Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is to launch CICADA-Live, the second phase of its national initiative to monitor the awareness and regional prevalence of important diseases in cats, dogs and rabbits. 

First launched in 2007 as a quarterly survey, the ground-breaking CICADA-Live project has now been developed to offer up-to-the minute data on infectious companion animal disease reports that can be updated and accessed by vet practices around the clock. The new scheme is now able to provide a real-time overview of companion animal infectious diseases being diagnosed in UK veterinary practices.

CICADA-Live is focusing on more than a dozen key infectious diseases of dogs, cats and rabbits. They include canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, canine distemper, leptospirosis, kennel cough, angiostrongylosis. For cats, CICADA-Live will monitor feline panleucopaenia, cat flu, feline leukaemia virus infections. For rabbits the focus will be on myxomatosis, rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease, E.cuniculi, and fly strike.

The service is officially launched on 1st June to coincide with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health's National Vaccination Month 2009, and is open to all first-opinion UK companion animal veterinary practices.

The system's developer, John Helps, Veterinary Manager at Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health said: "Whereas our first edition of CICADA was useful in providing benchmarks so that seasonal and long term trends could be identified and communicated to both vets and pet owners, the further potential of a live on-line database is enormous in raising awareness of current pet disease risks to the public."

According to the company, there has been a lack of knowledge regarding the local and national incidence of small animal infectious diseases in the UK, and those sporadic reports that do occur are typically anecdotal and can prove hard to substantiate.  It is feared that the lack of co-ordinated good quality information has potentially lead to pet owners being lulled into a false sense of security by a low awareness of disease risks.

John added: "Lack of data on the incidence and prevalence of even the most common infectious diseases has been an important issue faced by small animal practices reducing their ability to highlight these risks. A staggering lack of owner awareness to infectious disease threats in turn contributes to complacency among pet owners.

"Evidence suggests that some infectious diseases, such as parvovirus, may be on the increase in some areas and there continues to be a concern regarding the number of animals that remain unvaccinated.

 "Not only will Cicada-Live provide the means for improving a gap in our collective knowledge but it will also prove invaluable in the promotion of good preventative healthcare.

"We have long believed that better epidemiological surveillance would an important tool in understanding trends in small animal infectious disease and with CICADA-Live, for the first time we have a tool to give us a better appreciation of what first opinion practices are currently seeing."

The CICADA-Live website, http://www.cicadasurvey.co.uk/, is simple to access and update. Registrations are limited to one per practice branch.  A straightforward one-page survey format minimises the time investment, with no strict requirement to review written case records. 

Once signed in, participating practices will be asked to complete the survey once every 6 months in order to grant continued access to maps and tables showing recent reports. In addition practices can set up e-mail alerts to give notification should disease reports be received in their area.

For further information about CICADA-Live from Intervet please contact Intervet /Schering-Plough Animal Health's Veterinary Support Group on 01908 685685. Or contact John.

Novartis Animal Health Inc. has completed an agreement with Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that grants marketing rights for Adequan® Equine to Novartis in all major equine markets outside the U.S. The first launch of Adequan® Equine by Novartis will take place in Canada in June.

Adequan® Equine is indicated for treating joint dysfunction and lameness in horses caused by injury or degenerative problems. It is available for intramuscular and intra-articular administration. Adequan® is also indicated for treating joint dysfunction and lameness caused by injury or degenerative problems in dogs.

Mickey McDermott from Novartis' Communications Dept told VetSurgeon that the timing of Adequan's arrival in the UK depends on how long it takes to complete the registration transfers, but that the company hopes it'll be before the end of the year.

Bayer Animal Health has signed a sponsorship deal with the celebrated series The Dog Whisperer on Nat Geo Wild and committed to a wide-reaching TV advertising campaign to promote Drontal. 

The sponsorship agreement covers series 5 of The Dog Whisperer as well as repeats of series 1 - 4.  The programme follows Cesar Millan as he goes into the homes of troubled dog owners offering calm and assertive guidance. The Dog Whisperer is broadcast five times a day throughout the week and will be aired from July until December on Nat Geo Wild. Drontal's sponsorship credits will be shown before, during and after each episode and will feature the Schnauzer that's become synonymous with the brand.

An additional TV advertising campaign will run during July and August in the UK and Republic of Ireland, primarily on GMTV and Ireland AM, but also on around 15 satellite channels. All the advertising will centre around the Schnauzer "Absolutely Not" campaign, serving to highlight the benefits of regular worming to a specifically targeted audience.

Drontal product manager, Dan White, says the initiative will increase brand awareness for Drontal amongst pet owners, ultimately resulting in healthier dogs and cats. "We're expecting to see a significant increase in demand once the campaign commences and, as such, have put in place the necessary steps to ensure this extra demand can be easily satisfied."

Deborah Armstrong, Senior Vice President, Media Sales and Partnerships for Fox International Channels says: "We are thrilled Drontal has partnered with our world famous Dog Whisperer TV series. The show, which premieres on Nat Geo WILD, and its star Cesar Millan, has a passionate and loyal fan base in this country which is a key factor for Drontal. The Dog Whisperer is a break-out franchise for National Geographic Channel and the show combines our unique brand values with first class entertainment."

New point of sale materials for veterinary practices to reflect the sponsorship agreement will also be available.

For more information, please speak to your local Bayer Territory Manager.

CABI has given VetMed Resource, its online veterinary information service, a new look and some new features. See:  www.cabi.org/vetmedresource.

VetMed Resource is a database of over 1.3 million veterinary and animal science research records from 1972 to the present. CABI says searching the records has been made more user friendly with a new design, and improved navigation across the site.

Robert Taylor, Editor of VetMed Resource said: "This newly-launched VetMed Resource has been designed after consulting with practicing veterinarians from around the world. They provided feedback on usability, design, and research needs, and the new look reflects the changes suggested."

Petplan Equine is now seeking nominations for the Equine Vet of the Year Award 2009, an award to recognise vets that go above and beyond with their care of horses and their owners. 

Andrew Dobson of The Barn Equine and Large Animal Practice in Great Wakering, Essex, is the current 2008 Equine of the Year. He was nominated by a number of his grateful clients and their glowing testimonials impressed the judges enough to give him the edge over his closest rivals for the title.

The 37 year old qualified in 1999 and for the last four and a half years has run his own practice. His involvement with horses evolved from a desire to work with large animals and the outdoor life it would bring.

Andrew said: "I was absolutely stunned. I'm so honoured and amazed to have received the Petplan Equine Vet of the Year award. I really enjoy what I do and would like thank all my clients, Petplan Equine and The Animal Health Trust for their support."

If you feel you know a vet that displays equine clinical excellence and fantastic customer care you can nominate online by visiting www.petplanequine.co.uk/events Nominations close 3^rd October 2009.  An independent panel will judge the nominations and the winning vet will be announced at the Animal Health Trust UK Equestrian Awards in London, in November 2009.

New research, conducted by the WALTHAM-initiated Laminitis Consortium, has raised questions over the assumption that soaking hay will make it safe to feed to laminitis-prone horses and ponies¹. 

The Laminitis Consortium comprises world-leading equine veterinary, nutrition and research experts interested in collaborating on the important topic of laminitis. It includes the authors of this work: Dr Pat Harris of the WALTHAM^® Equine Studies Group, Clare Barfoot of Mars Horsecare UK Ltd and Dr Annette Longland of Equine Livestock and Nutrition Services (ELNS).

Over-consumption of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) has been associated with the onset of laminitis. It has been recommended that hay with a non-structural carbohydrate (WSC and starch) content of less than 10% should be fed to obese animals as well as those at risk of laminitis² and that hay should be soaked in water before being fed in order to reduce the WSC^3,4,5.  The study, which was completed earlier this year, examined the loss of water-soluble carbohydrates from nine different hays submerged in water for up to 16 hours.  It was presented to the biannual Equine Science Symposium in America in May 2009.

Previous studies have shown that the prolonged soaking of chopped hay in large volumes of water can result in the leaching of nutrients, including soluble carbohydrates. However, because common practice in the UK tends to involve long-stemmed hay, soaked in relatively small volumes of water over varying timescales, the Laminitis Consortium's study aimed to replicate such a practice⁶.

The nine different hay samples were analysed for WSC and then soaked in cold water. The soaked samples were subsequently analysed at four intervals of 20 minutes, 40 minutes, three hours and 16 hours.

Clare Barfoot said: "The results showed a highly variable leaching of WSC and substantially less leaching than reported previously for chopped hay soaked for 30 minutes.³

"Very few samples reached below 10% WSC, despite prolonged soaking. The concern is that this strongly suggests that soaking may not be sufficient to render some hays safe to feed to horses and ponies prone to laminitis. 

"Our current advice is that ideally you should analyse your hay before feeding it to an animal at high risk of laminitis and choose hay with the lowest WSC content you can find. Soaking hay provides an additional safeguard but should not be relied upon."

The study also highlights that if hay is soaked for extended periods, it may not meet the nutritional requirements of the animal because substantial amounts of other nutrients, protein, vitamins and minerals will also be lost ⁵. In such cases it is even more important that the horse or pony should receive a balanced supplementary feed.

The Laminitis Consortium is continuing its work in this area and hopes to be able to identify practices that will be of greater benefit to the horse owner faced with hay of unknown WSC content.

¹Longland AC Barfoot C &  Harris PA  (2009) The loss of water- soluble carbohydrate and soluble protein from nine different hays soaked in water for up to 16 hours.  J. Equine Vet Science 29 (5 ) p 383 - 384, ² Frank  N Equine Metabolic Syndrome J Equine Vet Sci 29 (5) p 259 - 267, ³Cottrell, E., Watts, K., Duarte, S. and Ralston, S. (2005). Equine Science Symposium, 2005, ⁴Kenny, D. (2007). Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. ⁵Warr EM, Petch JL. Equine Vet Educ 1993;5:169-171, ⁶Longland, A.C. (2009) In preparation.

The Disciplinary Committee (DC) of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons last week issued a reprimand to a veterinary surgeon for reckless certification of an equine passport, having found her to have been "wholly indifferent" as to whether the horse had been vaccinated properly against equine influenza.

Eleri Wyn Jones graduated from the University of Liverpool and qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 2006, before joining The Veterinary Practice on Bala Road in Dolgellau, Gwynedd, where she was also an authorised Local Veterinary Inspector (LVI). The principal of that practice is Iwan Parry, who himself was the subject of a DC hearing involving false certification earlier this year, for which he received a one-month suspension from the Register.

The Committee heard how, in late 2007, as Ms Jones was leaving the practice to begin her rounds, she was asked by a non-veterinary colleague to certify in a horse passport that two vaccinations for equine influenza had been administered. The horse in question was being liveried by a regular client of the practice, to whom the practice regularly dispensed veterinary vaccines (although Ms Jones was unaware of this), but had been recently purchased by someone who was not a registered client.

In evidence, Ms Jones admitted the certification process took her only 30 seconds and that she did not obtain any further information about the certification, either from clinical or non-clinical colleagues; nor did she check any other documentation before signing the passport, but assumed the vaccinations had been administered by a veterinary colleague. The Committee had to decide whether Ms Jones had acted recklessly, and to do so, Ms Jones' Counsel suggested the Committee would need to be satisfied that she "did not care less" whether or not the vaccinations had been given by a veterinary surgeon before signing the passport.

In reaching its decision, the Committee took into account the fact Ms Jones, on her own evidence, was generally familiar with RCVS guidance on certification and, as an authorised Local Veterinary Inspector, had certification training. It stated: "Whilst we recognise that Ms Jones received little or no mentoring from Mr Parry, we are satisfied that she would have been aware of the importance of veterinary certification. She was also aware that Mr Parry had been suspended as an LVI, due to certification issues, which had affected her own authorisation."

In view of these facts, and that Ms Jones made no attempt to obtain verification from any other source despite knowing she had not performed the vaccinations herself, the Committee decided that Ms Jones had been "wholly indifferent" to proper vaccination procedures and was therefore guilty of disgraceful professional conduct for reckless certification.

In reaching its decision on sanction, the Committee wished to remind members that cases involving improper certification would ordinarily result in suspension or removal from the Register. "We strongly disapprove of the circumstances in which Ms Jones certified this horse.

Clients, and external bodies, are entitled to rely upon the integrity of the veterinary surgeon in not certifying that horses have been vaccinated unless they have carried out the vaccinations themselves or have obtained full and proper evidence that vaccination has been carried out by another veterinary surgeon," it said.

In mitigation, however, the Committee took into account Ms Jones' age and inexperience, her previously good record, her good character and the significant number of supporting references from colleagues and clients alike. It was also mindful that any sanction's main purpose was to protect animal welfare and maintain public confidence in the profession, rather than to punish.

Nigel Swayne, chairing the Committee, concluded: "This is not a case where undertakings for training or monitoring are required. This isolated incident was a fateful misjudgement on a single occasion. We consider that the sanction most proportionate to the nature and extent of the charge, the public interest and the interests of Ms Jones is a reprimand."

According to today's Daily Mail, veterinary surgeon Lis Crowsley may have been killed as she tried to protect her dogs from cows that were with their newly-born calves.

Click here for the full story.

Hill's Pet Nutrition has released the results of a survey of how last year's graduates feel about clinical nutrition.

Despite teaching of clinical nutrition moving up the agenda for most vet schools, over one third of respondents said that they did not feel confident about applying their knowledge of pet nutrition to clinical cases. The remaining two thirds claimed to be reasonably confident but no respondent felt very confident in this area.

When it comes to advising clients 86 per cent would make a nutritional recommendation for their clinical cases but of those, half left it up to the nurse to decide on the brand of food. For 14 per cent of the new graduates, the decision was made to allow nurses to decide on the type of nutrition and brand.

The respondents were also asked about their preferred form of nutritional CPD support. Despite the advances in on-line CPD, the majority expressed a preference for face-to-face teaching in the form of in-clinic updates from reps, speaker tours and roadshows. However e-updates and on-line courses were preferred over paper correspondence courses.

Adrian Pratt, Veterinary Affairs Manager at Hill's Pet Nutrition said: "We recognise that our short survey dealt with only a small number of respondents but it gave us much food for thought. It's disappointing, for ourselves, but more so for the newly qualified vets, that a significant number don't feel confident about making nutritional recommendations. Having been in those 'new vet' shoes, I have to wonder whether this is a crisis of confidence or actually founded on a real or perceived lack of knowledge and also whether this is a finding that applies only to nutrition or affects other areas too. We would very much like to know the answers to these questions because we think that this could be a source of very considerable stress to the individuals concerned.

"Our survey doesn't really tell is whether this is resulting in vets delegating nutritional matters to their nurses because nurses are seen to have at least equivalent, or possibly greater knowledge of nutritional matters and are respected as fellow professionals, or whether these cases are being passed to the nurses with a sigh of relief because the vet doesn't feel able to deal with them. I also found it interesting that vets did not want to be seen to be actively recommending a particular brand, despite the wide variations in clinical evidence and nutritional make up between brands. I do wonder if there could be a perception here that 'brand' is a commercial decision that can be made by another member of the healthcare team, rather than a clinical decision."

Marge Chandler, DVM, MS, DACVN, MACVSc, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA, MRCVS is one of the two American College of Veterinary Nutrition diplomates in the UK (along with Dr Dan Chan) and believes that nutrition is well integrated at the R(D)SVS, "In addition to the general basics, we also teach the basics of small animal nutrition for healthy adult cats and dogs, kittens and puppies, with some emphasis on the special needs of cats. During the clinical lectures there is information provided for disease specific nutritional needs, for example with chronic kidney disease, liver disease, and gastrointestinal disorders.  In their final year, our students are given an interactive tutorial on clinical nutrition for hospitalized small animal patients. In addition to this tutorial, we discuss the patients' nutritional requirements and supplementation during rounds, and there is a nutrition form for each medicine in-patient requiring supplementation."

For those who need access to good quality post-graduate CPD on the topic, Hill's has just launched the latest Veterinary Nutrition Academy (VNA) course. VNA Level 3 is all about applying nutritional principles to make a recommendation appropriate to a clinical case. Anyone who would like to brush up on the topic can register with VNA - registration and the course itself is free of charge.  VNA also gives access to booking forms for Hill's roadshows and other events.

Adrian said: "While face-to-face training events are still proving to be highly popular, it is clear that travel time and cost can significantly hinder access to CPD particularly for those with family commitments or in geographically remote locations and our on-line training courses are continuing to grow in popularity."

Registration to VNA is free at www.myhillspet.com/vna. To complete registration the practice U number will be required and this is available by contacting Jane Quail at Hill's on 01923 814454.

YORKTEST Veterinary Services has announced a change of name to Avacta Animal Health Ltd., following its acquisition by Avacta Group Plc.

The allergy testing and customer support that is synonymous with YORKTEST Veterinary Services will now appear under the brand name of SENSITEST^® - the complete allergy service.

Janice Hogg, MD Avacta Animal Health said: "It is an exciting time for us at present and the change of name to Avacta Animal Health signifies this forward progression. Our extensive and high quality allergy portfolio is now branded "SENSITEST^®. Previously this was only used in Europe but it will now be our global branding for the complete allergy service offered by Avacta Animal Health. "

For more information on Avacta Animal Health and SENSITEST^® telephone 0800 8494 550 or visit website at http://www.animal-allergy.co.uk/.

Jinx, a 9 month old black Labrador, has become the first patient at Peterborough's recently-opened NuVet practice to undergo pioneering 'single port' keyhole surgery for a retained testicle

The operation was performed by Marwan Tarazi, owner of the NuVet practice, using Biovision SurgAssist laproscopic equipment.

Marwan said: "When we opened the NuVet practice in May, we wanted to offer our clients the option for less invasive surgical techniques wherever possible. Jinx's condition made him a good candidate for keyhole surgery, and the 'single port' approach we use reduces the risk of post-operative infection and speeds up recovery time. His owner nursed another dog through serious complications following more traditional cryptorchid surgery twenty years ago, so she was very keen to try a less invasive approach. This time the procedure went without a hitch and Jinx was very quickly back to his old self, helped by plenty of love and attention from all our staff". 

Jinx's owner is delighted with the results. She said: "I had heard that NuVet were doing procedures through keyhole surgery and so I took Jinx along to the practice in Bretton. All the staff were very welcoming and helpful, and the vet explained the procedure thoroughly beforehand, showing me both the theatre and the equipment he would use, which helped to reassure me. When I went to pick Jinx up after the surgery, he came out wagging his tail, and two days later he was back to his normal self - running around and jumping over impossibly high fences!

"20 years ago I had a German Shepherd with the same condition. Then the vet had to open him up with a large incision, and it was very stressful and uncomfortable for the dog. The recovery time for him was 10-14 days, compared to Jinx's of around 2 days. The difference was amazing."

Marwan is one of a very small number of vets in the UK to use the 'single port' technique. He has invested tens of thousands of pounds in training and equipment to allow the NuVet practice to offer this specialised service to the pets of Peterborough and beyond.

If you want to know more about this procedure and the equipment being used, click here to talk to Marwan!

See also: www.nuvet.co.uk

Forum Animal Health is launching a new programme designed for transition cows to help avoid milk fever relapses: the Milk Fever Pack.

According to the company, the new Milk Fever Pack provides a continuous and complete supply of readily available oral calcium to avoid relapses which also gives the cow extra support until her system is back in control. Unlike intravenous calcium, oral calcium will not suppress parathyroid hormone (PTH) release and therefore will not turn off the cow's natural mechanism to regulate blood calcium levels.

Each pack contains one sachet of Agger's^® Fresh Cow which supplies essential calcium, energy and rehydrates the cow; and two tubes of Botonic^® Calcium which create a mild metabolic acidosis to enable the cow to mobilise calcium efficiently.

Forum Animal Health says the new Milk Fever Pack has been developed in close collaboration with a leading veterinary nutritionist to allow veterinary surgeons to be involved at an earlier stage. The veterinary surgeon can then leave a follow-up protocol for the client to use, helping to avoid milk fever relapses. It gives veterinary surgeons a chance to introduce standard operating procedures into herd health plans bringing better control of milk fever on farms. 

For more information, please contact Forum Animal Health on 01737 781416 or animal.health@forumgroup.co.uk.

Petplan has launched nominations for its Petplan Insurance Advisor of the Year Award.

The award is to recognise the hard work and dedication that Pet Insurance Advisors (PIAs) do to highlight the importance of insurance to pet owners as a means of financial protection. To nominate your PIA visit http://www.petplan.co.uk/piaaward/

Petplan works with nearly 2000 vet practices to promote pet insurance within practice. Once a practice has received Appointed Representative status, employees can train to become a dedicated Pet Insurance Advisor by registering on http://www.petplan.co.uk/piaaward/  

Petplan says that since pet owners often look to vets for advice about where they stand on insurance matters, having a dedicated member of staff there to explain insurance benefits can give an added value service to your practice. Also the PIA scheme can contribute to staff's CPD, and help them develop transferable skills such as confidently promoting products and handling client objections.  

Kelly Cummings, the winner of the 2008 Petplan Insurance Advisor of the Year award said: "Encouraging owners to invest in pet insurance early on in their pet's life can help to ensure a stress-free future. The PIA scheme offers good advice about the basics of insurance which are easy to understand for vet staff.  This information can then be simply conveyed to clients."

The PIA of the Year will receive a new laptop and their practice will receive £100 in vouchers!  Nominations close on 31^st August 2009 and the nominees will be judged by industry professionals.  The winner will be announced at the annual BVNA Congress on 10^th October.

Please note: due to insurance regulation, the PIA scheme is only available to veterinary staff employed at Petplan Appointed Representative practices.