RCVS Council has approved a trial protocol which will allow the College to launch private prosecutions against unqualified individuals breaching the Veterinary Surgeons Act from April 2023.

Under the protocol trial, the RCVS can launch private prosecutions against unqualified people practising veterinary surgery or using the title 'veterinary surgeon'.

The College says that where breaches of the Veterinary Surgeons Act cross over to other criminal offences, for example, fraud by false representation, they will be more properly dealt with by the relevant police force.

Local authority trading standards agencies will also deal with issues around, for example, misleading courses that purport to lead to registration with the RCVS but do not; concerns about dog grooming businesses and concerns about dog breeding establishments (other than where there is illegal practice of veterinary surgery by unqualified persons).

Eleanor Ferguson, RCVS Registrar and Director of Legal Services, said: “This protocol recognises that there are constraints on the time, resourcing, and budgets of both the police and public prosecutors which means that the pursuit of these breaches of the Veterinary Surgeons Act, both of which carry minor criminal penalties, is not necessarily a priority.

“While we are always willing to work with the police and other agencies to pursue such breaches, the protocol details how we can act independently where appropriate and ensure we are fulfilling our stated ambition to safeguard the interests of the public and animals, as well as the reputation of the professions, by ensuring that only those registered with us can carry out acts of veterinary surgery.

“We would like to manage expectations around this trial period as we will only be launching private prosecutions where they meet the criminal evidential standards of ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ and it is judged to be in the public interest to do so.

"We will also be relying on members of the professions and the public to report breaches and provide sufficient evidence to us, as we have no statutory investigatory powers.”

The trial period will last for one year and the College has set aside £50,000 to pursue private prosecutions.

The trial will be overseen by the Disciplinary Committee/ Preliminary Investigation Committee Liaison Committee while decisions on whether to pursue private prosecutions will lie with the Registrar/ Director of Legal Services.

Suspected breaches of the Veterinary Surgeons Act can be reported to the RCVS Professional Conduct Department on breachvsa@rcvs.org.uk.

• Rabbits are different – how rabbits differ in relation to anaesthesia compared to cats and dogs
• Considerations when booking in and admitting rabbits – ensuring an optimal outcome for your rabbit patients starts at the time of making the appointment
• Pre-anaesthetic planning and induction - how important pre-anaesthetic planning is in rabbits and best practice induction
• Considerations for supporting anaesthetised patients - maintaining anaesthesia in the rabbit is not as straightforward as often thought. This presentation goes through the best way to support rabbits during maintenance
• Considerations when recovering and discharging rabbits - recovery is considered to be one of the most critical stages of anaesthesia -particularly in the rabbit. Find out why and what to do in this short presentation.

The RCVS is calling for veterinary surgeons to help test its new continuing professional development (CPD) recording platform which is currently in development.

Earlier this year, the RCVS Council approved the roll-out of a more outcomes-based model of CPD to encourage veterinary professionals to engage in greater reflection on learning and development, and the impact that it has on their professional practice.

To support this approach, Council also approved the development of a new CPD recording platform designed to be more intuitive and to make it easy to record CPD in real time.

The College says the new platform – which has the working title of 'One CPD' – will be a ‘one stop shop’ CPD management solution for veterinary surgeons and nurses at all stages of their careers, including veterinary students and student veterinary nurses.

Richard Burley, RCVS Chief Technology Officer, said: "We’re excited to open up access to this powerful, next-generation, tool we’ve been building and welcome our members into an important phase of the development process. Testing with our members will be absolutely critical in delivering the very best experience possible for all those that use 'One CPD' in the future. Ease of use and truly valuable functionality are key deliverables for us and both these need the feedback of our members to perfect."

Dr Linda Prescott-Clements, RCVS Director of Education (pictured right), added: "The first stage of the development of the CPD recording platform is due to finish in October and so we are looking for a cohort of both veterinary surgeons and nurses who can spend a few months this autumn using the new platform to record and reflect on their CPD, in order to test out some of the new features which aim to make this process so much easier to do. We will consider their feedback carefully in order to improve the recording platform ready for launch in January 2020.

"The new ‘One CPD’ platform will ultimately replace the current Professional Development Record, and its use will become mandatory for recording CPD from January 2022.

"In addition to setting up the testing group, we are also looking to meet with key CPD providers for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses over the coming months to discuss our plans for outcomes-based CPD and the development of the recording platform in greater detail."

Veterinary surgeons who'd like to take part in the testing for the CPD app, as well as CPD providers who want to discuss the College’s CPD policy plans, should contact Jenny Soreskog-Turp, RCVS CPD Officer, on cpd@rcvs.org.uk or 020 7202 0701.

Unite and the British Veterinary Union (BVU) have written to the government asking for the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), which  regulates such governing bodies as the General Medical Council,  General Dental Council, and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), to have 'scrutiny' of the RCVS.

In a letter to junior minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, the BVU chair  Dr Shams Mir cited the case of Munhuwepasi Chikosi struck off the register of veterinary surgeons by the RCVS in June 2013.

Dr Mir said that this case was "widely seen by the veterinary profession as blatant miscarriage of justice and many expressions of 'outrage' were published in the veterinary press and online.

"One popular online veterinary forum recorded over a thousand posts criticising and challenging various aspects of the decision."

The current statutory duties of the RCVS, established by Royal Charter in 1844, are determined by the Veterinary Surgeons Act (VSA) of 1966, which Unite says is now 'outdated.

Dr Mir said: "BVU petitions the government to extend the remit of the PSA to incorporate the RCVS to ensure appropriate overview and scrutiny.

"The RCVS proposed new Royal Charter could be exploited by the RCVS to give itself proxy powers to introduce incontestable new regulatory measures."

Unite has asked for an urgent meeting with Mr. Eustice. 

Unite professional officer Jane Beach said: "Our initiative is designed to safeguard the interests of both the public, and practicing vets and veterinary nurses in the UK.

"Basically, the way that the RCVS is presently constituted means that it is both judge and jury in disciplinary matters. It sets the rules and hands down the judgements - and we believe that an extra layer of scrutiny needs to be introduced which we would like to be the PSA."

Jurox (UK) Limited has launched the Anaesthesia Academy CPD platform to help veterinary surgeons refresh their knowledge on premedicating patients, and to improve induction, maintenance and recovery protocols. 

The course counts for four hours CPD, split into six short sessions which can be completed in your own time. 

Presented by Dr Dan Cripwell BSc (Hons) BVSc CertAVP PgCert (VPS) MRCVS, Advanced Veterinary Practitioner and senior veterinary technical advisor at Jurox, the sessions consist of:

• Understanding pre-anaesthetic induction – the importance of pre-anaesthetic medication. Examining pre-medicant choice and appropriate selection leading.
• Understanding Methadyne – exploring the main clinical features of the widely-used opioid analgesic methadone.
• Understanding Buprelieve – investigating the main clinical features of the widely-used opioid analgesic buprenorphine.
• Understanding AceSedate – examining the main clinical features of the widely-used anxiolytic and sedative agent acepromazine.
• Introduction to Alfaxan – exploring the main clinical features of the injectable anaesthetic agent Alfaxan Multidose, including the basic pharmacology of the drug, its clinical use and how to use Alfaxan Multidose for best results.
• Achieving the best results with Alfaxan, cat and dog user guide – discussing practical advice which will help achieve the best clinical outcomes for patients and the veterinary team when using Alfaxan Multidose for the induction of general anaesthesia in dogs and cats.

There is a quiz at the end of each module, following which, you can download a CPD certificate.

Suzy Ramsay, head of sales and marketing at Jurox (UK) Limited, said: “We are committed to developing unique and world class anaesthesia and analgesic products and practices within the animal health industry through the provision of up-to-date technical support and education. Our new Jurox Anaesthesia Academy CPD platform will enable veterinary professionals to adopt an evidence-based approach to their anaesthetic product choice and, in turn, help achieve the best possible anaesthetic outcomes for their patients.”

For access to the Jurox Anaesthesia Academy CPD platform, visit https://cpd.jurox.co.uk.

For further information, contact your local Jurox account manager, phone 0800 500 3171 or email customerservice@jurox.co.uk.

Zoetis has announced the launch of Simparica, a once-monthly oral medication for the treatment of flea, tick and mite infestations in dogs beginning at eight weeks of age.

The company says the new product, which comes in the form of a tasty chewable tablet, acts quickly and provides continuous protection for 35 days without losing efficacy at the end of the month.

Simparica is effective against both Ctenocephalides felis and Ctenocephalides canis flea infestations in dogs.² It starts to kill fleas quickly within three hours³ and continues to kill fleas for at least 35 days², making it suitable as part of a treatment strategy for Flea Allergic Dermatitis.

The product also protects dogs against infestations with the most common ticks found to infest dogs in Europe^2,4, including  Dermacentor reticulatus, the species associated with the disease babesiosis, which has recently been reported in the UK. It’s also the only treatment for Ixodes hexagonus, one of the most prevalent ticks in the UK. The killing effect against Ixodes ricinus starts within 8 hours after a single oral administration and over 96% are killed within 24 hours.⁴

Zoetis says Simparica is also effective against Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Sarcoptes scabiei, and that laboratory evidence shows efficacy for Demodex Canis and Otodectes Cynotis. 

Zoetis believes that Simparica’s ability to provide continuous protection up to and beyond the monthly treatment period is very important for pet owners. Sixty three per cent of owners confess to giving flea and tick treatment later than when it was due, with the median being  5 days late.¹ Simparica gives vets and forgetful pet owners the peace of mind of extended duration of activity helping to minimise the potential risk of protection gaps. 

Ned Flaxman, companion animal business unit director at Zoetis said: "With Simparica, we bring to the market an advanced parasiticide solution, helping to deliver improved client and pet owner satisfaction. The chewable tablets are easy to administer and readily accepted by dogs. But more importantly, Simparica helps vets and dog owners minimise the potential risk of protection gaps, as it acts very fast to kill fleas and ticks and performs for at least 35 days without losing efficacy — well beyond the monthly treatment period.

"With its rapid onset, robust duration of activity and very good safety profile, Simparica is the only oral isoxazoline indicated for four species of ticks in Europe including Ixodes hexagonus and the two species of fleas, dogs are most frequently infested with. Unlike most treatments, Simparica protects from both types of ectoparasites for the same duration."

For more information please speak to your account manager or contact customer support on 0854 300 8034.

Ceva Animal Health has extended its Meloxidyl dogs and cats’ range with the launch of a new 5ml Meloxidyl oral suspension for cats.

The company says the new bottle size will provide more prescription options for veterinary practices currently stocking 15ml bottles and is a perfect post-surgery size to send patients home with. The bottles are also clear brown in colour; designed to make it easier for cat owners to see how much liquid is left in each bottle.

Meloxidyl oral suspension for cats contains meloxicam for the alleviation of pain and inflammation. It is licensed for the treatment of musculo-skeletal disorders and the alleviation of post-operative pain.

Rob McLintock, business unit manager at Ceva Animal Health said: "The new 5ml Meloxidyl oral suspension for cats’ bottle will provide veterinary practices with more prescription options for the management and alleviation of pain and inflammation in cats."

To support the launch of the new 5ml Meloxidyl presentation, Ceva is running a competition to win one of five BSAVA Manuals of Anaesthesia and Analgesia by answering one question: ‘How many millilitres are in the new Meloxidyl cat bottle’? 

To enter the competition, email analgesics-group@ceva.com. Include ‘Meloxidyl competition’ in the subject line and contact details and the answer to the question in the main body of the email.

For further information on Ceva’s analgesic product range, contact your local Ceva territory manager, email analgesics-group@ceva.com or call 01494 781510.

A final year Bioveterinary Science student at Harper Adams University is carrying out some new research into Onchocerca Cervicalis, otherwise known as neck threadworm, and is asking equine vets to take part. 

The research is being conducted by Sarah Mansell under the supervision of Dr. Malgorzata Behnke. They say this parasite hasn't been studied in depth in the UK since the 1970's, because the symptoms can be controlled by routine worming measures. However, as the industry moves away from routine worming as a measure of reducing the risk of parasites developing resistances to treatments, a condition such as this which is now considered to be quite rare in the UK can start to re-emerge.

Sarah is asking vets to fill out a short questionnaire to assess awareness of Onchocerca Cervicalis in veterinary practices. The survey includes specific questions about the parasite as well as questions about cases of unresponsive skin conditions because a similarity in symptoms can lead to misdiagnoses that could, in fact, turn out to be Onchocerca Cervicalis.

Sarah said: "Hopefully the findings will raise awareness of this problem and help shape future research in this area."

She added: "I want to get vets thinking about this issue much more than perhaps they are at the moment."

To take part in the survey, visit: https://harper-adams.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/assessing-the-awareness-of-onchocerca-cervicalis-amongst-e-2

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has reprimanded one veterinary surgeon and suspended another for four months, following a joint hearing regarding their professional conduct while they were in practice in Slough, Berkshire in August 2016.

The Disciplinary Committee considered a number of charges against Javier Salas Navarro MRCVS and Roman Kristin over 35 days.

The charges against Dr Navarro concerned his treatment of a kitten named Marnie. They included: 

• In August 2016, failing to read the anaesthesia consent form in relation to a surgical spay he performed;

• When Marnie was readmitted for surgery, failing to read the anaesthesia consent form, failing to undertake adequate assessment of Marnie’s condition; performing surgery without adequately considering her condition; subjecting Marnie to anaesthesia without recognising the seriousness of her illness; failing to obtain informed consent from the owners; administering medication which was contra-indicated; and failure to make an adequate record of his involvement in Marnie’s care.

The charges against Dr Kristin also related to his treatment of Marnie. They included:  

• In August 2016, failing to undertake an adequate assessment of her condition; failure to recognise and record the fact that Marnie could not pass urine; failure to refer or offer her for specialist treatment; and failure to ensure Marnie received care and treatment overnight. 

• When admitting Marnie for surgery, that he made a number of clinical mistakes including failure to gain informed consent; and failure to recognise the seriousness of her illness;

• that there were a number of failings in relation to Marnie’s care, including failure to arrange adequate overnight care, failure to monitor and record her condition, and failure to gain informed consent for the overnight care.

• that he failed to advise Marnie’s owners that he suspected her uterers had been ligated during the spay, failed to advise Marnie’s owners that she required specialist veterinary treatment; and advised that Marnie undergo further surgery at the practice in spite of this meaning her having to undergo further anaesthesia in a week and with poor chances of survival;

• that the above conduct was misleading and dishonest.

The Disciplinary Committee found a number of the facts in the charges against both Dr Navarro and Dr Kristin proven (the full details can be found in the documentation at www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary). 

The Committee found that Dr Navarro breached a number of aspects of the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons including: making animal health and welfare the first consideration when attending to animals; the provision of appropriate and adequate veterinary care; responsible prescription, supply and administration of medicines; communication with professional colleagues to ensure the health and welfare of the animal; being open and honest with clients and respecting their needs and requirements; effective communication with clients; keeping clear and accurate clinical records; and working with the veterinary team to coordinate the care of animals. 

Of the proven charges, the Committee found that his initial failure to read Marnie’s anaesthesia consent form on 5 August did not amount to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect, but that the repetition of this failure on 9 August did amount to disgraceful conduct. It also found that Dr Navarro’s failure to undertake adequate assessment and perform surgery without this assessment amounted to serious professional misconduct. Furthermore, the Committee found that subjecting Marnie to anaesthesia in spite of her being unwell, failure to obtain informed consent and failure to keep adequate records also amounted to serious professional misconduct. 

For Dr Kristin, in summary, the Committee found not proven the allegation that he had failed to respond on 5 August 2016 to concerns from Marnie’s owners about her condition while she was recovering from a surgical spay and also all the allegations relating to Dr Kristin’s admission of Marnie to the practice on 9 August on the basis that it was not satisfied so as to be sure that Dr Kristin had been the veterinary surgeon who admitted Marnie on that day. 

The Committee found proven the remaining charges and found he breached the following parts of the Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Surgeons: making animal health and welfare the first consideration when attending to animals; keeping within area of competence and referring responsibly; providing appropriate and adequate veterinary care; responsible prescribing, supply and administration of medicines; communication with colleagues to ensure the health and welfare of the animal; being open and honest with clients and respecting their needs and requirements; communicating effectively with clients and obtaining informed consent; keeping clear and accurate clinical records; and working with the veterinary team to coordinate the care of animals.

Of the proven charges, the Committee determined that his failure to adequately assess Marnie’s health, to obtain a clinical history, to undertake blood tests and recognise that she was seriously ill, amounted to disgraceful conduct in a professional respect and led to “Marnie’s underlying condition going undetected and undoubtedly contributed to her eventual death two days later”. 

The Committee also found that Dr Kristin’s decision to hospitalise Marnie without adequate overnight care, place her on IV fluids without monitoring the treatment or her condition, and failure to obtain adequate informed consent – among other things – amounted disgraceful conduct in a professional respect.

Stuart Drummond, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "As a direct result of Dr Kristin’s acts and omissions, Marnie was left alone overnight on fluids when those fluids had nowhere to go. Had he done his job properly he would have known that and Marnie could have avoided the prolonged suffering caused by the chosen course of treatment that did not address the underlying condition. Every element of Dr Kristin’s behaviour was catastrophic for Marnie, and yet he took no personal responsibility for her welfare and just went home.” 

Following its findings on disgraceful conduct in a professional respect, the Committee then went on to consider its sanction for both Dr Navarro and Dr Kristin.

In respect of Dr Navarro, the Committee considered the mitigating factors including previous good character, admissions to some of the facts of the case from the outset; genuine insight and remorse into the seriousness of the actions; his youth and inexperience; and relevant and good-quality testimonials from colleagues. The Committee noted that the testimonials were universally positive and demonstrated that Dr Navarro had reflected on his conduct, had become more mature and confident in his practice and made efforts to rectify the areas in which he had fallen below standards. 

Stuart Drummond said: “Although the consequences for Marnie and her owners were clearly devastating, the Committee considered that Dr Navarro’s part in her demise has to be seen in the context of all the evidence. In light of the extensive mitigation, including significant evidence of insight and remediation, the Committee was able to conclude that Dr Navarro did not represent a future risk to animals or the public. In such circumstances, the Committee considered that it was not necessary to restrict Dr Navarro’s registration and that a reprimand was the appropriate and proportionate sanction in his case.”

In relation to Dr Kristin, the Committee took into account positive character evidence from Mr Karel Daniel, a semi-retired veterinary surgeon and Vice-President of the Czech Republic Veterinary Chamber, a similar body to the RCVS in that country, as well as other testimonials on his behalf. In mitigation, the Committee considered Dr Kristin’s previously unblemished career, the fact that it was a single case involving a single animal; some development of insight into his conduct; no evidence of repetition; expressions of remorse; the impact of a family bereavement during the course of proceedings; and his financial position.

However, the Committee also took into account aggravating factors including a lack of candour from Dr Kristin when he was giving evidence, demonstrated by a tendency to blame others rather than take responsibility, as well as his recklessness in suggesting a third operation on Marnie that was not in her interests, rather than referring her into specialist care.

The final decision of the Committee on the sanction for Dr Kristin was that, given the seriousness of the misconduct, it was satisfied that this warranted a six-month suspension period. However, given the mitigating factors, the Committee decided that four months was appropriate and proportionate. 

Commenting on the sanction Stuart Drummond said: “The Committee determined that it was important a clear message be sent that this sort of behaviour is wholly inappropriate and not to be tolerated. It brings discredit upon the respondent and discredit upon the profession and, most importantly, caused harm to Marnie and great distress to her owners.

"The Committee did consider whether to remove Dr Kristin from the Register. However, in light of the mitigation in this case, the fact that this was a single case in an otherwise unblemished career, together with the unlikelihood he would repeat his disgraceful conduct, the Committee decided that, in all the circumstances, to remove him from the Register would be disproportionate.

"The Committee therefore decided to order that the Registrar suspend Dr Kristin’s registration…. The Committee was satisfied that a period of four months was appropriate and proportionate in all the circumstances."

The full facts and findings from the case can be found at www.rcvs.org.uk/disciplinary 

Vets Now is expanding its referral service with the acquisition of Great Western Referrals, a referral hospital in Swindon.  

The acquisition is Vets Now Referrals' second permanent site to complement its original referral service in Glasgow and its first operation in England, allowing it to extend its specialised veterinary services across the South West.

Vets Now Referrals says it plans to enhance its new acquisition by improving the premises and extending the current referral team, beginning with the appointment of a new orthopaedic surgeon who will support the current RCVS and European Specialist in Veterinary Surgery:  Hannes Bergmann DrVetMed DipECVS MRCVS.

As part of the acquisition, Great Western Referrals will be renamed Vets Now Referrals. It will offer a full small animal referral service with specialists trained in Surgery (Orthopaedics, Soft-Tissue, Spinal), Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Cardiology, Diagnostic Imaging, as well as Avian and Exotic Medicine. In addition, an independent out of hours emergency service will also be available from Vets Now at the hospital for all member practices in the area.

Vets Now Referrals will incorporate the specialist care currently offered for exotic pets, Great Western Exotic Vets. This service will continue to be run as Great Western Exotics and will retain the expertise of Neil A Forbes BVEtMed DipECZM(avian) FRCVS, an RCVS and European Recognised Specialist in Avian Medicine.

Richard Dixon, Founder of Vets Now Ltd said: "We are very excited to be extending our Referrals network and will be working hard with the local referring practices and their clients in the surrounding area. We want the local practices to have a strong and genuine say in how the business operates, and some of the early changes already planned have come from discussions with those practices."

"We have been hugely impressed by the exceptional levels of clinical experience within the existing team at Great Western Referrals, as well as their energy and commitment to deliver the best level of specialist care to pets. We will be building on this team and tailoring the service to individual practice needs.  Through our acquisition we will also bring resources to help the service grow, bringing added security to the clinical team in Swindon."

"In addition to the referral service, we are very pleased that Vets Now will be operating its highly regarded and well established out of hours emergency service, which we believe will continue to benefit local member practices and their clients."

For further information about the service, visit www.vetsnowreferrals.com/ or call 01793 603 800.

Richard Dixon and Neil Forbes announce Vets Now's acquisition of Great Western Referrals.

ioLight, the world's first portable high resolution digital microscope, which premiered at the London Vet Show last year, has won a European Product Design Award 2017 and raised a further £320K in equity funding on the Crowdcube platform.

In 2014 ioLight co-founders, Oxford physicists Andrew Monk and Richard Williams, filed a patent application for a pocket-sized digital microscope with a performance that compares with expensive laboratory microscopes. They asked Cambridge Industrial Design to realise the product, briefing them that the device would need to deliver images with one micron resolution (required to view human or animal cells) onto a smartphone or tablet, be pocket-sized, easy to use, and economical to build in medium to high volumes.

One of the biggest challenges was in making the unit pocket-sized, which meant it had to be foldable, something which could have led to a loss in the rigidity needed to achieve high resolution images. This challenge was overcome with the use of a single hinge which the company says makes the ioLight both portable and robust.

Alex Jones, Managing director of Cambridge Industrial Design said: "We recognised immediately this was a great idea but the design brief was certainly a challenge. Fortunately, challenges can sometimes bring out the best in designers. The final design is a real success both aesthetically and ergonomically, and this award is a fantastic acknowledgement for the design process and the final product that we have created together with ioLight."

ioLight is also celebrating another success: closing its second round of equity funding after raising £320k from 335 investors on the Crowdcube platform (128% of the initial target). 

The company says the new funding will allow it to promote the microscope to a wide range of target markets including veterinary surgeons, education, laboratory and field research, museums and public engagement as well as to international markets. 

Andrew Monk, ioLight’s co-founder said: "The product is so simple to use that it is the ideal communication tool for explaining science to the public, students and customers. The microscope lets everyone see the same image so the discussion is about the picture not the tools. It’s a perfect fit for government public engagement campaigns, which are well funded at the moment. We are absolutely delighted that this funding provides us with the opportunity for both product development and to reach out and make microscopy available to so many more people."

Ceva Animal Health has launched a new broad-spectrum, flavoured endoparasiticide tablet, Milbactor for dogs.

Milbactor contains milbemycin oxime and praziquantel, which offer protection against the common nematodes seen in the UK and the main species of tapeworm.

Milbemycin oxime treats Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina, Angiostrongylus vasorum and Crenosoma vulpis, the hookworm Ancylostoma caninum, the whipworm Trichuris vulpis and the eyeworm, Thelazia callipaeda. Milbactor also prevents heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis.

Praziquantel protects against Echinococcus spp., Dipylidium caninum, Taenia spp. and Mesocestoides spp.

Puppies weighing more than 0.5 kg can be treated with Milbactor from two weeks of age. Milbactor comes in two tablet sizes for dogs and puppies, and the tablets are flavoured for easy administration.

Ceva has also launched The Ceva Protection System for dogs, a two-step solution featuring Vectra 3D and Milbactor to provide ectoparasite and endoparasite protection for dogs with one monthly topical treatment and one flavoured tablet. The Ceva Protection System uses Vectra Felis for flea protection for cats and Acclaim for the treatment of the pet's home environment.

Rob McLintock MRCVS, companion animal business unit manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: "The launch of Milbactor and The Ceva Protection System will enable veterinary surgeons to offer their clients a simple regime featuring Vectra 3D and Milbactor for comprehensive parasite control in dogs. Offering protection both inside and out and with no bite required to kill fleas, the regime offers a simple, effective combination to treat and prevent fleas, ticks, biting flies, roundworms, tapeworms, lungworms and to prevent heartworm.

For further information on The Ceva Protection System, Milbactor, Vectra 3D or Vectra Felis, contact your local Ceva territory manager or call 01494 781510.