to improve reproductive efficiency (video)
Eight dry cow prevention strategies can help reduce the risk that new intermammary infections will develop post-calving, which, in turn, helps keep milk flowing on the dairy and improves reproductive efficiency. Dairy cows are most susceptible to new intramammary infections (IMIs) during the dry period.” - Brian Miller, DVM, Merck Animal Health Source: Progressive Dairy, June … [Read more...]
Experimental vaccine cocktail protects cattle from Johne’s disease
Agricultural Research Service scientists have developed an experimental vaccine that protects cattle from the bacterium that causes Johne’s disease. The chronic intestinal disorder is most prevalent in dairy herds and costs the U.S. industry more than $220 million in losses each year. Source: Morning Ag Clips, June 28, 2021. Link. Trials with dairy calves, detailed in the … [Read more...]
Chatfields talk rabies with Mission Rabies CEO (podcast)
Drs. Jenifer and Jason Chatfield bring their energy to a revealing discussion about rabies with podcast guest Luke Gamble, BVSc DVM&S FRCVS. Gamble is CEO of Mission Rabies and Worldwide Vet Services. Gamble shares his experiences with providing veterinary services in countries without adequate veterinary care and prevention. He shares the alarming incidence of rabies … [Read more...]