Bayer Animal Health has announced the launch of three new educational videos which look at some common concerns in the profession about antimicrobials, including owner compliance, laboratory testing, and prescribing policies in different clinical scenarios.

The videos follow research conducted by Bayer as part of its Veraflox What Lies Beneath campaign in which 73% of veterinary surgeons cited owner compliance as a frequent cause of treatment failure when tackling bacterial infections, and only 5%¹ of vets said that they send samples for culture and sensitivity testing routinely in cases where they suspect bacterial involvement.

In the first video presentation, Matt Jones, Microbiology Manager at IDEXX Laboratories, focuses on the importance of culture and sensitivity testing, and how to interpret results from these tests. Matt discusses the merits and drawbacks of various testing techniques available, both in-house and from external laboratories. 

In the second presentation, Liz Watkins, founder of Chunk Training, a veterinary training provider which specialises in customer service, provides communication tips to improve consultation technique and increase owner compliance when a course of antimicrobials has been prescribed.

In the final presentation, Ian Battersby, Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine at Davies Veterinary Specialists answers commonly asked questions submitted by vets about antibiotics. Questions include how to adopt a practice antimicrobial policy,  how to decide when it is appropriate to use antibiotics in GI disease and how to approach cases that are not responding as expected to antimicrobial treatment.

Hannah Watts, Group Product Manager at Bayer said: ‘‘The issues highlighted by the research need to be addressed in order to help promote responsible antimicrobial use. One of the key findings from the survey was the relatively low number of culture and sensitivity tests that are routinely performed. This may in part be due to financial constraints, but in addition to assisting in appropriate antimicrobial selection, culture and sensitivity tests often save money for the client in the long run, as well as helping to resolve the condition as quickly as possible, leading to improved treatment outcomes for the pet.‘’ 

Watching the videos can be used to count towards your annual CPD requirement. They're now available at www.vetcentre.bayer.co.uk. 

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons has called for comment on a new draft health protocol which aims to deal compassionately with veterinary surgeons who have health problems, such as alcohol or drug addiction or mental health issues, while continuing to protect the public interest.

According to independent legal advice sought by the College, such an approach is appropriate and necessary in order for the RCVS to fulfil its regulatory responsibilities - similar systems exist within other regulators.

RCVS President Peter Jinman said: "At present, where veterinary surgeons suffer from health problems that affect their fitness to practise, they may be referred to a formal and public Disciplinary Committee inquiry and stopped from practising. But it is recognised that this is not always in the public interest, which could be protected by a more compassionate approach, involving medical help, workplace supervision and continued practice, subject to conditions."

As a result, the draft Protocol has been developed by the RCVS Preliminary Investigation and Advisory Committees. It formalises and builds on steps taken by the Preliminary Investigation Committee in the past to help veterinary surgeons to recover from health problems affecting fitness to practise, without referral to the RCVS Disciplinary Committee. Often those veterinary surgeons are also receiving help from the Veterinary Benevolent Fund's Veterinary Surgeons' Health Support Programme.

The Protocol encourages anyone coming into contact with veterinary surgeons - including other veterinary surgeons, veterinary nurses, members of practice staff, clients and healthcare professionals - who have concerns about a veterinary surgeon's health to report those concerns to the RCVS as soon as is reasonably practicable. Veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses who are concerned about the health of a veterinary surgeon must also take steps to ensure that animals are not put at risk and that the interests of the public, including those of their colleagues, are protected.

A similar protocol would be introduced for Registered Veterinary Nurses when the equivalent disciplinary system comes into force next year.

The draft protocol, together with recommended changes to the RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct to support the change, is available online (www.rcvs.org.uk/healthprotocol) and comments are requested by 8 October 2010. The comments will be considered by Advisory Committee and then RCVS Council.

 Comments should be sent to Simon Wiklund, Advisory Manager, on s.wiklund@rcvs.org.uk. A hard copy of the consultation document is available on request.

Here's the latest horror to hit the shops in time for Halloween this year:

Form an orderly queue please, everyone.

The BVA has called on the Government to introduce a ban on the keeping of primates as private pets.

Veterinary surgeons at the BVA have been considering the potential welfare concerns of such animals in response to an Efra select committee inquiry on the issue. They have concluded that it is almost impossible for private owners to provide primates with appropriate care as defined by the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

BVA President Robin Hargreaves said: "We appreciate that many people who keep primates privately care deeply for their pets and do their utmost to provide for them appropriately. However, primates are long-lived, intelligent, socially-complex animals and we can think of no circumstances where they would benefit from being kept as a pet.

"Primates cannot be kept on their own. They need at least one companion in order to express natural behaviour. They require both an indoor and outdoor enclosure to ensure adequate exercise and exposure to UV light, and each species has specific dietary requirements.

"These animals are not domesticated companions like dogs and cats, or even livestock, and are extraordinarily difficult to care for properly. Very few people can provide the necessary resources to meet their welfare needs. We therefore favour a ban on the keeping of primates as private pets."

The Association says that as part of the consultation, it considered the possibility that primate welfare could be improved through better regulation or licensing but members did not feel these options went far enough given the difficulties involved in meeting primates' basic welfare needs.

The only exception to the ban recommended by the BVA would be to allow individuals who are working in partnership with accredited zoos to breed primates for conservation purposes.

BVA also recognises that a ban could not be enforced immediately and effective plans, including an appropriate transition period, would be needed to secure suitable accommodation for existing pet primates.

Novartis Animal Health is warning livestock producers to keep an eye on the weather, because wet conditions are ideal for fluke to thrive and pose real challenges to cattle and sheep this year, even in areas where there has been little risk before.

Novartis Animal Health veterinary adviser Saul Harvey said: "We are approaching the main season for fluke and with the changes in weather patterns and two previous wet seasons, there is a serious risk of an increase in the fluke challenge this year. The wet spell will also increase worm challenge on pasture as increased moisture allows worm larvae to migrate away from dung pats to be ingested by stock."

Mr Harvey said there were already definite signs of snail activity in regions much further east than before: "The recent rains and warm temperatures at up to 2^o centigrade above normal in some parts of the UK will kick off the fluke cycles this year.

"In cattle, liver fluke can lead to falls in milk yield of 500g / day over a 305-day lactation, as well as reduced weight gains of up to 1.2 kg a week in growing cattle. A flukicide that kills all three stages of fluke including immatures should be used in this high risk period, such as Fasinex 240 which is a low volume concentrated formulation and can be given through the floating hook doser for ease of administration.

"Liver fluke also affects the condition and growth of sheep and often leads to "sudden death" in acute cases. The first indication of fluke in sheep may come after slaughter at the abattoir, where damaged livers are often condemned due to liver fluke damage. To avoid these problems a flukicide such as Novartis's Fasinex, that kills all three stages of fluke - early immature, immature and adult - should be used. Fasimec Duo S, with ivermectin, should be used if worm control is also required."

Mr Harvey advised cattle farmers to dose their cows with a flukicide two weeks after they had been housed to clear out all the fluke ingested by the livestock while they were out grazing infected pastures. He said: "It is particularly important that they use a product like triclabendazole (in Fasinex 240) that will kill all stages of fluke after housing, because using an adult-only treatment will leave immature fluke around to continue to cause liver damage and that will affect productivity over the winter period."

Bayer Animal Health reports that sales of Drontal have achieved double digit growth following the company's recent advertising campaign. 

The company says its marketing push has been so successful that 83% of cat and dog owners now name Drontal ahead of any other wormer.

Apparently, vet practice waiting room posters are most commonly the way pet owners learn about Drontal, while approximately half of those regularly tuning in to the popular TV series The Dog Whisperer and GMTV were aware of Drontal's sponsorship of the programmes.

Dan White, Drontal's product manager said: "Bayer has invested heavily in advertising Drontal direct to pet owners effectively driving them into veterinary practice and producing accompanying practice support materials such as waiting room posters and wormer reminder cards which have really paid off. Three-quarters of pet owners surveyed stated they last purchased their wormer from their veterinary practice," comments.

"We will continue to support veterinary practices through advertising and sponsorship initiatives to help raise awareness of the importance of regularly worming pets with Drontal and boost sales further."

For further information or to order more Drontal practice support materials, please contact your local Bayer territory manager.

The Company of Animals has announced the launch of the CLIX® Car Safe Harness. Designed by Animal Psychologist and founder of The Company of Animals, Dr. Roger Mugford, the CLIX® Car Safe harness has been designed to maximise safety and comfort for dogs while ensuring easy fitting and use for owners.

Ergonomically designed from one continuous loop of approved, safety-standard seatbelt material, the CLIX ® Car Safe Harness provides maximum strength restraint in the unfortunate case of an accident.  With a simple buckling mechanism, there is no need to fiddle around with the dog's legs to get them through the harness. Instead, the harness clips from either side of the dog and then plugs into the seat belt socket. Alternatively, it can be looped through the seat belt harness, easily adjusting to any type of car.

The CLIX ® Car Safe Harness has been lined with soft neoprene padding at all points of contact for maximum comfort and safety. Special attention has been paid to the cross design used to protect the dog's chest to ensure that the harness remains in place, even when the dog changes position.

CLIX® Car Safe Harness is available in four sizes and is suitable for most breeds of dog. It comes with a free guide on safe travelling with dogs full of helpful tips on car safety. The CLIX® Car Safe also doubles as a walking harness.

For more information, visit http://www.companyofanimals.co.uk/clix-carsafe.php

New research¹ conducted by the Donkey Sanctuary, and announced by Spillers has shown that donkeys receiving a high fibre diet are less likely to suffer from gastric ulceration than those fed a cereal-based diet.

Gastric ulceration is now recognised as a significant problem, particularly in actively trained racehorses, but until now there have not been any studies on the incidence of gastric ulceration in donkeys. 

"Donkeys have traditionally been thought of as stoic animals that do not display signs of stress or disease," said Faith Burden, veterinary projects and development manager at the Donkey Sanctuary. "However during routine necropsy examination of donkeys at our Devon sanctuary it became apparent that gastric ulcers were common and that ulceration was, in some cases, extensive."

Examination of 426 donkeys revealed that 41% had been suffering from gastric ulcers and that the composition of the diet had had an effect on the prevalence of gastric ulceration. Donkeys that had been fed a diet including cereal-based concentrates were over 20% more likely to have gastric ulcers when compared to donkeys on a fibre concentrate or forage-only diet.

"The results of this study show that donkeys can be maintained on a fibre concentrate diet, with no increased risk of ulceration, when compared to those receiving ad lib forage," explains Faith. "This is particularly encouraging because products such as SPILLERS^® High Fibre Cubes, which can be soaked to form a mash, allow the management of ill or elderly animals requiring supplementary or specialist feeding." 

For further information on SPILLERS^® visit www.spillers-feeds.com. For further information on the Donkey Sanctuary visit www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk

¹FA Burden, AK Thiemann, AF Trawford and J Gallagher: Gastric ulcers in donkeys: prevalence and effect of diet

What does a well-known flea & tick collar have in common with the World Cup?

It transpires that the same Bayer MaterialScience technology which is being used by Adidas to make the 'Brazuca' - the new official match ball - more stable, elastic and hardwearing, is also used to allow imidacloprid and flumethrin to diffuse consistently through Seresto flea and tick collars for up to 8 months.

There you go. Bet you didn't know that.

Horiba is hosting "Biosecurity for Equine Teams", a free webinar for vets on Thursday 3rd April at 7:30pm.

The webinar is being presented by Cassie Woods (RVN Cons) CertNCS, Equine Nurse and Partner at Lower House Equine Clinic in Shropshire.

Cassie has a degree in bio-veterinary science and many years experience working in equine and small animal practice.

She regularly lectures for BVNA and BEVA. She is a member of the BEVA equine nurse committee and works closely with the BEVA Trust.

Cassie will share insights and practical strategies to strengthen biosecurity for both clinic and ambulatory teams, and will offer advice and guidance for helping clients to improve their own biosecurity measures.

Horiba's Veterinary specialists will also be available to answer veterinary diagnostics-related questions and share information about the range of pathogen tests the company offers.

https://horiba.link/register-143bbc 

Photo: www.depositphotos.com

Poor sex education amongst cat owners may be leading to more than 200,000 unplanned litters - or 850,000 kittens every year in the UK, according to research published online in the Veterinary Record today.

Authors Dr Philippa Welsh, Professor Tim Gruffydd-Jones, Margaret Roberts and Dr Jane Murray based their findings on a survey of almost 10,500 UK households and more than 3000 completed returns (30% response rate).

Information was gathered on pet ownership, with specific questions asked of owners of female cats about how many planned or accidental litters their pets had had. The survey also aimed to probe the prevalence of common misconceptions about the breeding patterns of cats.

In all, data was collected from 715 cat-owning households, of which 426 owned one or more female cats. Around 1 in 8 (13%) of these owners said that their pets had had one or more accidental litters.

A total of 128 litters had been produced by 91 (out of 552) female cats; 65 of these had given birth to 102 unplanned litters, meaning that just under 80% of all litters had been accidental.

Unplanned litters were more than twice as likely in households owning more than one cat and more than four times as likely if the owner mistakenly believed that a female cat should have a litter before being neutered, the responses showed. Men were more than twice as likely as women to hold this belief.

The authors calculate that if this belief were dispelled, there could be around 213,000 fewer litters and more than 851,000 fewer kittens born in the UK every year.

Half (49%) of 682 cat owners surveyed believed that cats should either have a litter before being neutered (23%) or were unsure if they should (26%), despite there being no evidence whatsoever that this benefits feline health.

Similarly, among the 659 owners who answered the question about puberty, most (83.5%) mistakenly believed that the youngest age at which a cat could get pregnant was five months, with a further one in four (26%) believing that an unneutered female cat (queen) couldn't get pregnant before the age of 12 months. The authors point out that whilst it is not common for a four month old kitten to get pregnant, it does happen.

Furthermore, one in seven cat owners incorrectly thought that unneutered related cats wouldn't mate with each other, and a further one in four (24.5%) were unsure.

The authors said: "The vast majority of litters born to cats in the UK are not planned. This study suggests that improving cat-owner knowledge of the reproductive capacity of cats is likely to have a significant impact on the numbers of accidental litters."

The authors concluded that dispelling the commonly held belief that cats should have a litter before neutering would probably have the single biggest impact on the figures.

Read the full paper

The RCVS has opened the application period for anyone interested in applying for the College’s new Fellowship initiative.

The Fellowship was relaunched earlier this year with three new routes to entry and a greater focus on giving veterinary surgeons from all parts of the profession the opportunity to become an RCVS Fellow. In total over 50 people applied to become a Fellow through one of the three routes – Meritorious Contribution to Knowledge, Meritorious Contribution to Clinical Practice and Meritorious Contribution to the Profession – of whom 44 were successful.

Those who were successful were honoured at the College’s inaugural annual Fellowship Day on Wednesday 19 October were they received their certificates of Fellowship from RCVS President Chris Tufnell.

Nick Bacon chairs the Fellowship Board which, through its various Credential Panels, assesses each of the Fellowship applications. He said: "The recent Fellowship Day was a great success and celebrated the contributions of many colleagues who had a wide range of veterinary careers and expertise. 

"I hope to see many similar days over the coming years and would encourage experienced veterinary surgeons who feel they have made a significant contribution to our profession to apply to become a Fellow – whether you are from teaching, research, industry or clinical practice."

Details of how to apply are on the College’s website at www.rcvs.org.uk/fellowship. Those who are interested in applying can also contact Duncan Ash, Senior Education Officer, for further details on d.ash@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0703.