ioLight, a British startup, has announced the launch of the first professional-quality hi-res pocket digital microscope.

The ioLight microscope fits in a jacket pocket and the company says it is both simple to use and robust. It unfolds to record and share 5MP still images and real time HD video at a magnification of x200 on an iPad Air. The resolution is 1 micron or 1/1,000 mm, powerful enough to see the structure of plant and animal cells.

The microscope uses standard microscope slides and has adjustable top and bottom illumination for use on both biological and opaque samples.

Iolight says it is particularly good for live samples which deteriorate on the journey back to the lab, and it works anywhere, even without a WiFi or mobile phone network.

Andrew Monk, who founded ioLight with business partner Richard Williams, said: "It takes just a couple of minutes to get a great image on the microscope, anywhere from a river bank to a factory floor. This makes microscopy simpler for everyone, from experienced professionals to student scientists."

The ioLight microscope can be ordered now from www.iolight.co.uk, priced at £840 including VAT.

Hysolv Animal Health has announced the launch of Salmovac 440, a new live salmonella vaccine for poultry which the company claims gives earlier, stronger and longer-lasting immunity than other salmonella vaccines. 

The vaccine is given orally through the water supply in a three-dose regime that protects against Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) and Salmonella Typhimurium (ST). It also protects against other SE strains and the newly-emerging monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium strains.

Hysolv says the advantage for farmers is that the vaccine strain is robust and can survive in more hostile conditions. It therefore remains effective where the water delivery system is less than ideal.

The first dose is administered from Day 1 followed by a second dose at six weeks and a third as early as 11 weeks. Salmovac 440 protects chicks after six days and remains effective for up to 63 weeks after the third vaccination, providing an extra four weeks of protection.

Hysolv says another important benefit to egg producers is that the earlier final vaccination at 11 weeks means that the birds can be moved into the laying house as early as 16 weeks old if required — a significant management advantage on some farms.

During the development of the vaccine it was found that the third live vaccination tended to ‘shut down’ any prolonged shedding of the vaccine strain. This, coupled with the earlier vaccination at 11 weeks, helps solve the issue of the vaccine strain being found at transfer to the layer house. Dr Daniel Windhorst, salmonella vaccine specialist with IDT Biologika, said: "If any should be found, the new PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) test shrinks the testing time to just two to three hours."

Daniel added: "Although the UK has one of the lowest percentages of salmonella in its flocks, almost one-third of cases were of S Typhimurium. In most continental countries the percentage is much higher, so the extra cover provided by this vaccine is important."

Salmovac 440 has been approved for use by the British Egg Industry Council, which administers the Lion Code.

The BVA is calling for urgent reassurance from the government concerning farm animal welfare.

The association says the government decision to revoke farm animal welfare codes risks undermining public confidence in animal welfare standards.

When Defra consulted in 2013 on proposals to move away from statutory codes to non-statutory, industry-led guidance BVA broadly supported more flexibility to allow for guidance to be updated more regularly and in light of new welfare science, but raised a number of questions regarding enforcement and, critically, around the definition of 'industry'.

BVA emphasised that veterinary surgeons, farmers, animal welfare scientists with species-specific knowledge, industry bodies and other groups must all be involved and consulted.

BVA also warned Defra of implications in relation to the message conveyed to stakeholders by such a change and the value attached to the welfare codes by the government.

BVA President Sean Wensley, said: "It is essential that any changes to the welfare codes do not undermine public confidence in the high animal welfare standards set for English farms. Although BVA broadly supported the idea of moving to a more flexible system that could take account of new animal welfare science, we maintained that a range of expertise must be used to draw up new guidance.

"We are pleased that there will be no changes to the legislation that underpins animal welfare but it is unclear where the checks and balances now lie. It is vital that Defra puts measures in place urgently to provide that reassurance. 

"The Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee has suggested that it would be possible for the fundamental principles to be laid down in statutory codes which are subject to parliamentary scrutiny with operational details being set out in guidance. This idea may be worth further exploration to allow both the flexibility required to reflect new animal welfare science and the public confidence that the statutory welfare codes currently provide."

Merial Animal Health has launched Locatim, an oral antibody supplement to aid calf scour management.

Manufactured from the colostrum of high health status cows that are hyper-immunised against E.coli, rotavirus and coronavirus, Locatim contains a guaranteed concentration of specific antibodies to enterotoxic E.coli F5 (K99).

Merial says that when given alongside the dam’s colostrum, Locatim provides enhanced protection against infection, reducing calf mortality due to neonatal diarrhoea caused by E.coli F5 (K99), and helping to protect calf health during the critical rearing period.

According to the company, a single 60ml oral dose provides direct transfer of these specific antibodies, giving local protection within the digestive tract and systemic protection following absorption through the intestinal mucosa.

For optimal absorption Locatim should be administered during the first four hours of life, but it can be given up to 12 hours after birth.

Locatim can be administered to every calf born during an outbreak of scour; at times of peak calving, when environmental challenge is high; or it can be used to enhance protection in individual calves identified as being at high risk of disease due to factors such as dystocia, weakness or the poor quality of the dam’s colostrum.

For information on purchasing stock contact your local Merial Animal Health territory manager.  

Norbrook has announced the re-launch of its range of intramammary tubes for lactating and dry cows, to promote holistic herd health and responsible use of antimicrobials.

The company’s range, which includes products across a number of antibiotic classes, primarily targets clinical cases of mastitis in lactating cows, and removal or prevention of infection around the dry period.

Chris Geddes MRCVS, Marketing Manager at Norbrook, says the re-launch is focused on modernising the range and making it clearer for practice staff and farmers to avoid confusion between lactating cow and dry cow products: “We have a wide range of 11 products containing a variety of antimicrobials: for example Duofast is the only lactating cow product to contain trimethoprim and sulfadiazine. We are working with vets to promote responsible use by farmers, for example through the use of our teat sealant Noroseal for Selective Dry Cow Therapy."

The full range includes Duofast, Lactaclox, Cefimam LC, Combiclav, Noroclav and Multiject for the lactating cow; Cefimam DC, Noroclox, Bovaclox and Bovaclox DC Xtra for the dry cow; and teat sealant Noroseal.

Norbrook has also produced a best practice guide to mastitis control, available for vets in English and Polish, which can be shared with farmers.

Chris added: "We recognise the need to reduce overall use of antimicrobials, especially for disease prevention – as well as using non-antimicrobial products such as teat sealants. These practices, together with the recent focus on using older classes of antimicrobials, mean that as an industry we need to adopt a holistic and targeted approach to herd health management.

"We believe that by providing additional information to aid with prevention of disease, and re-launching our intramammary range to make it clearer when products should be used, we can help to achieve that."

Norbrook says the full range of products is in stock, but some wholesalers may hold components of the old range as the new range is phased in.

Ceredigion veterinary surgeon Robert Alun Merfyn Evans has been suspended from the Register for six months by the RCVS Disciplinary Committee after he admitted to misconduct relating to tuberculin testing for cattle he owned and failing to register the births and deaths of cattle.

Mr Evans appeared before the Committee on the 11th February, when he admitted the two heads of charge of misconduct against him.

The first head of charge related to the fact that, between 24 June and 29 June 2013, he deliberately failed to bring to attention of Wyn Lewis MRCVS, an Official Veterinarian (OV) and fellow director of Mr Evans’ practice in Cardigan, the cattle on his farm requiring intradermal comparative tuberculin tests; that he tested certain of the cattle himself despite not being the OV for those tests and having a conflict of interest; and that he provided inaccurate and incomplete information to his practice for the completion of a report on the testing to be sent to the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA). This misconduct was then repeated the following year between 19 June and 1 August 2014.

The second head of charge against Mr Evans related to breaches of the Cattle Identification (Wales) Regulations 2007 between 4 July 2005 and 20 June 2014, namely the fact that he failed to register the birth of five calves and the death of nine cows. These were accepted as being specimen charges reflecting a much larger total number of breaches over the whole nine year period.

Mr Evans’ misconduct first came to light when a late return was sent to the AHVLA in August 2014 regarding the TB testing of 51 live animals on his farm in June 2014. When the report was scrutinised the AHVLA noticed that 26 animals shown on the return as dead were still registered, while 20 animals that were tested were not registered. When the AHVLA investigated, Mr Evans immediately admitted that he had misled Mr Lewis on two occasions and carried out his own testing despite not being the OV.

The Committee heard that he did this because he did not want it to be found out that he had unregistered cattle on his farm. Regarding the unregistered cattle, the Committee heard that this stemmed from a mistake made by Mr Evans in 2005 or 2006 whereby he mislaid a batch of around nine bovine passport application forms sent to him to register the birth of calves on his farm, a legal requirement for the purposes of animal health, disease control and safeguarding the food chain.

As a result of poor IT skills and being profoundly deaf, Mr Evans felt unable to seek support online or by telephone, was too embarrassed to tell others and, furthermore, felt that it was impossible to correct his mistake without being in breach of the law. So, for a period of nine or 10 years, he failed to register the birth of calves on his farm. His failure to register the deaths of cattle, was also caused by administrative failings. His breaches of the cattle registration regulations were subject to criminal proceedings and on 14 October 2015 he plead guilty at Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire Magistrates Court  to 14 offences for which he was given a conditional discharge for 18 months and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.

The Committee considered that a suspension from the Register would be in line with the seriousness of the charges against Mr Evans. Professor Alistair Barr, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The Committee agrees that the lengthy period over which these offences took place, his betrayal of his colleague, and the undermining of the reputation of the profession and of the system of disease control, taken together with his dishonesty, make it impossible to impose a lesser sanction than suspension.

"The Committee finds that the respondent, who is a man of good character, has fully accepted his guilt, and has real insight into the seriousness of his conduct. He cooperated fully with the investigations and with the County Council who prosecuted him in the Magistrates [Court], and with the College. He made an open and frank admission about his misconduct from the outset.

"The course of conduct on which he embarked and which has led to these charges was the result of a simple mistake at a time of considerable stress to him. He was not guilty of deliberate misconduct at the outset but… what started as an innocent mistake took on a life of its own and led him to deliberate and dishonest misconduct because he did not know how to get himself out of the predicament he was in."

Professor Barr also said that there was no financial gain in Mr Evans’ actions and that animal welfare had not been compromised as the cattle were well cared for and in good health and that Mr Evans’ actions in carrying out the tuberculin tests on the unregistered cattle himself demonstrated that he was concerned about identifying any disease in his herd.

He added: “In all the circumstances the Committee has decided a proportionate sanction is that the respondent’s registration should be suspended for a period of six months.”

The Committee’s full findings and decision are available on the RCVS website (www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary).

Virbac has launched of Bovigen Scour, an emulsion for injection into cattle which reduces the severity of diarrhoea caused by bovine rotavirus, bovine coronavirus and enteropathogenic E.coli F5 (K99). 

Bovigen Scour works by actively immunising pregnant cows and heifers and providing passive immunity to their calves via colostrum. According to the company, the vaccine also helps to reduce the shedding of virus by calves infected with bovine rotavirus and coronavirus.

Virbac says a key benefit of Bovigen Scour is the vaccination protocol which offers a large window for injection, making it easier for vaccination planning. The primary course is administered in two shots, with first dose between 12 and 5 weeks before calving and the booster 3 weeks later. The annual booster is then due between 12 and 3 weeks before calving is expected. The vaccine is presented in two sizes: 15ml (5 doses) and 90ml (30 doses). The dosage per cow is 3 ml and the withdrawal time is nil in milk.

Virbac Large Animal Product Manager Brigitte Goasduf MRCVS said: "Bovigen Scour offers farmers flexibility and ease of use. The flexibility it gives in terms of scheduling the primary course and booster is particularly important and is highly relevant for beef cattle farmers as it can be difficult to know exactly when a cow is likely to calve and it is vital not to miss the vaccination window.   

"Bovigen Scour is also convenient to give because of the small volume of emulsion and because the injection is given intramuscularly. Its launch extends our large animal vaccine range, which includes Gudair, for the active immunisation of sheep and goats against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map)."

Zoetis has launched a one-dose vial of Rispoval IntraNasal, in order to offer respiratory health protection in calves as soon as possible after birth without either waiting to batch them in groups or wasting unused vaccine in multi-dose packs.

To make ready for use, the vaccine is reconstituted by mixing a powder with sterile diluent. Once mixed, the licensed shelf life is two hours. This means any that is unused in multi-dose packs must be thrown away. By stocking a combination of one- and multi-dose packs, farmers can eliminate this.

The vaccine protects against two primary viral causes of pneumonia in young calves, BRSv and Pi3v¹. Surveillance of blood samples from 2,145 calves with pneumonia signs found 78% exposed to BRSv, 81% to Pi3v². The product licence allows use from nine days of age, with onset of immunity to BRSv and Pi3v after five and 10 days respectively. The licence also specifies a duration of immunity of 12 weeks.

Zoetis vet Carolyn Hogan says that viruses are the instigator of a majority of respiratory health problems: "Early-life protection also helps reduce the threat from opportunistic secondary bacterial infections, such as Pasteurella.

"Good respiratory health is essential to ensure calves develop to achieve their lifetime potential. But it's estimated that 67% of pneumonia cases occur in calves less than three months of age³.

"Whether suckled or reared, calves that don’t grow effectively in the early weeks are unlikely to catch up later. On both dairy and beef units, proactive management of the calf living space, nutrition and disease resilience is critical to maximise lifetime productivity, which is clearly so important under today's farm business economics.

More information about the benefits of managing respiratory health in calves is available at plantoproduce.co.uk.

The BVA is calling on Defra and the APHA to take an innovative approach to capturing farm animal post-mortem data, after its Voice of the Veterinary Profession survey found that 90% of production animal vets now conduct their own PMs.

In 2014, there was a 31% increase in production animal vets carrying out their own PMs following post mortem laboratory closures, yet most vets keep this PM data at their practice, with less than 5% inputting it into a national system such as NADIS, AHT or APHA and less than 1% to a benchmarking group.  

Sean Wensley BVA President said: "We have heard a lot about big data and its positive uses economically and socially. Disease surveillance could be a shining example of where big data and innovative data capture comes into its own. In a global world, where diseases such as Schmallenberg and bluetongue can emerge in our livestock without having previously been seen on these shores, being able to quickly join up the dots of disparate disease data is vital. 

"We understand that Defra and APHA must make difficult choices due to economic pressures and we very much welcome research already utilising post mortem data such as the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s Fallen Stock Project. What we now need is clear communications and guidance on carcase collection and access to PM examination arrangements together with a determination to see this as an opportunity to innovate, exploring how digital technology can help vets in the field record and capture data that feed into national databases and help us to see the bigger picture."

BVA is asking that all vets affected by laboratory closures are clearly informed about alternative arrangements for carcase collection and PMs, with 63% of vets affected by laboratory closures reporting that carcase collection in their local area was not working well. 

BVA is calling on government and industry to lead in developing new and cost efficient ways to capture and analyse disease and surveillance data, drawing on innovations in digital technology and big data analysis.

Photograph courtesy BVA

From today, porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) is a notifiable disease in England; veterinary surgeons and pig-keepers are now legally required to inform the Animal and Plant Health Agency of any suspicion of the disease.

If a test for PED proves positive, the Government will inform AHDB Pork, so that tracing can be carried out and improved biosecurity measures put in place. 

The new measure has been introduced following co-operation between Defra APHA, AHDB Pork, the NPA and other industry bodies. Although PED is now classified as notifiable, there will be no statutory movement controls, no compulsory slaughter and no blocks on exports.

Under the new legislation in England, APHA will be legally permitted to inform AHDB Pork - which is the agreed 'appropriate organisation' - in confidence of suspect and confirmed cases. AHDB Pork will then provide biosecurity guidance to the pig unit concerned. It will also carry out tracing and alert at-risk contacts as necessary.

The aim will be to prevent spread of PED and to eliminate the disease from the pig unit. There will be no requirement to slaughter affected animals.

PED has been made lightweight notifiable following an informal consultation process with the pig industry. NPA and others called for the measure so that any outbreak can be identified as quickly as possible, spread can be prevented, and the disease can then be eliminated from the unit concerned.

AHDB Pork Chairman Meryl Ward said: "This initiative is a significant step change in partnership working between industry, Defra and the APHA to build England’s resilience to disease. 

"PED is a potentially serious disease and emerging threat to our English pig industry. A unique industry led collaboration with Government led to the development of the PEDv Contingency plan to ‘identify, contain and eliminate’.

"The regulatory change to notifiable status is a critical part of the plan and will assist in early identification of affected premises, allowing more time to take effective actions to minimise the impact on the industry and therefore increasing the opportunity to eliminate the disease. 

"Working together to share resource, knowledge and build vital expertise, the partnership has also developed a series of standard operating procedures, bio- security guidance as well as raising awareness across industry of the potential threat. 

PED remains a significant threat to British pig-keepers. According to AHDB, outbreaks of high-impact strains caused up to 100% mortality in young pigs in the United States, knocking out around 10% of pig production in 2013-2014. The disease has since spread to Ukraine. Even with milder European Union strains, piglet mortality as high as 70% has been reported.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on making PED similarly lightweight notifiable in Scotland.

The BVA and the Pig Veterinary Society (PVS) have welcomed the announcement. John Blackwell, Senior Vice President of the British Veterinary Association, said: "From today pig-keepers will be required to contact APHA if they have any suspicion of PED in their livestock - this is a step in the right direction and a result of joined up working between the industry, the veterinary profession and policy makers. PED is a devastating disease and we hope these measures will be sufficient to protect animals and pig-keepers in England from future outbreaks. We are encouraged by current proposals to make PED notifiable in Scotland and are keen to see similar measures in place across the rest of the UK."

Dr Mandy Nevel, President of the Pig Veterinary Society, said: "The Pig Veterinary Society was actively involved in the decision to make PED notifiable in England and we fully support the decision.  Whilst we hope PED does not come into England, the legislation will facilitate rapid diagnosis, control and eradication in the event of a case occurring. We urge the rest of the UK to take similar action."

Photo: Ben Salter: Pig in a bucket

The RCVS has brought out a new publication to help members of the veterinary and veterinary nursing professions understand their legal and professional obligations regarding controlled drugs.

Controlled Drugs Guidance is a consolidation of existing advice and guidance on controlled drugs from a number of organisations including the RCVS itself, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the Home Office. The guide also gives details of the existing legislation concerning controlled drugs, namely the Misuse of Drugs Act and associated regulations.

The guidance provides advice on a variety of topics to reflect the common queries the RCVS Advice Team receives, such as storage, destruction and disposal; keys and keyholders for controlled drugs cabinets; controlled drugs in vehicles; and veterinary nurses administering controlled drugs.

The publication also deals with specific controlled drugs such as ketamine which, on 30 November 2015, was rescheduled to a Schedule 2 controlled drug, meaning that it is now subject to the same strict storage, prescription, dispending, destruction and record-keeping requirements as other medicines in this Schedule.

Laura McClintock, Standards and Advisory Manager at the RCVS, said: “We hope that this publication will help members of the profession navigate the often complex legislative and professional requirements regarding controlled drugs, as well as imparting best practice advice on how they should be stored and disposed and so on.

"This publication has also been endorsed by our colleagues in the Home Office, VMD and BSAVA and, because this is an area that is subject to regular change, we will make sure to keep it up-to-date as and when the regulations change."

The publication is available to download from the RCVS website at www.rcvs.org.uk/publications

Two new campaigns which call on the veterinary profession to unite against the practice of homeopathy have been launched this week. 

Both campaigns raise concerns about the ethics of veterinary surgeons using irrational, unscientific and ineffective remedies to treat ill animals or in place of conventional vaccinations.

The Campaign For Rational Veterinary Medicine presents the case against homeopathy on a new microsite, and asks the profession to unite around a call for the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to issue a public position statement that homeopathy is ineffective in animals, bringing it into line with the NHS, the findings of the British government's own review of homeopathy, and the BVA.

The campaign also asks that veterinary surgeons who prescribe homeopathic remedies be required to get owners to sign a consent form, prepared by the College, giving the College’s views on the ineffectiveness of homeopathy.

Lastly, the campaign asks that promotion or advertising of homeopathy by veterinary surgeons should abide by Advertising Standards Authority regulations and carry a statement from the College.

The Campaign for Rational Veterinary Medicine has been set up by a group of practitioners including the BSAVA Past President, Mike Jessop, Alex Gough, Martin Whitehead, Niall Taylor, Phil Hyde, Martin Atkinson and Brennen McKenzie, supported by VetSurgeon.org Editor, Arlo Guthrie. It also has the support of the noted author, academic and erstwhile dog owner, Professor Edzard Ernst.

Arlo said: "This is not just about the ethics of prescribing or tolerating the practice of prescribing water to animals that are dependent on us. There are 13m pet owning households in the UK. As well as visiting the vet, they will all be patients at some stage in their lives. So what you and the College say about homeopathy in animals has the potential to affect the choices they make for themselves too. Think how much money and false hope you could save them, and the consequent benefit to human welfare."

By complete coincidence, another campaign against veterinary homeopathy was launched last week. This one, by Danny Chambers MRCVS goes further, calling for a complete ban on the prescription of homeopathic remedies by veterinary surgeons. The petition has already gathered over 750 supporters. 

Arlo said: "I think it’s important to say that the two petitions are not mutually exclusive. If you think both represent acceptable solutions, then sign both!"

Visit the Campaign for Rational Veterinary Medicine here, and sign the petition here.

Sign Danny Chambers' petition on change.org here.