Bayer Animal Health has announced the results of a survey¹ which shows that despite 80% of dog owners being aware of lungworm (Angiostrongylus vasorum), 85% of dogs remain unprotected against the parasite.

The survey, which was carried out amongst 1,000 dog owners, also found that more than 5% had encountered lungworm in their own dogs. However, only 15% of owners treat their pet against parasites on a monthly basis, with the remainder admitting to missed routine lungworm worming treatments or not treating at all.

Bayer highlights evidence from the Royal Veterinary College², which confirms the lungworm parasite has spread across the UK from its traditional habitat in the south of England and Wales, and is now widespread in Central England, also reaching northern regions and Scotland, with one in five vet practices nationwide reporting at least one case of the parasite. In another survey of 150 veterinary practices across the UK a total of 952 suspected cases were reported (157 laboratory confirmed), with 81 deaths thought to have been caused by the parasite³.

To encourage more pet owners to take action, Bayer will launch a consumer campaign called 'Act on Lungworm' in March. The campaign will include the world's first 24-hour radio station for dogs and their owners, 'Hound Waves', broadcasting live from Crufts on Friday 7th March. The event will also see the launch of a new television and advertising campaign from Bayer.

For veterinary professionals, the campaign launch will also include online videos detailing the 'ACT on Lungworm' veterinary support and showing the new television advertisement exclusively to vets before the national launch.

Caroline Braidwood, Group Product Manager at Bayer Animal Health said: "After launching the 2013 lungworm awareness campaign and providing owners with a social media platform, we quickly began to recognise the enthusiasm that exists to encourage action.

"We received feedback from owners who had tragically lost their pets to lungworm, and whilst we were pleased that we were helping to raise awareness, we became conscious that we needed to do more to prevent dogs from dying unnecessarily.  Our 2014 campaign focus has come as a direct result of talking to these owners and providing individuals like Sandra Stevens with a platform to discuss their experiences in the hope that more owners will take action before it is too late."

'ACT on Lungworm' is part of Bayer Animal Health's wider 'It's a Jungle Out There' parasite protection initiative. Further information is available at www.facebook.com/jungleforpets 

References

1. Opinion Matters, October 2013, 1000 dog owners
2. Royal Veterinary College survey 2012, 1,419 veterinary practices
3. Opinion Matters, January 2013, 150 veterinary professionals  

A new study has revealed that owners of obese dogs which successfully lose weight notice significant improvement in their dogs' quality of life too.

The study, published in The Veterinary Journal and available online here, was conducted by scientists from the Royal Canin Weight Management Clinic at Liverpool University in conjunction with the Pain and Welfare Group at the University of Glasgow and the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition. It looked at fifty obese dogs that had been referred to Royal Canin's clinic.

The results showed that quality of life improved in the dogs that successfully lost weight, demonstrated by increased vitality scores and decreased scores for emotional disturbance and pain.  The improvements in vitality score were greater the more body fat the dogs lost. The research also found that the dogs that failed to complete their weight loss programme had lower vitality and higher emotional disturbance scores than those successfully losing weight.

Dr. Alex German, Royal Canin senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool and lead author of the study, said: "Obesity is a risk for many dogs, affecting not only their health, but also their quality of life. The results indicate that, for obese dogs, weight loss can be important for staying both healthy and happy."

Owners completed a questionnaire to determine the health-related quality of life of their dog prior to weight loss, with a follow-up questionnaire for the owners of the thirty dogs that successfully completed the weight loss programme to reach target weight. The completed questionnaire responses were converted into scores corresponding to a range of factors, including vitality, emotional disturbance and pain.

150 graduates will get the opportunity to work in knowledge intensive companies across London and the south east following the announcement today that a joint bid by UCL and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) has been awarded £240,000 of Government funding as part of a national scheme designed at helping young people into work.

UCL will administer some 115 internships in the digital industries, advanced manufacturing, engineering and financial services, while the RVC will deliver around 35 life science internship placements. In line with all of the HEFCE-supported work experience schemes, places on the UCL-RVC will be available to graduates of all universities, with priority being given to those that graduated last year and have yet to find stable employment and for those graduating in 2010.

The paid internship placements will help recent graduates to develop vital employability skills, through both work based learning and skills training sessions, and allow both small and large companies to preserve novel research, development and commercial projects during the economic downturn.

The award will help both institutions to build on their existing programmes. UCL already planned to offer 50 work experience places this summer following from their successful scheme, first run last year. The grant similarly allows RVC and The London BioScience Innovation Centre to continue to grow its reputation as an employer by helping life science graduates make the transition from higher education to the commercial bioscience sector through work experience placements and skills development. 

Jim Gazzard, Enterprise and Technology Executive at the RVC said: "Recent graduates have much to offer knowledge intensive companies. In our experience these companies are looking to recruit talented graduates but are restricted in their ability to do so in the current economic climate. Graduate internship schemes help to solve this problem, allowing companies to continue to explore exciting commercial projects and graduates to gain a foothold in the job market while developing essential employability skills."

To date the RVC has received over 1,000 applications for 60 internship placements on its ORBIS internship scheme. This shows the significant demand from graduates seeking careers in leading bioscience and bio-veterinary companies.

A new guide - written by a vet and for vets - looking at the causes and treatment of pituitary tumours in rats has been produced in conjunction with the UK's first dedicated pet rat rescue charity, CavyRescue.

Written by exotics certificate holder Mark Rowland BVSc CertZooMed MRCVS, the guide discusses the illness as well as suggests treatments, many of which are not routinely used in the treatment of this condition.

Stella Hulott from the charity said: "Over the last ten years' one of the most common questions we, as a high profile pet rat rescue, get asked about is pituitary tumours in rats. The symptoms can be disturbing and not often attributed to the real cause.

"To date there has been very little information available about pituitary tumours in rats, so we felt the need to share our vet's knowledge in order to help reduce the amount of unnecessary suffering caused by this sadly very common illness."

The guide will be emailed out to those veterinary practices that have email access. Alternatively, you can download it here: http://www.cavyrescue.co.uk/pituitary-tumours-in-rats.pdf

BCF Technology has launched a competition for its customers to win a Kindle by reviewing the company's imaging products.

To enter the competition, visit www.bcftechnology.com  and navigate to the relevant product. At the foot of each product page you'll see a link marked 'Review it now'. Use this to tell others how your ultrasound or X-ray equipment has changed things in your practice. How it aids patient treatment, improves workflows, makes processes simpler, or anything else you would like to pass on to help others in the search for the right imaging product for them.

Gavin Mitchell, BCF Vet Imaging Director said: "We want to make it easier for vets to find the imaging product thats most suitable for their practice. By leaving a product review, you can help others looking for X-ray and ultrasound.

We value customer feedback at BCF, and use it to continually improve our products and service. Come to the BCF website and let us and others know what you think of your equipment. We expect this to really help vets looking for new imaging equipment."

BCF says it will select one reviewer at random to win a Kindle every month.

The RCVS is calling for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses to supply up-to-date email addresses for its Survey of the Professions, which will take place early next year.

The survey is carried out every four years and, for the first time, next year's will be online only. It will ask questions about how vets and veterinary nurses are using their qualifications, how they carry out continuing professional development, what kind of practices they work in and their views on the profession, amongs other things.

The surveys will be sent via email so correct addresses are needed to make sure that veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses can have their say. Email addresses should also be unique, rather than being a generic practice email address, for example, so that the survey is sent to an individual rather than a whole team. This is also important for other emails from the College, such as personal fee or deadline reminders.

The RCVS also needs up-to-date contact details in order to offer members a better range of online services, such as the ability to better manage their Register details.

In order to check and update their contact details veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses should visit the log in area at www.rcvs.org.uk/login. Alternatively, they can contact the College's Registration Department on 020 7202 0707 or membership@rcvs.org.uk

Diagnostic imagers at Davies Veterinary Specialists have been exploring the power and 3D resolution of their new CT scanner, and have come up with a fascinating virtual CT bronchoscopy (VB) that tracks the airways of a dog.

A movie of the bronchoscopy can be seen here: http://www.vetspecialists.co.uk%20/06_Animal_Welfare/Services/Diagnostic_Imaging.html

Using the multiple image slices generated, and considerable computing power, virtual broncoscopy allows the user to navigate through the images as if within the actual airway. In human medicine VB is commonly used in diagnostic procedures such as guided biopsy, pre-surgical planning and teaching. It may be combined with real bronchoscopy to facilitate lesion localisation and sampling.

Jerry Davies, managing director of DVS and RCVS Specialist in veterinary diagnostic imaging explains: “Whilst the usefulness of this technique in veterinary medicine remains to be explored, the exciting potential applications include anatomic assessment of the airway, foreign body localisation and pre-surgical planning.”

Genitrix is offering a free poster-sized treatment and dispensing guide for small animals. Designed to be pinned on the consulting room or dispensary wall, the poster sets out key data, including active ingredients, species information and application advice for the company's range of anti-parasite treatments for rabbits, ferrets, rodents, reptiles, birds and other exotic pets.

These include the ivermectin-based Xeno topical spot-on and spray range; Xenex Ultra, the permethrin-based topical spot-on preventive treatment for flystrike; Lapizole, a fenbendazole-based oral treatment for E.cuniculi and Mycozole, a miconazole-based spray for fungal infections, including ringworm.

Rob Watkins, Marketing Director at Genitrix, said:  "The treatment guide provides easy to use and clear information on all our small animal products and their use for the practice team."

To request a free poster, please contact Genitrix on 01403 786345 or by email to mail@genitrix.co.uk

Vetsure has launched vetsuremeds.com, a VMD-approved online dispensary platform for UK independent veterinary practices that allows practices to retain an income stream that might otherwise be lost to corporate competitors.

The platform allows vets to write prescriptions for medications which clients can buy instantly at the point of care, with delivery to their home later. 

Practices then receive a share of the revenue from medicine sales that have been fulfilled through vetsuremeds.com, mitigating against the losses if practices simply direct clients to the Internet, where there is a strong chance they will end up in the arms of a corporate-owned dispensary. 

VetSurgeon understands that Vetsure is not aiming to compete with the cheapest online dispensaries, but is expecting that clients will be happy to pay a little bit more for the frictionless process which means they don't have to think, the medication will just arrive, and for the knowledge that they are supporting their independent practice. 

In addition, the company highlights that because the prescription is processed at the point of care, vetsuremeds.com eliminates the risk of fraudulent multiple use of prescriptions. 

In terms of revenue to the practice, the system will not completely replace the profit margin on drugs sold in practice, but against that, there is a reduction in the administrative burden and it also mitigates against the risk of clients giving their details to a corporate-owned group which may later decide to open in the local area. 

The platform is rolling out across the Vetsure network in coming weeks and is currently in beta testing, with wider market availability planned later in the year.

Ashley Gray, Managing Director of Vetsure, said: "As a company founded, owned and run by vets, we were driven to act in the face of a rapidly changing marketplace.

"Our mission has always been to champion independent clinics.

"The CMA investigation highlights a very real risk to practice income, particularly when such a significant proportion is tied to medicine sales.

"Vetsuremeds.com enables practices to meet evolving regulatory expectations, deliver outstanding client service, and continue to thrive as independent businesses."

vetsuremeds.com 

www.vetsurevet.com

Here’s a gadget I’d love to get my hands on: the Zoombak advanced GPS pet locator, launched in the UK today.

The locator attaches to any dog collar, or indeed your car, husband, wife or teenager, and allows you to get a real time fix of their location by telephone, or on your computer. It costs £99.99 from pet retailers, with an additional £9.99 per month service subscription (£99.99 if paid annually upfront), which allows for an unlimited number of ‘locates’.
Hot on its heels comes the Pawtrack, which will also cost £99.99 with a similar monthly subscription which allows for 1200 locates per month.

Pawtrack is being aimed at both cats and dogs, and whilst it is marginally smaller and lighter than the Zoombak, there isn’t a lot in it. Both are still probably too cumbersome for a cat, which is why Zoombak more pragmatically recommends its product for dogs over 7 kg.

Doubtless it won’t be long before they miniaturise the technology so that it’ll be the width of a nostril hair, thereby solving the problem of pet theft and loss completely. Meantime, these look like a practical and fun gadget for the owners of larger breeds that regularly go AWOL.

For more information on stocking Zoombak please contact Zoombak on 08708 033095.

Woodley Equipment has announced that it has become the exclusive authorised distributor of Crony IR202 series and Saturno analysers, parts and consumables in the UK and Ireland.

Under the partnership agreement with Crony Instruments, Woodley will also provide service, support and maintenance for the analysers from this Italian manufacturer.  

The arrangement covers the new Crony Saturno 100 Vet wet chemistry analyser, which is currently undergoing evaluation on site and will be available from Woodley Equipment in January 2010.

For more information, contact Woodley Equipment on 01798 813659 or email sales@quantumvetdiagnostics.com. Alternatively, visit: www.woodleyequipment.com/quantumvet

The RCVS has launched a new animated video to help promote Practice Standards Scheme (PSS) accredited practices to the public, and explain the benefits of the scheme.

Launched in 2005, almost 60% of practices are now part of the PSS, which requires them to submit to a rigorous inspection every four years and meet a stringent standards across a wide range of areas including cleanliness and hygiene, facilities and equipment, staff training and development and customer service. Practices may also be subject to spot-checks between inspections.

Jacqui Molyneux, who heads up the RCVS Practice Standards Group said: “Our new video is a light-hearted explanation of the Practice Standards Scheme, how it can help animal owners decide which practice to go to and reassure them about the standards they can expect to find at an RCVS-accredited practice.”

The College says a similar version of the video will soon be available for RCVS-accredited practices to show to their clients, either on their own websites and social media channels, or in the waiting room.

Jacqui said: “Not only do we want to spread the word about the benefits of the Practice Standards Scheme and suggest animal owners look for the RCVS-accredited practice logo, but we also want to give accredited practices an engaging way of telling their clients about their achievement.

“Gaining RCVS accreditation is not easy, so accredited practices deserve every opportunity to demonstrate to their clients their commitment to supporting high standards of veterinary care. This fun two-minute video should help them do just that.”

Animal owners can search for an RCVS-accredited practice in their area, or elsewhere in the UK, using Find A Vet – the College’s online search tool – at www.findavet.org.uk.

The BVA has announced the launch of a new Organisational Membership scheme, following the recent activation of its Affiliate and Associate membership categories which saw the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA) and the Veterinary Practice Management Association (VPMA) welcomed as Affiliate members.  

BVA President Nicky Paull said: "The Organisational Membership scheme is a fantastic new initiative that allows an employee, through an employer, to make great savings on the annual BVA membership subscription fee when renewing or joining.

"Simply by registering your practice or organisation for the scheme, staff can benefit from an excellent deal on BVA membership, saving up to 60% off the normal subscription fee of £252 a year".

To qualify for the new membership scheme, all staff holding a veterinary medicine degree must become a BVA member.  The subscription is £1,000 for up to 10 members with increments of £500 for each additional five members.  Suitably qualified associate members (for example, veterinary nurses or veterinary practice managers) also have the option of being part of an employer's scheme membership.  

Nicky said: "Organisational Membership, along with the Affiliate and Associate membership categories, is a reflection of the BVA's awareness of the changes effecting the composition and structure of veterinary practice and the wider veterinary world and of our determination to adapt in order to be able to fully support and promote all members of the veterinary team."