Medivet has acquired its 250th practice: Alfreton Park Veterinary Hospital, a nine-vet small animal clinic close to Derby.

Established over 100 years ago, Alfreton Park Veterinary Hospital is based in a purpose-built clinic; one of four International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) recognised Cat Friendly Practices in Derbyshire. 

Dr Nick Pine MA VetMB MRCVS has been at Alfreton Park since 1999 and has become a Medivet Branch Partner following the acquisition, together with his colleague Dr Matt Ingram CertSAS MRCVS. He said: "We are excited about joining the Medivet Partnership. It will help us to continue to develop what is an already successful, trusted and highly respected local practice and enable us to offer even more opportunities for our people." 

Medivet Chief Executive Officer Dr Arnold Levy, said: "Alfreton Park is an impressive practice with a great team and we are delighted to welcome them to Medivet. Our model is focused on adding value to every practice that joins our partnership, and we look forward to working with Nick and Matt to build an even brighter future for the practice, its clients and patients."

Veterinary Prescriber has launched a new online training module which explains the risks to pregnancy from handling veterinary medicines.

The publishers say that many people who prescribe veterinary medicines or who handle them (or bodily fluids that may contain them or their active metabolites) are not aware of the potential harmful effects they can have on human reproduction.

'Handling Veterinary Medicines and Pregnancy' gives up-to-date, evidence-based guidance on which drugs and methods of handling are hazardous; information on the relevant regulations relating to the safe handling of such medicines; and practical guidance on avoiding harm in veterinary practice.

Veterinary Prescriber says that once you have completed the module, you will:

• understand the principles of reproductive toxicity

• understand how data on the harmful effects of medicines are generated

• be aware of the evidence on reproductive harm in veterinary practice

• understand what practical measures to take to avoid harm

• know where to find helpful information on medicines and pregnancy

For more information, visit: https://www.veterinaryprescriber.org/subscribers/ 

RCVS Council has agreed a 3% increase in the registration and retention fees for veterinary surgeons for 2019/20 which will now be submitted to the Privy Council for formal approval.

Fees will now be £340 for a UK-practising member, £170 for members practising outside the UK, £56 for non-practising vets under the age of 70, and free for non-practising vets over 70.

Restoration fees, charged in addition to retention fees, increase to £85 following voluntary removal, and £340 following removal for non-payment.

Lizzie Lockett, RCVS CEO, said: "This year we asked Council to agree a fee increase to help us prepare for unknowns such as Brexit, as well as fortify our proactive work to help support the professions.

"Over the past few years we have put increased resources into projects such as: Mind Matters, our mental health initiative; Vet Futures, our joint project with the British Veterinary Association; Vivet, our innovation hub; and our recently launched Leadership Programme. Unfortunately there has also been a rise in Disciplinary Committee hearings and we are having to allocate further funds to making our building fit for purpose, and so a small increase has been necessary.

"This still places us at the lower end of fees for regulatory bodies while providing a secure financial foundation."

Defra has announced that the law which requires horses born since July 2009 to be microchipped is being extended to include all horses, ponies and donkeys, regardless of their age.

From October 2020 it will be mandatory for all owners to microchip their horses, ponies and donkeys, or face a fine of up to £200. The new Central Equine Database will then allow local authorities and police to track down the owners of dumped horses and make sure they are punished. It will also mean lost or stolen horses will be reunited with their owners more easily.

Lord Gardiner, Animal Welfare Minister, said: "The government shares the British public’s high regard for animal welfare and it is completely unacceptable that hundreds of horses and ponies are left abandoned every year by irresponsible owners.

"That is why we have today laid new regulations in Parliament requiring horses to be microchipped. This will bolster the ability of local authorities and police to identify abandoned animals, ensuring these beautiful creatures receive the care they deserve and that those who mistreat them will face the consequences."

The BVA has welcomed the move as an important step forward for horse welfare and the integrity of the UK food chain.

British Veterinary Association Senior Vice President Gudrun Ravetz said: "We welcome this announcement to extend compulsory microchipping and believe that the measures represent an important step forward for horse welfare and the integrity of the UK food chain. The one-off cost of microchipping a horse is minimal while the animal welfare benefits in terms of being able to identify lost, stolen, abandoned or fly grazing horses, and identify horses in the face of disease outbreak, as well as the benefits to the integrity of food chain safety, are enormous. 

"Universal microchipping of domesticated horses ensures that the legislation has value, the cost of implementing the new Central  Equine Database (CED) is not wasted, and that food safety is protected. Together these measures will protect horses, ponies and donkeys from irresponsible owners, help loving owners to be reunited with their animals and keep the food chain free from potentially contaminated horse meat."

The regulations for the database were laid in Parliament today and, subject to parliamentary approval, will come into force on 1 October 2018.

Portuguese equine biotech firm Equigerminal has launched what it says is the first-ever commercial diagnostic test for New Equine Virus (NEV), a potentially deadly virus.

NEV was first identified in 2013 by veterinary surgeon Dr Isabel Fidalgo Carvalho, who went on to found Equigerminal to develop a commercially viable NEV diagnostic test that can be used by veterinary surgeons, vet labs and horse owners.

Isabel says that NEV - the equine equivalent of HIV - is often misdiagnosed or hidden by other diseases that induce similar symptoms, like anaemia and neurological issues in horses. It is most commonly confused with the Swamp Fever virus (EIAV) and Equine Herpesviruses (EHV).

Indeed, when they tested a number of horses with anaemia, Equigerminal researchers first believed they had found the presence of a divergent strain of the Swamp Fever Virus (EIAV) - because the horses cross reacted with EIAV, but were negative in the official tests. Subsequent research found they were actually suffering from NEV.

Equigerminal says it is believed that NEV is present in up to 10% of horses. Isabel said: "We did test 213 samples from Ireland and found 7% of positive samples for NEV. These Irish horses were horses that usually travel to UK and other locations for sports events."

For the new test, a veterinary surgeon needs to take a blood sample which is sent to the Equigerminal lab.

Isabel says treatment is currently targeted towards improving the general well-being of the horse, health monitoring, and boosting the animal’s immune system. The next stage is to find a treatment, and ideally a cure for NEV. Meantime, Isabel said: “We now need to raise awareness of the problem and help vets to diagnose this disease correctly.”

Virbac has announced that its parasite control ranges Deltanil and Neoprinil are now available in new packaging in a wider range of sizes, and the shelf life for Deltanil has been extended from three to five years.

Deltanil, which contains deltamethrin for control of external parasites in dairy cattle and sheep including lice and flies, is now available in an additional 2.5ltr HDPE plastic bottle presentation. Virbac says the new 5 year shelf life significantly facilitates effective stock management.

Neoprinil, a nil milk withhold pour-on containing eprinomectin for control of external and internal parasites in cattle, now comes in 1ltr, 2.5ltr and 5ltr bottles.

Both products are still available in the Farmpack/Flexibag presentations, which Virbac says gives suppliers, retailers and farmers a range of application options to cover all on-farm situations.

Dr. Rosie Reyneke, Technical Product Manager - Farm Animal, Virbac UK, said: "The range now caters for farms of any size across the entire breadth of sheep, beef and dairy communities and provides farmers with the options to make a choice that suits them.

"We are also delighted to be able to help simplify stock management with the additional shelf life now in place for Deltanil"

For more information, ring: 01359 243243, email: enquiries@virbac.co.uk or visit: https://uk.virbac.com. 

The RCVS reports that over 1,600 EU-qualified veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses have already responded to its second survey on the implications for them of the UK’s decision to exit the European Union.

The original survey was sent last year to more than 5,000 UK-registered veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who gained their qualification from a non-UK EU institution, with a response rate of around 55%.

This year the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), on behalf of the RCVS, contacted over 6,000 veterinary surgeons and almost 50 veterinary nurses – including those previously surveyed as well as EU registrants who have joined since the last survey – who trained in non-UK EU countries to seek their views on the implications of Brexit for European veterinary professionals.

Chris Tufnell, RCVS Senior Vice-President and Chair of the College’s Brexit Taskforce, said: "The aim of this survey is to gain a greater understanding of the views and expectations of our EU colleagues now that certain elements of the UK’s withdrawal process from the European Union, as well as the timing, have become clearer. The survey will also be looking for the views of colleagues on how the College has addressed the challenges of Brexit so far. 

"It is particularly important that those who responded to last year’s survey do so this year because the aim is to get a sense of how their views and plans are shifting as the Brexit process moves forward."

As with last year’s survey, the views collated through the consultation will help the College understand the immediate and longer-term impact of the UK’s exit from the EU, gather evidence that could be used to make a case for special treatment of veterinary professionals with regard to future immigration policies and allow the College to provide informed advice to European veterinary professionals as they make decisions about their future careers.

Dr Tufnell added: "I would strongly encourage EU veterinary professionals to respond to this survey, even if they didn’t do so last year, as their views really do matter to us and really do have an impact on our Brexit policies and the views we put forward to the government in these critical times."

The deadline for sending responses to the IES is Wednesday 18 July 2018 and all data will be managed and analysed by IES, an independent not-for-profit research institute, on a confidential basis with no individual responses being seen by the RCVS.

The College says it intends to conduct a third survey when the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and the impact of this on non-UK EU nationals, are better defined. 

A new study published in the Veterinary Record suggests that one of the keys to a fulfilled life in veterinary practice lies in taking pleasure in overcoming the full range of challenges that are thrown up in practice, not just the clinical ones.

For the study¹, which was carried out by Professor Stephen May and Dr Liz Armitage Chan, Senior Lecture in Veterinary Education (pictured right) at the Royal Veterinary College, twelve new grads were enrolled in a private social media discussion group, and their identities investigated through narrative inquiry.

The authors found that participants typically adopted one of two professional identities: the academic identity or a broader 'challenge-focused' identity.

Those who identify as academic prioritise and place greatest value on things like definitive diagnosis and best-evidence treatment.

The problem, say the authors, is that although there are opportunities for this, they are rare in general practice, where a veterinary surgeon's typical work environment more frequently involves seeing lots of clients who aren’t interested in a diagnostic work-up for unnoticed issues in their pets; who can’t afford further treatment; have pets with conditions that don’t require treatment; and themselves need emotional support.

Vets who therefore exclusively value patient diagnosis from an academic viewpoint foremost are therefore more likely to feel career dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, the other professional identity type is one where a sense of achievement is linked to overcoming the full range of professional challenges thrown up by the work environment in which vets typically operate as well as their technical competence at their job. These vets are therefore more suited to work in all types of practice.

Liz said: "The negative impact on wellbeing of an identity emphasising diagnosis and treatment was a surprising outcome, but it is easy to see how this identity develops. So much of veterinary education is focused on this area and it has always been the focus of students’ exams: if a student is ambitious and wants to achieve top grades and high-level faculty recommendations, they will inevitably prioritise their attention in this way."

The authors say the research has important implications for veterinary and other clinical degree programmes, and has already influenced the structure of the curriculum at the RVC to ensure students are well prepared for the veterinary workplace and can make an informed choice about where they choose to work.

Liz added: "Now we recognise the detrimental effect this can have on our graduates’ wellbeing, we have implemented changes to our curriculum and exams, so students are encouraged to think more holistically about the veterinary role and identify the different ways career satisfaction can be achieved. It is important to recognise that all the graduates experienced stress as they encountered complex contextual challenges, but for those who saw these challenges as part of their identity, this stress turned into a sense of satisfaction at a challenge overcome, rather than being ongoing and debilitating."

Reference

1. Armitage-Chan, E., May, SA. (2018) Identity, environment and mental wellbeing in the veterinary profession. Veterinary Record Published Online First: 27 June 2018. doi: 10.1136/vr.104724

The Royal Veterinary College has raised £45 million to invest in campus developments supporting education, research and veterinary services.

The finance was raised via a private placement with Sun Life Investment Management.

The College says it chose to finance via the private placement market due to the supportive buy and hold nature of the investor base, the strong demand within it for high quality higher education credits and the negotiated nature of the market. 

In the top three of the QS world university rankings and with a strong financial performance history, the RVC’s £45 million senior unsecured note offering generated significant investor interest both within the UK and North America; with the offer four times over-subscribed, the RVC was able to take advantage of highly competitive long-term interest rates.

The secured funding will allow capital developments on both of the College's campuses.

Professor Stuart Reid, the RVC Principal, said: "I am absolutely delighted that we have secured this innovative blue chip financial backing in a deal which reflects our international reputation and leadership in the veterinary and biomedical sciences. We now look forward to investing in the next phase of capital development at the RVC, securing our position for years to come."

Candace Shaw, Head of Private Fixed Income, Sun Life Investment Management, said: "We are pleased to support the continued growth of the RVC, a specialised higher education institution with a renowned reputation both in the UK and internationally.  The financing of the RVC represents a sound investment and aligns to Sun Life’s long-term investment objectives in this sector."

Improve International has announced that this year's OV Conference, which takes place at the company's HQ outside Swindon on the 19th and 20th September, will be themed 'Controlling Disease Threats at Home and from Abroad.

At this year’s event, sessions include ‘Backyard pigs – Notifiable Diseases and Zoonosis’, and a discussion on the role of paraprofessionals in the sector led by Simon Hall, APHA’s Director for EU Exit and Trade.

Drop-in Q&A sessions, workshops offering practical advice and guidance on the revalidation process and a strong focus on the Cymorth TB programme in Wales also feature.

The conference programme includes dedicated lecture streams aimed at large animal, small animal and equine practitioners and, with more than 8,000 OVs due to revalidate their qualifications in March 2019, Improve says lecture content has been tailored to cover areas of key relevance for them.

An exhibition of products and services for OV’s runs alongside the conference. 

APHA’s recently appointed Veterinary Director, Dr Andrew Soldan (pictured right), said: "Having recently taken on the role of Veterinary Director for APHA, I am very much looking forward to meeting up with our OV’s and exploring some of the key challenges facing us all, as we seek to control animal disease threats at home and from abroad."

David Babington MRCVS, Business Development Director at Improve International, said: "This conference has established itself as an annual fixture in the OV diary and it remains the only event dedicated to their needs. This year’s packed programme will again highlight the growing importance of OV’s, particularly as we look ahead to the post-Brexit era."

For more information on the Official Veterinarian Conference and Exhibition or to register visit: www.officialvet.com

The Royal Veterinary College has published the results of a new study¹ which show that dogs with undesirable behaviours, such as aggression, running away, fighting, over-excitability or barking, are more likely to die at a younger age. 

The new study, which was conducted by the RVC's VetCompass Programme found that 33% of deaths in dogs aged under 3 years (roughly 21,000 dog deaths in the UK) are caused by undesirable behaviours which may reflect poor training by owners, or be caused by undiagnosed medical conditions. 

The study also found that male dogs and smaller dogs were more likely to die from undesirable behaviours than female or larger dogs and that certain breeds were hugely predisposed.

It is hoped that this research can raise awareness of the most common undesirable behaviours in dogs and encourage owners to improve the health and welfare of their animals through better choices when getting a puppy and improved training afterwards.

The RVC conducted this study using its analytics programme, VetCompass, to explore the de-identified data of a quarter of a million dogs in the UK.

From this data, the researchers identified 1,574 dogs that had died before the age of 3 years.

Analysing the patterns of deaths, they found that:    

• 33.7% of all deaths in dogs (or roughly 21,000) aged under 3 years in the UK are due to undesirable behaviours

• The most common undesirable behaviours that led to death were aggression (54.0% of deaths) and road traffic accident [which may have behavioural components such as straying and poor recall] (39.0% of deaths).

• Crossbred dogs were 1.4 times more likely to die from an undesirable behaviour than purebred dogs.

• Dogs weighing under 10 kg were more than twice as likely to die from an undesirable behaviour as dogs weighing over 40 kg.

• Compared with the Labrador Retriever, the breeds with the highest risk of death from an undesirable behaviour were the Cocker Spaniel (8 times the risk), West Highland White Terrier (5.7 times the risk), Staffordshire Bull Terrier (4.5 times the risk), and Jack Russell Terrier (2.7 times the risk). The Labrador Retriever was chosen as the baseline breed as it is a common and well-known breed.

• Male dogs were 1.4 times more likely to die from an undesirable behaviour than females.

• Of the dogs that died from an undesirable behaviour, the owners of 12.9% dogs had sought veterinary behavioural advice.

• Behavioural drug therapy was used in 3% of dogs that died from an undesirable behaviour.

• 12.2% of dogs that died from an undesirable behaviour had been previously rehomed.

• 76.2% of the dogs that died from an undesirable behaviour were euthanised (i.e. put to sleep).

The paper raises severe concerns about the high numbers of dogs that are put to sleep due to undesirable behaviours which accounts for over three-quarters of all dogs that die from undesirable behaviours.

Dr. Dan O'Neill, Senior Lecturer at the RVC and supervisor of the study, said: "This study is the biggest study ever undertaken on behavioural reasons for deaths in young dogs in the UK. 

"It suggests the importance of good socialisation of puppies by breeders, of sensible breed selection by owners and of careful dog training after acquiring a dog, to ensure that the lives of dogs and owners are fulfilling for all parties involved.

"Dogs with behaviours that their owners find unacceptable are at risk of compromised welfare, either because of their own underlying emotional motivations for the behaviour (e.g. anxiety or fear) or because of how their owners might seek to resolve the problem (e.g. the use of punishment such as beating or electric shock collars).

"Greater awareness of the scale of this issue can be the first step towards reducing the problems and making the lives of thousands of our young dogs happier."

Reference

1. Boyd, C; Jarvis, S; McGreevy, Pd; Heath, S; Church, Db; Brodbelt, Dc; O’Neill, Dg, Mortality resulting from undesirable behaviours in dogs aged under three years attending primary-care veterinary practices in England, Animal Welfare, Volume 27, Number 3, 1 August 2018, pp. 251-262(12)

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has found London-based Sarah Lee Dantas-Holmes MRCVS not guilty of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.

The charges related to the unexpected death of a cat called Hope during an operation to explore a growth in her mouth, and Dr Dantas-Holmes' subsequent communication with the animal's owners.

Dr Dantas-Holmes accepted that Hope’s death was most likely due to her failing to flush fluid through the giving set attached to an intravenous drip, leaving air in the tubing and causing some air to enter Hope’s bloodstream when the cannula was placed and the giving set’s control opened.

The first set of charges related to Dr Dantas-Holmes’ initial phone call to Hope’s owners ten minutes after Hope’s death, in which she said that Hope had died because of a reaction to anaesthetic drugs. Dr Dantas-Holmes failed to mention that the cause of death was still to be determined and failed to mention that a likely cause was in fact an air embolism and/or a complication relating to the intravenous drip.

Following her initial phone call to the owners Dr Dantas-Holmes viewed CCTV of her actions.

The owners then came into the practice later in the day, and the communications during that time constitute the second set of charges: that, during this meeting, Dr Dantas-Holmes didn’t correct her earlier statements about the cause of Hope’s death, and that she didn’t mention that there was an ongoing investigation or that a likely cause of death was an air embolism and/or complication.

The third set of charges related to Dr Dantas-Holmes’ subsequent clinical records, in which it was alleged that she failed to include references to the findings on review of the CCTV footage of Hope’s death, and the possibility of an air embolism and/or complication relating to the intravenous drip.

The fourth and final set of charges were that her conduct was misleading, and/or dishonest. 

With regard to the first set of charges, the Committee found that Dr Dantas-Holmes did tell the owners that Hope died because of a reaction to the drugs, but that given the short nature of the phone call to the owners and the distressing circumstances there was no duty to discuss the investigation, or to mention the likely cause being an air embolism.

Concerning the communications with the owners when they came to the practice, the Committee found that Dr Dantas-Holmes did fail to mention that anaesthetic drugs might not have been the cause, and that she also failed to mention the investigation. Dr Dantas-Holmes had agreed with the Practice Manager, however, that she would not discuss the possibility of an air embolism or complication, and so that charge was not found proved. 

On consideration of whether Dr Dantas-Holmes had failed to include relevant findings in the clinical reports, the Committee found both charges proved, and, in relation to the final set of charges, the Committee found that while Dr Dantas-Holmes had misled Hope’s owners, it was unintentional, and she had not been dishonest.

Ultimately, the Committee found Dr Dantas Holmes not guilty of disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.

Stuart Drummond, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The findings of this Committee demonstrate that there were errors and omissions in communications with the owners. When communicating with a client it is the professional’s responsibility to ensure that the client has heard and understood what has been said. The importance of good and effective communication is particularly important when an unforeseen and shocking event occurs such as it did in this case.

"The particular circumstances of this case demonstrate how important it is to communicate effectively and the need for the veterinary surgeon to ensure that their clinical records for which they are wholly responsible, are complete.

"The Committee concluded that its findings demonstrated a departure from professional standards but that the falling short was not so grave as to amount to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect."

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate has suspended ten drugs for food-producing animals which contain the excipient diethanolamine (DEA), after advice from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (the scientific advisory committee to the European Medicines Agency) about its carcinogenic risk to humans.

All bar one of the suspended drugs contain the NSAID flunixin. The other affected drug is the antibiotic, Tribrissen:

• Allevinix 50 mg/ml Solution for Injection for Cattle, Pigs and Horses (Ceva Animal Health)

• Cronyxin Injection, 5% w/v Solution for Injection, for cattle and horses (Cross Vetpharm Group Ltd)

• Dugnixon 50 mg/ml Solution for Injection for Cattle, Pigs and Horses (Global Vet Health S.L.)

• Finadyne 50 mg/ml Solution for Injection for cattle, pigs and horses (Intervet UK Ltd)

• Flunixin 50 mg/ml Solution for Injection for Cattle, Horses and Pigs (Norbrook Laboratories Limited)

• Meflosyl 5% Solution for Injection for horses and cattle (Zoetis UK Limited)

• Norixin 5% Solution for Injection for cattle and horses (Norbrook Laboratories Limited)

• Pyroflam 50 mg/ml Solution for Injection for Cattle, Horses and Pigs (Norbrook Laboratories Limited)

• Tribrissen 48% Suspension for Injection for horses, pigs and cattle (Intervet UK Ltd)

The British Equine Veterinary Association says that the decision to suspend the drugs was taken without consultation with the veterinary profession, and is urging the VMD to overturn the suspension in horses not destined for the human food chain, to reduce the potential impact on equine welfare.

Jonathan Pycock, BEVA president said: "BEVA is fully supportive of all attempts to promote food safety, however flunixin is widely viewed as the gold-standard pain killer in horses and is commonly used in horses undergoing both elective and emergency surgery, for the crippling pain associated with laminitis and for severe forms of colic.

"BEVA is calling on the VMD to immediately enable limited batch release of flunixin for use in horses not destined for the human food chain in the interests of animal welfare. The equine veterinary profession has always been open to consultation with the VMD on a range of important matters relating to responsible medicine use, antibiotic resistance, horse identification, passports and the horse meat issue. BEVA is perplexed as to why the VMD failed to consult with the equine veterinary industry on the animal welfare impact of withdrawing such an important drug.”