CVS and the University of Bristol are collaborating on a new antimicrobial stewardship clinical research project to increase the responsible use of antimicrobials in in acute (haemorrhagic) diarrhoea, cat bite abscess and otitis externa.

It will compare current prescription levels with two-year retrospective data to gain an understanding of prescribing behaviour.

It will also look at the proportion of prescriptions that are Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIAs). 

Individual practice data will then be given to a dedicated AMS representative at each surgery who will be responsible for sharing it with their team - to gain an understanding of their prescribing for these conditions and to review actions which can be taken at practice level.

CPD on antimicrobial stewardship will be given to all practices to encourage responsible antimicrobial usage. 

The research project will then capture ongoing data - from August 2024 until July 2025 - to show changes in antimicrobial prescribing. 

The research is expected to provide an opportunity to build upon ongoing veterinary antimicrobial stewardship strategies.

This could include: using diagnostics to ensure accurate diagnoses and appropriate treatment plans, informing a change in prescribing behaviour, selecting antimicrobials responsibly, educating pet owners on antimicrobial resistance and using evidence-based guidance.

The clinical research project is being run by Kezia Wareham, Doctor of Philosophy student at Bristol Veterinary School (supervised by Dr Fernando Sanchez-Vizcaino, Dr Emi Barker, Dr Nicola Rooney and Dr Irene Bueno Padilla) and Deb Komianos, Regional Clinical Lead at CVS.

Deb said: “Antimicrobial resistance is one of the top ten global health threats and the figures projected by the WHO for attributable deaths are truly startling.

"To address the development of drug-resistant pathogens requires a One Health approach.

"It is not enough to pay lip service to AMS, we need to be leading the change."

Vétoquinol has announced that Zylkène, a complementary feed used to help pets cope with unpredictable situations, is now available in a 20 capsule pack. 

The new packs have been designed to have more 'stand out appeal' on the shelves. Veterinary practices will now be able to display the new packs in waiting rooms and reception areas in a custom-made display unit to generate interest from pet owners and increase revenue for the practice.

Krystyna Joyce, Product Manager at Vétoquinol, said: "This has a huge benefit for the vet practice. As well as increased revenue, pet owners are much more likely to initiate a discussion about behaviour if they can see that there is a product to help their pet adjust to unusual circumstances or environmental changes."

Krystyna added: "With a number of behaviour products on the market, it can be confusing for pet owners to know which ones can be used when. We want to make it easier for pet owners: now when they come to their vets, they can see Zylkène, know what it's for, understand which strength will be right for their pet and pick it up."

As well as increasing product awareness, the packs will work alongside Vétoquinol's ongoing series of pet owner guides which offer advice on how best to help an animal deal with an unusual situation or life change.

Zylkène retail packs are available now from any veterinary wholesaler. 

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.

The Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS) has inaugurated its new President Iain Richards BVSc CertVA Cert SHP MRCVS, who has outlined the key issues he would like to address during his presidency: 

"The reform of the Veterinary Surgeons Act will be a big part of the SPVS year. Any changes of the VSA are likely to hit practitioners hardest of all. It was to ensure public confidence that the RCVS was formed, and it is with the public that we have our daily interactions. It is satisfying to note, despite what some of the EFRACOM committee felt, that the proportion of actual complaints in comparison to public interactions is very small indeed. This point must not be lost on the RCVS or government. The profession is already held in high esteem by the public and any new act has to reinforce that.

Alongside the VSA are the closely related aspects of 24hr cover and the Working Time Regulations. Indeed, it is no coincidence that our high public esteem is in part due to the willingness of the practicing arm of the profession to make itself available at all times. The WTR has a long way to go, but has the potential to make this aspect of our work untenable.

Farm practice continues to have its own challenges. Despite opinion suggesting that farms do well in a recession, the challenges are still out there. It is a rapidly changing field with issues of medicines supply still causing problems. TB will spread and more practices will have to look hard at the return LVI work provides. By adopting SPVS advice on fee construction and cost centre analysis, practices can accurately assess the true impact of this and any other revenue stream.               

Small animal and many equine practices will potentially feel the recession the most, as both operate in a luxury market. The 2009 Congress theme, and that of the SPVS stream at the BVA Congress in Cardiff, is "Surviving the Recession".

The Society will be at the forefront in providing solid advice to practices to enable them to thrive in such circumstances. Recessions have come and gone and we have a wealth of experience from previous SPVS members to draw upon. One thing is clear, providing a quality service is vital. To the client, this has to be a value for money service as well. Marrying these two is key to business success and SPVS council will be working towards these objectives. It is likely that those practices that adapt and survive a recession will be in a strong position in the future.

Quality and value apply to practices, regardless of their species grouping. At home in Kendal, my practice is pushing standards forwards in equine, farm and small animal work. Because of this I am lucky to be able to indulge in being a mixed practitioner who has a keen interest in all aspects of veterinary work. This places me in a good position to represent the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons at all levels and to all bodies. SPVS is a great society; it is a pleasure to be picked for the team.

My vision goes beyond the year, however, and would encapsulate a desire that SPVS works with the other divisions of BVA to ensure that the veterinary profession provides the foremost view of all aspects of animal welfare and disease."

Janssen Animal Health is advising vets to be on the look out for coccidiosis as the spring lambing season approaches: cases usually rise in March and peak in April and May.

According to the company, some reports also suggest that the incidence of coccidiosis in calves may apparently increase during the grazing months. However, vets are reporting that interpretation of laboratory tests used to confirm diagnosis, such as oocyst count, can be problematic due to the ubiquitous nature of the Eimeria parasite in the UK.

Young animals may be infected by oocysts shed by asymptomatic carriers or infected older cohort animals. Low levels of challenge can help young animals develop immunity but exposure to high oocyst numbers, particularly in combination with stress can lead to clinical and subclinical forms of the disease. Diagnosis can be problematic, particularly in subclinical cases of disease where failure to gain weight is the main presenting sign and in clinical cases the differential diagnoses include all causes of scour in young animals.

Janssen Animal Health has suggested a few indicators that may be useful in identifying cases of coccidiosis. The Vecoxan Coccidiosis Survey in 2008 and 2009 asked farmers about their experiences of coccidiosis and identified that bad weather was a major trigger particularly in lambs; while castration and weaning were also factors in calves. As the parasite life cycle is 21 days, vets should be alert to disease 2-3 weeks after a stressor event.

The company has also suggested a few guidelines to aid interpretation of laboratory results:

• Identification of pathogenic Eimeria species can be suggestive but does not provide conclusive evidence of a causative effect.
• Speciation of Eimeria is useful (not easy in lambs) as there are several non-pathogenic strains which can give high counts without clinical effect
• The number of oocysts will not always correlate with clinical signs
• Low levels of oocysts in faeces are less likely to be significant but some animals can die even while excreting at a low level because shedding occurs after the gut damage has already occurred.
• There is extensive replication and multiplication through the parasite lifecycle - susceptible infected animals will usually shed millions or even billions of oocysts.
• Adult animals that are infected but immune tend to excrete oocysts at a regular low level.
• A pooled sample from at least 10 lambs or calves may give a better indication of the level of infection.
• The history of the farm, the individual patient and the presence of risk factors should be taken into account when interpreting results.

Janssen says Vecoxan (diclazuril) does not interfere with the development of immunity and kills all stages of the parasite in the host.

SPVS has launched a Business Club designed to equip members with business knowledge through community-focused CPD, discussion and real world experience sharing.

The club is running a series of 5 sessions targeted at business owners.

Each session will comprise of a 20 minute intro, followed by 40 mins of discussion/Q&A/sharing of experiences around the chosen topic.

Session topics will include succession planning, life insurance and critical illness cover for you and your team.

How to conduct an effective PDR, boosting your revenue and profit share schemes are all in the pipeline. 

SPVS says its Business Club is different to conventional CPD sessions, because it allows participants to share and discuss ideas, talk through problems and ask each other for advice. 

The one-hour sessions will take place on Thursdays, starting at 7:30pm on 13th June, 18th July, 8th August, 19th September, 17th October

In the first, Pete Orpin, BVSc FRCVS from Anval Business Consultancy will present ‘How to nail succession planning’.

SPVS Members: FREE

Non-Members: £15 per session | £50 for bundle of 5

https://spvs.org.uk/spvs-business-club 

Intervet has announced that its bluetongue vaccine, Bovilis® BTV8 has been granted a licence by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD). The licence, which is the first for a bluetongue vaccine in the UK, sets out dose rates and treatment regimes for the product use.

The recommended dose rates for animal over one month of age are as follows:

Sheep – 1 x 1ml, injected subcutaneously.

Cattle - 2 x 1ml, approximately three weeks apart, injected subcutaneously.

In successive years, re-vaccination should be given two weeks prior to the risk period.

Treated animals should have protective immunity three weeks after the initial course. Bovilis BTV8 should only be administered to healthy animals. Treated stock may have a slight swelling at the site of injection.

The vaccine must be stored at between 2ºC – 8ºC and, once opened, should be used within eight hours. The vaccine is available in 20ml and 50ml bottles. The licence recommends the use of multi injection vaccination systems.

Intervet will be supplying a discounted 1ml vaccination gun into the market.

Following a new study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association's One Health Committee has called for a co-ordinated global infectious disease monitoring system to be established for veterinarians who work in small companion animal practice worldwide.

The study, led by Michael Day, Professor of Veterinary Pathology in the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol and Chair of the WSAVA's One Health Committee, lists the key zoonotic diseases of cats and dogs.

It  recommends that the knowledge gained through surveillance would permit more effective global control of small companion animal zoonoses and reduce the risks associated with the human-animal relationship.

Professor Day said: "It is well recognised that most of the major new diseases of mankind will have an animal origin and that dogs and cats are a potential source of such emerging diseases.

"The number of small companion animals is particularly significant. For example there are an estimated eight to ten million dogs living in up to 31 per cent of UK homes and in the USA, 72 million dogs in 37 per cent of homes. The benefits of pet ownership on human health, well-being and development are unquestionable but, as they have moved from the barn, to the house, to the bedroom, the potential for disease spread to humans increases. Control of diseases among dogs and cats is a good way to prevent spread to humans.

"In human, livestock and wildlife heath there are already programmes of active surveillance for infectious disease underway to monitor the global distribution and movement of key infectious agents. For example, the WHO monitors human influenza virus infection through a network of 111 centres in 83 countries. In contrast, there is no such monitoring for the infections that may be transmitted between small companion animals and man. Meanwhile, canine rabies virus infection, one of the diseases listed in the paper, is estimated to kill a minimum of 55,000 people in Africa and Asia each year. 

"The development of such a scheme would require the significant political will, scientific application and financial support that could be achieved through a public-private partnership. The aim of our position paper in Emerging Infectious Diseases is to initiate stakeholder discussions with that end goal in mind."   

CVS is running a nation-wide clinical improvement project to increase the use of the RVC’s Diabetic Clinical Score (DCS).

The Diabetic Clinical Score is a quick, standardised scoring system to record the clinical signs of diabetes in a patient, which was designed by Royal Veterinary College Internal Medicine Specialist Stijn Niessen

The scoring system has been turned into a pet diabetes app which allows clients to record and monitor the impact of treatment.

CVS' aim is to use the recently validated tool in over 80% of patient cases to improve the treatment and control of diabetes whilst supporting the practice team to develop their skills in managing the condition. 

Participating practices will use the DCS, alongside blood glucose measurements, to diagnose and monitor patients.

Veterinary nurses will refer animals coming in for six-monthly Healthy Pet Club check-ups to a vet for a possible diabetes diagnosis, whilst vets diagnosing diabetes will introduce owners and patients to the DCS to record a diabetes log, to help manage the condition.

To upskill and develop colleagues in the use of the DCS, dedicated vet and nurse training sessions have been held by the clinical leadership team, including a kick-off ‘diabetes day’ which focussed on current thinking and introduced the DCS tool.

CVS teams have also grouped together to agree a coordinated approach to managing pets with diabetes in their practice.

Supporting diabetes resources have also been drafted for practices, including new clinical guidelines, supporting paperwork and CPD.

Lara Wilson, Regional Clinical Lead at CVS said: “Diabetes is notoriously difficult to diagnose and different vets can use different approaches to managing cases.

“The Diabetic Clinical Score will help the whole team around the patient – the owner, vet and veterinary nurse – to effectively and cohesively manage their care.

It will implement joined-up thinking and help to put a standardised disease management framework in place. 

“It will be fantastic to see the benefits that the Diabetic Clinical Score will bring to our patients and practices.

"I am certain that this will help contribute towards them providing some of the best diabetes clinical diagnosis and care in our profession.” 

A food ingredient could help prevent bacterial infections and could improve the growth of farm animals, according to new trials.

The Journal of Medical Microbiology reports that Bimuno, a "second generation" galactooligosaccharide, was shown to suppress salmonella colonisation in mice and protect the gut from and reduce all clinical signs, symptoms and severity of salmonella infections.

Researchers at the Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) showed that feeding mice with Bimuno prior to salmonella infection rapidly reduced the impact of salmonella.

In addition, over a five-day period, fewer salmonella were able to colonise in mice pre-dosed with Bimuno, compared with controls dosed with salmonella alone.

Salmonella can be found in the intestines of farm animals and is transmitted to humans on meat products. Symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea can be observed and are most severe in the very young or very old - posing a serious public health problem.

The findings are significant, given that the use of antibiotics in animal feed to help control infections has been banned since 2006, although is still commonplace in countries outside the EU.

Bimuno is a powder, and could be added to all livestock feeds.

Dr George Tzortzis, an author of the study from Clasado Ltd, said: "The growing evidence about this specific ingredient shows it has huge potential to protect livestock from salmonella. This is a positive development in the urgent search for antibiotic alternatives to help animals resist infection.

"Bimuno also has 'prebiotic' properties, which mean it is not destroyed, digested or absorbed in the stomach or small intestine. It therefore reaches the colon intact to selectively target and feed the host's immunity boosting bifidobacteria while reducing harmful bacteria.

"This study may have positive implications for both animal and human health, given that this bacterium can be transmitted to humans via the food chain."

Vets and vet nurses are being asked to take part in a survey which aims to help the industry get a better understanding of canine reproduction health issues.

The survey is being conducted by Virbac Animal Health as part of its reproductive health awareness campaign.

Product manager Chris Geddes MRCVS said: "Following a series of CPD seminars on reproduction, it is evident that the views and experiences of vets vary considerably when it comes to companion animal sexual health.

"The aim of the survey is to obtain a clearer picture of the thoughts and experiences of vets and VNs on the neutering of dogs in the UK. The questionnaire will help us gain a better understanding of practice needs in this often sensitive area, and help provide improved support for vets and pet owners alike. 

"Whilst attitudes on neutering vary from country to another, it is clear that within the UK, opinion among vets and pet owners is wider than perhaps we currently realise. The UK currently has the highest canine male and female neutering rate in Europe. What this means will depend on your viewpoint and experiences, however we know that some practices are beginning to offer clients a wider range of options."

He added: "As a veterinary-focused business our aim is to provide solutions which will help support and develop the relationship between practice and client. This survey is part of that continuing process."

All those completing the questionnaire will receive a Cadbury's chocolate bar for taking part, with one lucky person winning £250.00 of M&S vouchers.

If you would like to take part please visit http://www.virbacsurvey.animaloracle.com/

The British Veterinary Association has reacted to the Comprehensive Spending Review announced by the Government.

BVA President, Harvey Locke said: "Clearly this is a substantial hit on Defra's overall budget but there are some elements to welcome.

"We are pleased with the commitment to protecting the science base and Defra's clear focus on tackling TB and we await with interest future announcements on how the Government plans to introduce responsibility and cost sharing.

"However, the Government has put a lot of emphasis on securing flood defences within Defra's budget and we remain concerned that other crucial animal health and welfare issues could be further squeezed in this massively reduced budget.

"The BVA will continue to champion these health and welfare issues to ensure they remain a priority for the Department."