Dechra Veterinary Products has launched the Healthy Ears Combi Kit, designed to help pet owners administer treatment for otitis externa correctly.

The kit contains a guide to effective ear cleaning, an illustrated step-by-step instruction guide on how to administer the Canaural, and a diary and consultation pack so owners can engage with the diagnosis and treatment of their pet’s ear infection.

The Healthy Ears Combi Kit comes in a resealable wipe-clean bag and is available free of charge from veterinary wholesalers.

Dechra Brand Manager Claire Morgan said: "The new kit will give owners more confidence in the important role that they play in their pet’s ear health and encourage them to engage in the treatment plan, thereby supporting veterinary professionals in the cycle of care.

"As well as serving as practical storage for the products, it acts as a reminder to dispense CleanAural as well as Canaural, as the self-cleaning mechanism of the animal’s ears is often compromised by infection.

She added: "CleanAural does not compromise the antimicrobial activity of Canaural¹ so they are perfect partners for maintaining healthy ears."

Free Healthy Ears Combi Kit can be ordered via your veterinary wholesaler.

Reference

1. Trial Report GB225 (2007)

David Rendle, president elect of the British Equine Veterinary Association, is highlighting the plight of Ukrainian horses after returning from a trip to the Ukraine-Poland border to deliver veterinary supplies earlier this week.

David says that whilst he was out there, he was told about attacks by Russian forces on stables in Bucha, Irpin and other equestrian premises north of Kyiv.

Ukraine vet Anatoly Levitsky who is working in Kyiv, said: “Not very big horse club was not far from Borodianka and owners were using their horses for hippotherapy of children with different pathologies.

"When war started, the lady who owned the stable and her child emigrated to Poland and her husband was conscripted into Ukrainian army.

"When Russian bandits in army uniform came to the village, they set fire to the stable and started shooting the horses that tried to escape.” 

“Some horses ran away, others were wounded, and some were burned down.

"After the building was burned, Russian soldiers went away and horses that escaped were wandering around the village and trying to find the feed.

"Step by step, people living in the village collected the horses and keep one or two horses in their yards.”

David said: “It is hard to understand what could motivate anyone to perform these deliberate acts of cruelty. 

"Random shootings, stabbings and burnings are widely reported and pictured on social media, we have no idea how many horses are dead and how many injured, but it has to be a significant number.

“Some of the lorry drivers I have met coming out have been shot at, shelled and beaten up, evacuating surviving horses.

"They are taking risks that we would consider totally unacceptable to move animals out and supplies in.

"I have nothing but admiration for the bravery of the Ukrainian people.”

“Ever conscious that there is an equal humanitarian need you feel very small and rather cowardly that you aren’t permitted to go into Ukraine to help the people and animals that require treatment.”

The British Equine Veterinary Association and American Association of Equine Practitioners are working together to support vets in Ukraine.

They say that they are not allowed to provide direct practical help, but they are doing what they can to get veterinary and humanitarian supplies to the vets they are in contact with.

They are also working to establish safe stables in the West of Ukraine to get horses and their owners away from likely areas of combat in the East.

Previously people have had no option but to turn horses into the woods prior to fleeing or they have stayed to look after their animals despite the risks to themselves.

BEVA, in association with the British Equestrians for Ukraine Fund, is calling for urgent support to help fund veterinary treatment, supplies and the safe relocation of Ukraine’s endangered horses.

To do this they need your urgent support. To make a donation visit https://www.worldhorsewelfare.org/support-us/appeals/british-equestrians-for-ukraine-fund. 

To find out more you can listen to a podcast from David Rendle here https://beva.podbean.com/e/bevapod-episode-13/ 

Photo: Stabling reportedly burned down by Russian soldiers

Congratulations to VetSurgeon members Mike Martin, Malcolm Ness and Mark Patteson, who were amongst the winners of the 2010 BSAVA Annual Awards.

Mike Martin actually collected two awards this year: The Dunkin Award for the author of the most valuable article published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice (Canine dilated cardiomyopathy: a retrospective study of signalment, presentation and clinical findings in 369 cases), and the Blaine Award presented by Royal Canin for outstanding contributions to the advancement of small animal medicine or surgery.

Malcolm Ness won the Simon Award for outstanding contributions in the field of veterinary surgery.

Mark Patteson picked up the Melton Award, presented annually by Royal Canin for meritorious contributions by veterinary surgeons to small animal veterinary practice. 

Other winners included Iona Mathieson (Frank Beattie Travel Scholarship), Anne Vaughan-Thomas (deceased) (Amoroso Award), David Church (Woodrow Award), Luke Gamble (J.A. Wright Memorial Award), Olaf Reinhard Schaaf (Petsavers Award) and Steve Withrow (Bourgelat Award).

The RCVS has clarified its role concerning new UK veterinary schools, saying that it has no mandate to control student or graduate numbers.

Responding to calls from the profession that it should comment on the desirability of any change in the number of schools or graduates, the College has confirmed that whilst it is committed to setting, upholding and advancing the standards that any new UK veterinary degrees would need to meet in order to be approved by the Privy Council, it has no role in capping student numbers.

The College also points out that the free market and mobility of workers in the EU makes any control at the level of a sovereign state effectively meaningless with respect to workforce management. However, the College says it is committed to ensuring that standards are maintained, and to continue working with bodies such as the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education, which evaluates veterinary degrees across Europe.

The College also seeks to support healthy debate through providing information on the state of the profession - an example of which is the survey that it recently commissioned from the Institute for Employment Studies on job availability for veterinary graduates over the last five years.

The headline results from that survey were released in the summer, and showed that increasing graduate numbers over the last five years have so far appeared to have had little impact on veterinary job prospects, with 94% of graduate respondents seeking a role in clinical practice obtaining work within six months of starting to look.

The full RCVS Survey of Recent Graduates report is now available, and also shows that, of the 43% of veterinary surgeons who graduated in the last five years who responded:

• The average time taken to complete the Professional Development Phase is 16.3 months
• 76% of new graduates started seeking work as soon as they graduated
• The average time taken for recent graduates to find their first veterinary position was 2.7 months
• 92% of first roles were in clinical practice, of which 53% were in small animal practice, 27% mixed, 10% farm animal and 9% equine
• 58% of first clinical roles were within RCVS accredited practices, although only 16% sought this
• Only 34% felt this first role met all of their needs; the most commonly-cited, as well as the most importantly-rated, reason for dissatisfaction with first jobs was 'I did not receive enough professional support from my employers and colleagues'
• 55% of first jobs were in the graduate's preferred location
• Of the 43% who had already left their first jobs, the most commonly-cited reason was 'poor management'
• For 13% of graduate respondents, their first role came to an end because it was a temporary position. This figure ranged from 9% in 2009 to 21% in 2012.

 The answers were analysed by year of graduation, veterinary school, age and gender, and the full report is available online at www.rcvs.org.uk/publications.

Leading veterinary dermatologist Sue Paterson has called for veterinary surgeons to prescribe narrow spectrum, long-acting antibiotics for first line cases of otitis externa (OE) to reduce concerning levels of multiply-resistant, chronic infections.

Sue, who is President of the European Society of Dermatology and an RCVS Specialist, says in a video interview that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is making otitis externa cases difficult to resolve and that vets can help overcome the problem by rethinking their first line prescription choices.

In the video, created in conjunction with Elanco Animal Health (maker of Osurnia), Sue said: "It’s a sad thing to say but if everybody did manage cases of otitis externa appropriately first time, I probably wouldn’t have a job at all."

"Many of the cases I see as a referral clinician are longstanding cases with very severe, multiply-resistant infections. If we get these cases right on the first occasion with appropriate prescription of drugs, and we don’t hurt dogs so we can give ongoing treatment, then we’d never ever see pseudomonas infection again."

Sue believes part of the problem is that veterinary surgeons are incorrectly saving some of their best first-line treatments for difficult cases. This is perpetuating the antimicrobial resistance problem as cases are being inadvertently mismanaged.

She said: "Florfenicol, which is the active antibiotic in Osurnia, has excellent gram positive activity which makes it an ideal first line choice. However, there’s a misconception that florfenicol is a fluoroquinolone - which it isn’t - so vets are incorrectly ‘saving it’ rather than using it on the first occasion."

Sue also highlights that poor compliance, resulting from the patient’s behavioural problems associated with ear phobia, also has a long-term impact:

"We’ve seen many 'well behaved' dogs that have bitten their owners as a result of fear aggression; we’ve had dogs that have pinned their owners against the wall. I would argue very strongly that if you use long-acting products in dogs on the first occasion then you avoid creating that problem and these dogs don’t become difficult to medicate on a long-term basis."

Sue summarised two factors that vets need to consider when deciding on the appropriate treatment: the right active ingredients to target common first-line pathogens; and the method of application. She urged vets to consider using a long-acting product applied within the practice, removing the need for home treatment to reduce stress for both owner and the dog, improve long-term compliance and maximise clinical outcomes.

To hear Sue’s tips on how to treat cases of otitis, watch the video here – www.osurnia.co.uk

Animalcare is encouraging veterinary practices to try Daxocox, its new weekly NSAID for the management of OA pain, with an offer of £250 worth of the product completely free of charge.

To claim the free product, visit www.daxocox.co.uk/trial and use the stock selector to pick the dose sizes to suit the patients you think Daxocox could help. 

Animalcare Marketing Manager James Beaumont explained: “When you consider that recent data shows that up to 20% of dogs over one year of age could have some form of OA¹, the scale of problem becomes clear – as does the threat to the welfare of our canine companions from OA pain.

“Owners already giving Daxocox to their OA-affected pets, have seen first-hand how it can significantly improve their quality of life.

"90% said that their dog’s osteoarthritis improved, with 84% reporting that their dog’s quality of life improved from “poor or fair” to “good, very good or excellent.”²

James added: “In a study carried out by Animalare, 88% of owners said that weekly NSAID dosing would be easier to remember, or mean they were less likely to miss a dose or that it would control their dog’s pain more effectively.³

“Used as a first line treatment for OA, Daxocox can provide a solid foundation to long-term pain management that suits vets, dogs and their owners.

"As such, we’re confident that once practices have tried it, it will become their canine OA NSAID of choice.”

For more information, visit www.daxocox.co.uk

References

1. Anderson K. L., Zulch H., O’Neill D.G., Meeson R. L., Collins L.M. (2020) Risk Factors for Canine Osteoarthritis and Its Predisposing Arthropathies: A Systematic Review. Front Vet Sci. 7: 220.
2. Internal report: DA/197/C, pending publication
3. Daxocox® Pet Owner Insight Executive Summary (N=200) January 2021.

Companion Care Vets has been named as one of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies To Work For, the first veterinary organisation to receive the accolade.

Companion Care, which has 90 surgeries across the UK (the majority within Pets at Home stores) launched its joint venture partner model in 2001. The group received a "first class" one-star status from The Sunday Times, and was ranked at number 69 overall, a position determined by employee views, staff policies, processes and services.

Best Companies Accreditation is based around employee engagement and listed companies are noted for "excelling in every area throughout the workplace." Particularly recognised is an organisation's commitment to its most important assets - its workforce.

Jane Balmain, Managing Director of Companion Care Vets said: "We value every member of our team who have all worked tirelessly over the past 11 years to help our expansion into the market leader we are today. Without the commitment and expertise of every person within the organisation this would not have been possible and for us to receive this recognition, and on our first try, is outstanding."

Jane added: "To be the first veterinary organisation to receive Best Companies Accreditation is an honour and we will strive to continue to provide an exceptional working environment for our teams."

As part of the survey process 79% of Companion Care Vets' employees said their jobs are good for personal growth, 76% felt their jobs were secure and a fantastic 81% said colleagues are committed to taking care of each other.

With 109 Joint Veterinary Partners and a further 867 employees in the group, Companion Care Vets is one of the largest veterinary employers in the UK. The company plans to have 200 surgeries in place by 2015 which will create a host of career opportunities for vets and veterinary support teams around the UK.

Zoetis Business Consulting has announced the launch of Profitsolver, a software tool designed to boost practice profits.

The software has already been rolled out in the US, where Zoetis says that it has delivered an average of £103,000 extra profit to veterinary practices within a year.

Profitsolver uses the practice's actual data - not benchmarks or accepted norms - to enable the practice to manage costs, set prices and gain return on investments. By using an activity-based costing model and using a variety of data such as practice costs, which staff perform which part of the procedure, how long the procedure takes and what equipment and materials are used, Profitsolver calculates the correct pricing to both cover costs and deliver a predetermined profit margin.

Zoetis says that Profitsolver helps practices to understand how the overall practice profit is being generated. For instance, for price sensitive procedures such as vaccination, the practice can match their prices with the competition, but maintain their profit margin by increasing the price for other clinical services.

Nick Steele, national consulting manager at Zoetis said: "Veterinary practices have no standard method for pricing their services and they are often unable to determine which services make money and which don't. This hampers the practice's ability to accurately value the business and, as a result, profit levels tend to be low for many practices. Profitsolver can turn this situation around and already has a very successful track record in the US."

Zoetis piloted the UK version of Profitsolver with John Goulding at St Georges Veterinary Group. He said: "By and large the veterinary profession still relies on the mark-up of medicines where profits are concerned. Even practices that have made a concerted effort to move away from this type of pricing structure are still making their money from the sale of medicines rather than from vets' fees. For years I have wanted to know exactly how to price our services and this new Profitsolver software does just that.

"Most costs have an element of staff time, an element of fixed assets or equipment and an element of disposable items. Profitsolver takes all of these into account, adds the predetermined profit margin and produces an accurate pricing structure for each procedure undertaken within the practice.

"It's important to take the time at the start to put accurate data in from the practice's latest set of accounts and the Zoetis business consultant will guide practices through this to make the initial set up as easy as possible. For instance, for major pieces of equipment such as X-ray machines, you have to work out how many times a year you are likely to use them.

"By using Profitsolver, we worked out that if we do exactly the same amount of work as last year we can increase our bottom line by at least £200,000 for our 18 vet practice. Since last November, when we installed Profitsolver, we have completely changed our pricing structure moving away from focusing on medicines and the size of the animal to rethink how we charge our clinical care.

"An unexpected benefit is that Profitsolver has made me much more confident about the prices we charge to clients as it is all broken down, so we can see exactly how the invoice is made up. I would be at a loss without it now."

For more information about Profitsolver, contact your Zoetis account manager.

An independent Somerset practice with branches in Wells and Shepton Mallet is celebrating its 100th year in business. 

Founded in 1922, the practice has come a long way from the days when its founder, Tom Patterson did his rounds on a motorbike with a sidecar.

It's now a successful farm and small animal two branch practice with over 60 staff.

To celebrate its centenary, Shepton Vets published a book called '100 years of Shepton Vets' and held a large summer party.

In September, the practice will be holding a 100km fundraising cycle ride to raise money for the Farming Community Network charity.

The farm animal practice has also organised the ‘Tour de Yorkshire,’ a trip to visit three farms based in Yorkshire who are modernising and adapting their dairy businesses to be resilient and successful in the changing industry. 

Senior director, Paddy Gordon, said: “Turning one hundred is important. We may have grown substantially but we haven’t lost the family and community feel. We want to bring our community, near and far along with us on this celebration.”

It may not be quite the same as a telegram from the Queen, but VetSurgeon.org wishes Shepton Vets a very Happy Birthday!

MSD Animal Health has reintroduced Zanil, the flukicide drench for cattle and sheep.

Based on the active ingredient oxyclozanide, MSD says Zanil is highly effective against the adult fluke responsible for chronic disease and - significantly for dairy farmers - is licensed for use in young, pregnant and lactating animals, with a 72-hour milk withhold period where milk is produced for human consumption.

MSD Animal Health veterinary advisor Matt Haslam said: "The latest independent data¹ confirms that fluke is on the increase in UK cattle and sheep. The fluke problem is longstanding, but is being exacerbated by recent wet summer and autumn periods that have created ideal conditions for this parasite to proliferate and infect grazing livestock.

"Chronic liver fluke causes serious economic losses for livestock farmers. In dairy herds, for example, there will be a negative impact on fertility and milk production where cows are affected.

"It is important that farmers have access to the best treatment options given the size of the threat and the scale of potential losses. Zanil is used widely and effectively in Ireland in the control of fluke problems, and there is no known resistance to the active ingredient oxyclozanide. With its re-introduction into the country, we believe Zanil is unique as a flukicide-only treatment that is licensed for use in lactation and in the dry period for the treatment of adult fluke in dairy cows."

Zanil is an oral drench with POM-VPS authorisation, available from both animal health suppliers and veterinary practices. Dosage rate is 3ml per 10kg bodyweight in cattle, up to a maximum of 105ml, and 4.5ml per 10kg bodyweight in sheep, up to a maximum of 20ml.

Reference

1. See DEFRA emerging threats reports in sheep and cattle, Q1 2013: www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/files/pub-survrep-sr0113.pdf

Matt Dawson, the former England rugby captain, has lent his support to MSD Animal Health's Big Tick Project, the company's campaign to raise awareness of the health risks from tick bites.

Matt, who contracted Lyme disease early last year, has been out giving interviews about how he was bitten by a tick, his experience with Lyme disease and why he is supporting the Big Tick Project. He said: "It was a really scary time for me and my family, and I was shocked to find out that a tick bite in Chiswick – such a tiny creature – caused me to end up needing heart surgery. Even though I am free from Lyme disease now it really has impacted me. I still have to take daily medication and I now adjust my lifestyle in a number of ways."

Amanda Melvin, Marketing Manager at MSD Animal Health said: "This recent campaign is part of a series of high profile media campaigns that we’ve organised to help pet owners understand the risks posed by ticks and the importance of seeking advice from vets. Vet are central to this campagn. 

"During our attendance this summer at DogFest and Countryfile Live we asked pet owners about their awareness of the risks. While this was very rough data the message that came back consistently was that many pet owners didn’t realise that not all flea treatments could also provide protection against ticks. 

"We are therefore urging them to talk to their vet and vet nurses to better understand the treatments they are paying for. The conversation is important as the risks can be high."

For further information, visit: www.bigtickproject.co.uk

An international group of scientists has published new results that herald a breakthrough in finding a vaccine against the most commonly diagnosed infectious disease of horses, strangles.

UK experts from the Animal Health Trust collaborated with scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), the Karonlinska Institutet Medical University and Intervacc AB, on the project - the results of which could benefit humans as well as animals.

Professor Andrew Waller, Head of Bacteriology at the AHT, said: "We have been working towards developing a vaccine for 7 years, and finally it seems as if all the hard work is paying off. We've already developed better ways of diagnosing exposure to the infection, and now, with the success of creating a safe and effective vaccine, it looks as if we're finally bringing together the tools necessary to eradicate this terrible disease."

The vaccine consists of seven different Streptococcus proteins and results from early tests published in PLoS Pathogens have been incredibly positive showing a high level of protection and no side effects. It is hoped that the strangles vaccine could be commercially available in the near future.

Streptococcus equi, the bacterium that causes strangles, shares 80 per cent identity with Streptococcus pyogenes - the leading cause of bacterial pharyngitis, tonsillitis and rheumatic fever in humans, which kills thousands of people each year.  Scientists hope that the knowledge gained through developing the strangles vaccine will also help in developing vaccines to combat these human conditions.

Research leader, Professor Bengt Guss of SLU, said: "This is a most exciting project, where research is generating new applications and knowledge that can be used to develop vaccines against these important bacteria. This is particularly important considering the increased number of infectious diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria."

The vaccine development work was only made possible thanks to information from the Streptococcus equi genome sequencing project funded by The Horse Trust.

The Horse Trust's Chief Executive Brigadier Paul Jepson, said: "We are absolutely delighted that by pulling apart the genome of this plague of the horse world scientists have generated a truly safe and effective strangles vaccine. That this work could also benefit other animal and human health is beyond our wildest hopes."

Full text of the research findings can be found in PLoS Pathogens online at http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.ppat.1000584

Virbac Animal Health has launched an extra small version of its VeggieDent dental chews for dogs weighing less than 5kg. 

Research commissioned by the company shows that 9% of all dogs in the UK weigh less than 5kg¹ and that periodontal disease is over-represented in this group².

According to the Kennel Club, celebrity culture is boosting the popularity of small breeds. Apparently there was a 25% increase in Kennel Club registrations of Chihuahuas in 2011, following publicity about Paris Hilton and her Chihuahua. Virbac says numbers of other small miniature breeds such as pugs are also growing rapidly.

Virbac says VeggieDent chews are designed to work with the animal's chewing action, 100% vegetable, highly palatable and feature a special design to increase chewing time. A recent study³ showed that a daily XS VeggieDent reduced halitosis as well as significantly reducing gingivitis, plaque, and tartar accumulation.

Chris Geddes MRCVS, Product Manager at Virbac said:  "With growing numbers of very small dogs in the UK, we wanted to produce a chew which was exactly the right size for them.

VeggieDent Chews are already popular among dog owners because they are a nutritious and palatable plaque control aid, minimising tartar build up and improving breath odour.  With the launch of the extra small size, we now offer the perfect chew for every size of dog."

For further information, contact your Territory Manager or call Head Office on 01359 243243.

References:

1. TNS Sofres survey conducted for Virbac October 2011
2. Hoffman TH, Gaengler P. Clinical and pathomorphological investigation of spontaneously-occurring periodontal disease in dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice 1996; 37: 471-479.
3. Clarke DE, Kelman M, Perkins N. Effectiveness of a vegetable dental chew on periodontal disease parameters in toy breed dogs. Journal of Veterinary Dentistry. 2011; 4: 230-235.