Dechra Veterinary Products has announced a new lower recommended starting dose of Vetoryl (trilostane), its treatment for dogs with Cushing's syndrome.
Dechra says the change to the Summary of Product Characteristics for Vetoryl Hard Capsules for Dogs follows the publication of research and studies into the effects of lowering the initial dose rate.
The new, lower recommended starting dose is 2 mg/kg once daily, and the 10 mg capsules can now be used as a starting dose. Further guidance is also given for switching to twice daily dosing.
Brand Manager Craig Sankey said: "Since Vetoryl capsules were first launched more than ten years ago, vets have accumulated a considerable amount of practical experience in using the product to transform the lives of dogs with Cushing's syndrome.
"Several leading veterinary teaching establishments have carried out studies investigating the effects of reducing the initial dose rate and the published literature indicates that lower starting doses are efficacious and may reduce the risk of side effects.
"Our new dosing recommendations are in line with current thinking from veterinary specialists in endocrinology and internal medicine, ensuring that Vetoryl evolves with the times and continues to restore vitality to Cushingoid dogs."
For further information contact the Dechra Veterinary Technical Services Team on 01939 211200 or e-mail technical@dechra.com, or speak to your Dechra Territory Sales Manager.
Chris Tufnell, current President of the RCVS, said: "We are very sad to hear of the death of Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, a figure who had a truly exceptional career, unique in its achievements and one dedicated to bridging and bringing together the worlds of medical and veterinary science.
"His dedication to the concept of One Health is demonstrated by the fact that, during his life time, he was both President of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (from 1984-85) and the Royal Society of Medicine (1998-2000), the first veterinary surgeon to be elected to that position, as well as being a founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
"He was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and prizes including Honorary Fellowship of the College and, at RCVS Day in 2015, received the Queen’s Medal, the highest award that the RCVS can bestow upon a veterinary surgeon. This was given in recognition of his contribution to One Health but also his international work as a Fellow and Professor in numerous countries across the world and his political work as the first veterinary surgeon to enter the House of Lords in 1990.
"He gave an outstanding service to the profession, to veterinary science and to animal welfare but was known for his endearing personality as much as his intellect. He will be missed by many colleagues in the veterinary world but his legacy will live on through inspiring veterinary surgeons from all walks of life to work more closely with other healthcare and medical professionals and through his numerous published books and papers. Our sympathies are with his family and friends."
Photo: Lord Soulsby getting a standing ovation at RCVS Day 2015. Courtesy RCVS.
The veterinary group made the donation on behalf of its team after all 185 staff voted unanimously to donate the proceeds of the company's monthly employee reward scheme to help support the victims of the bombing.
Veterinary nurse Danielle Richardson, from the Walkden practice in Manchester, said: "We all felt so sad for the victims and their families and our instant reaction was to find a way to help. Our practice decided we wanted to donate our monthly reward money that we usually use for things like meals out or a team activity to the hospital, and we let the central team support office know. We also put together lots of special packages with toys in for the children."
Managing director Tim Harrison said: "As soon as we heard what our team were doing at our Walkden practice we let everyone else know, and every single one of our practices across the country requested that their reward monies were also donated to The Manchester Children’s Hospital.
"I am so proud of the team and for the level of support they have given to those affected by this most appalling event. The response by the White Cross team has been tremendous. We were all touched by the ordeal in some way and many of us knew people who were at the concert."
By becoming a Stonewall Diversity Champion, the RCVS joins over 750 other organisations who are striving to create workplaces that are equal, inclusive and accepting.
Lizzie Lockett, RCVS Deputy CEO and Director of the Mind Matters Initiative, said: "We are delighted to be working with Stonewall and will benefit greatly from its expertise and energy. These may not be easy issues to tackle but we hope that this tie-up with Stonewall will, in itself, send a positive message of our intent to take the issues seriously and make the RCVS, and the veterinary profession at large, as inclusive as possible.
"There are three aspects to the work we plan: first, to ensure the RCVS is a welcoming and accepting employer by integrating inclusion and diversity into all aspects of our organisation; second, to review our policies and procedures around areas such as registration, to make sure that they take account of the diversity within the veterinary profession; and, finally, through our Mind Matters Initiative, we aim to work with our partners to develop inclusive workplaces throughout the veterinary profession. The ability to be oneself in the workplace has a big impact on mental health and wellbeing so it’s a core issue for Mind Matters."
The College says that the move to link up with Stonewall came about as a result of discussions with Mat Hennessey, President of the British Veterinary Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender group, who said: "We are extremely excited about the collaboration between the RCVS and Stonewall, and feel this positive move to culture equality and inclusivity will benefit the profession as a whole. Stonewall is the largest LGBT+ charity in the UK and Europe and thus has a wealth of knowledge and resources relating to LGBT+ issues. We look forward to continuing to work with both parties during this important venture."
Abby Crawford, Public Sector Client Manager at Stonewall, said: "We know that LGBT staff can face specific barriers in the workplace and it’s great that the RCVS has taken a strong commitment to LGBT equality in this way. We look forward to working with them to create more inclusive environments for their staff and service users – working towards a world where all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted without exception."
CEVA Animal Health has confirmed its sponsorship of Stephanie Dakin, an equine veterinary PhD student at the Royal Veterinary College in London.
The four-year sponsorship, due to commence October 2008, is being run through the BBSRC Industrial CASE studentship scheme, which involves partnerships between UK-based industrial companies and eligible UK universities or research institutes, to support collaborative postgraduate research. It is the first time that CEVA, the company that recently introduced Tildren®, a treatment for equine bone disease, has undertaken such an initiative in the UK.
Stephanie is conducting her PhD on the pathogenesis and treatment of equine tendonitis. She is currently working with Professor Roger Smith, Professor of Equine Orthopaedics and Dr Jay Dudhia at the RVC, on a study to determine the efficacy of stem cells in the treatment of superficial digital flexor tendonitis in the horse.
Stephanie commented: "I am very keen to direct research in this field in order to better elucidate the mechanisms involved in tendon injury and identify therapeutic targets, such that we can improve our management and hopefully advance our ability to treat and prevent disease, thus improving the health and welfare of equine patients."
She added: "Having the opportunity to undertake this vital research, supported by the BBSRC and the industrial contribution from CEVA, is a real privilege and I hope that the findings from this study will feedback to have a direct, positive impact on clinical cases of tendonitis, in the equine and possibly the human fields."
The British Small Animal Association has responded to Defra's statement on compulsory microchipping.
The Association says it is an advocate of compulsory microchipping as the most effective way to permanently identify a dog - as long as owners maintain an up-to-date registration on the various databases. As such it broadly welcomes the recent Defra statement.
However, BSAVA points out that the statement has come before a full and considered consultation in terms of its implementation, and says it raises a number of questions for vets in practice:
Despite the headlines around the statement, this is yet to be laid down in law and will require changes under the Animal Welfare Act and potentially the Dangerous Dogs Act, so there is still a conversation to be had about its implementation.
For this reason BSAVA has announced that it is launching a consultation with its members to establish their concerns and opinions in order to work with all the organisations involved in the best interest of animal welfare and the profession. If anyone in practice wants to feed into this consultation, they should visit http://www.bsava.com or contact BSAVA's Scientific Policy Officer Sally Everitt via email - s.everitt@bsava.com.
BSAVA President Mark Johnston said: "While implantation can be straightforward for those with appropriate experience it will be important to ensure that all those who carry out implantation are properly trained. However microchipping is not just a matter of implanting the microchip, there is a significant amount of administrative work in ensuring that animals are properly registered and that details are kept up-to-date. All of these stages need to be properly funded if the scheme is to be successful and sustainable. BSAVA will be consulting its members to gather their views and concerns and hope to be involved in a productive conversation with all interested parties."
BSAVA says there is a good news animal welfare story within this statement concerning the seizure of animals during investigation under the Dangerous Dogs Act. The new measures will allow the authorities to decide whether a suspected prohibited dog can stay with their owners until the outcome of court proceedings. Until now all such animals had to be kennelled until the proceedings had concluded, which often means that dogs who posed no risk suffered unnecessarily. BSAVA welcomes this new measure in the interest of animal welfare.
Alan, who is MD of the veterinary business consultancy, Vet Dynamics, will be looking at finances, the team, and scoping out a future strategy. The session will provide practical planning tools, strategic advice, and the opportunity to ask questions.
Bayer points to a number of trends which have emerged during lockdown which it says practices must respond to quickly in the post-lockdown recovery.
The company says retailers have reported that internet traffic increased threefold at the start of lockdown and it remains at double the pre-lockdown levels. Direct retail sales of flea and tick products have also increased.
This suggests that owners are becoming more comfortable with buying preventative healthcare products online.
Bayer says there is a business opportunity here for practices. The subscription box market is expected to hit £1 billion by 20222, and one way practices can capitalise on this trend is by offering home-delivered flea, wormer and tick treatments.
Another business opportunity could lie in research by Banfield Pet Hospital among 1,000 US pet owners in which 20% vowed to take their pets ‘more often’ to the vet post-lockdown for preventative care checkups3.
Caroline Braidwood, Regional Business Manager of Bayer Animal Health said: "We know that many veterinary customers have potentially gone elsewhere during the pandemic and vets will need to work hard to win them back. Our webinar will provide tangible insights to ensure that practices can flourish. Whether you’ve worked with Bayer or not, our team of Veterinary Business Managers are here to help. We’re all in this together, and with some planning, we can ensure the veterinary industry continues to grow.”
To book your webinar place, visit: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/46/rk71qav5
The UK-Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Surveillance (UK-VARSS) annual report shows that while sales of antibiotics increased slightly by 1.5 mg/kg to 31.0 mg/kg in comparison to the previous year, this was offset by a reduction in use of the more potent critical antibiotics.
UK veterinary antibiotic use in 2019 was the second lowest since the start of regular reporting, and the UK has one of the lowest levels in Europe.
Between 2018 and 2019 there was a 21% drop in of use of Highest Priority Critically Important Antibiotics (HP-CIAs) in food-producing animals, which account for 0.5% of total antibiotic sales. The UK has also seen an overall reduction in the level of resistance in E. coli from healthy pigs at slaughter since 2015 and resistance to HP-CIAs in E. coli is at very low levels.
Peter Borriello, Chief Executive Veterinary Medicines Directorate said: "In the last five years we have worked closely with the farming industry and veterinary profession to achieve huge reductions in use of antibiotics in animals.
"This demonstrates how farmers and vets have been working together to use antibiotics responsibly while safeguarding the health and welfare of our livestock.
"The UK Government will continue to work with industry to focus on infection control, reducing the need to use antibiotics to treat disease and maintain the UK’s world leading standards in animal welfare."
Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said: "I am delighted that the UK continues to lead the way as one of the lowest users of antibiotics in livestock across Europe.
"These findings are testament to the hard work of the UK’s farmers and vets to use antibiotics responsibly in order to tackle antibiotic resistance and protect our most critically important antibiotics in human health, while also reducing the burden of disease in animals."
Used to treat calf diarrhoea, Locatim is an orally administered product, indicated for the reduction of mortality caused by enterotoxicosis associated with E. coli F5 (K99).
The product is made from the colostrum of high health status cows hyperimmunised against Rotavirus, Coronavirus and E.coli.
Locatim is designed to work alongside the dam’s colostrum, enhancing protection against gastro-intestinal infection and helping to sustain calf health in the critical neo-natal period.
For optimal effect, Forte says Locatim should be given within 4 hours of birth, but can be used up to 12 hours post-natally.
Forte says Locatim is not designed to replace anti-scour vaccination programmes, rather to act as an extremely useful adjunct in cases where the response to vaccines has been less than ideal.
The company says Locatim is also extremely useful in managing outbreaks of scour in unvaccinated herds by protecting those calves born before a new vaccination programme can take effect.
Locatim is available from all UK veterinary wholesalers.
For more information, contact your Forte Territory Manager or enquiries@fortehealthcare.com.
Using 14 years’ of race day veterinary reports, the study found that soft tissue injuries, respiratory conditions and gait abnormalities were the most commonly reported issues. Soft tissue injuries include wounds and lacerations. Those classified as 'gait observations' primarily relate to horses reported as lame, moving poorly or being stiff, but without a specific cause being identified. The majority of horses with respiratory conditions had epistaxis.
Researchers say the findings will help prioritize efforts and direct research to identify risk factors for the most common and/or severe conditions, with the aim of developing strategies to further reduce injuries and fatalities in British flat racing, building on its already strong record on equine welfare.
Sarah Rosanowski, PhD PGDipVCS BSc, at the Royal Veterinary College said: "It was not surprising to find that most veterinary incidents reported on race-day are relatively minor and not career-ending. This is of course a good thing.
"Although the good news is that the majority of injuries are not life-threatening, the fatality rates in British flat racing have remained relatively stable rather than declining over the past decade.
"The ongoing surveillance by the British Horseracing Authority is important as it provides a way to track the occurrence of veterinary events over time. Now that we have a baseline against which to monitor the effects of future interventions, there will be opportunities to further improve horse welfare and racing safety."
Reference
Some say he pees Propofol, and that he once proposed to a Black Welsh Mountain Sheep called Blodwen. All we know is he's called The Stinge, and that he's challenged veterinary surgeons and nurses to beat his lap time in an electronic 'reasonably priced car' at the Alstoe Animal Health stand (G40) at the London Vet Show.
Alstoe says that for legal reasons (and because it doesn't have the money), The Stinge's better known cousin from BBC's Top Gear will not be making an appearance.
However the company is able to run to a bottle of champagne for the vet or nurse that sets the best lap time each day of the show.
Niall McFerran from Alstoe said: "Believe me, the Stinge is not a fast driver, so I think it will be very easy for the first contestant to beat him/her! The real question will be who is actually fastest each day. We are looking forward to having some fun".
Veterinary surgeons Lewis Grant and Professor Quintin McKellar have joined Dr Lydia Brown in the New Year's Honours List.
Mr Grant, former veterinary manager in the Meat Hygiene Service, Food Standards Agency and animal welfare representative of the Veterinary Public Health Association (VPHA) was awarded an MBE. Professor Quintin McKellar, Principal of the Royal Veterinary College has been awarded a CBE for services to science.
BVA Honorary Member the Earl of Selborne was also recognised with a GBE for services to science.
Harvey Locke, President of the BVA, said: "On behalf of the BVA I would like to congratulate Dr Brown, Lewis Grant, Professor McKellar and Lord Selborne on their fantastic achievements. These national honours underline the importance of veterinary medicine."
The RCVS has announced that the Registrar, Gordon Hockey, has decided to leave the College after 16 years' service.
Gordon served first as Assistant Registrar / Head of Professional Conduct, and, since 2012, as Registrar / Director of Legal Services.
Dr Bradley Viner, RCVS President, said: "We wish to thank Gordon for all his hard work and wish him every success in the future.
"He has been a key figure at the RCVS for many years, and has brought about much positive change in the organisation, particularly with respect to reform of our disciplinary processes and the introduction of our new Charter, in February 2015."
VetSurgeon.org has launched a survey to discover what veterinary professionals think of the food available for small furries, and how it is labelled.
The survey closes on 22nd September, when one completed survey entry will be drawn from the hat to win £50 worth of John Lewis shopping vouchers.
The survey consists of nine quick questions, which should only take a few moments to complete.
Click here to take part in the survey.
The World Small Animal Veterinary Association is inviting nominations for its 2012 awards.
The awards, which recognise the achievements of veterinary surgeons around the world in advancing the care of companion animals, are made annually and will be presented during the 2012 WSAVA World Congress in Birmingham from 12-15 April 2012.
Nominations for the 2011 awards have already closed and will be presented at this year's event, which takes place in Jeju, Korea from 14-17 October.
Nominations are invited for the following awards:
The WSAVA Hill's Pet Mobility Award This recognises the outstanding work of a clinical researcher in the field of canine and feline orthopaedic medicine and surgery. Through improvements in the mobility and quality of life of pets, the research should have contributed significantly to the well-being of pets' lives and to the human-animal bond worldwide.
The WSAVA Hill's Excellence in Veterinary Healthcare AwardThis recognises the outstanding work of a veterinary surgeon in promoting companion animal health care and the human-animal-veterinary bond through leading edge clinical nutrition and through advanced medical and surgical techniques which enrich relationships between people and their pets.
The WSAVA International Award for Scientific Achievement This recognises the outstanding contribution of a veterinary surgeon who has furthered the advancement of knowledge of the cause, detection and management of disorders in companion animals.
In addition to these awards, the WSAVA Executive Board makes a special additional award for Service to the Profession. The award recognises exemplary service by a vet to foster and enhance the exchange of scientific and professional ideas throughout the world. For 2012, the award will again be sponsored by Dr John and Mary Holt, Past WSAVA President and Service to the Profession Award recipient, both of whom remain well recognized supporters of the profession.
Finally, the WSAVA's Global One Health Award will also be presented to an individual judged to have made particular progress in an aspect of One Health relating to companion animals. A second award aimed at encouraging younger members of the profession to embrace One Health will also be made to the individual who gives an oral or poster presentation at the 2012 Congress which best encapsulates the One Health concept. The recipients of these awards are nominated by members of the WSAVA's Scientific Advisory and One Health Committees in conjunction with the Local Hosting Committee.
Professor Jolle Kirpensteijn, President of the WSAVA, said: "It's important to recognise and celebrate the outstanding work of our colleagues around the world as they continue to advance the care of companion animals. The developments and scientific breakthroughs they work so hard to achieve are helping to improve the daily quality of life and health experienced by many millions of animals around the world.
"A WSAVA Award confers recognition and gratitude from the global veterinary community. Each year, we receive a higher number of entries and we look forward to reviewing the nominations for the 2102 awards. We are, of course, grateful to Hill's Pet Nutrition for its generous sponsorship and for its continuing support of the WSAVA. The awards are just one of the ways in which we work to deliver our joint vision to foster the development of veterinary knowledge on a global scale."
Nominations must be received by the WSAVA Secretariat by 1 September 2011 and can be submitted by email (wsavasecretariat@gmail.com) or post. They should include a covering letter, nominee CV and list of nominee publications. Full contact details are at www.wsava.org/contact.htm.
Bayer Animal Health, maker of Tracer microchips, has produced a new video in which Emma Milne and Petlog Executive Celia Walsom consider the implications for practices of the change in the law which will make it compulsory for all dogs to be microchipped from April 2016.
The 15-minute video considers various issues, such as:
Merial has announced the results of a survey which suggests that whilst diagnosis of gastric ulcers in horses is improving, there is still room for improvement.
The survey of 50 equine vets, which was conducted in May this year, showed that the number of practices owning a scope has more than doubled over the past six years. Half of equine practices now own a scope. Over the same period the average number of monthly scopes has risen from 1.5 to 9.25 and referrals from practices without a scope has risen by 65%.
Merial's Louise Radford MRCVS said: "The survey also showed that symptom recognition among vets prompting the need for an endoscopy has also risen. The vast majority of vets now consider changes in behaviour, loss of appetite and poor performance as potential signs. In addition, 100% of those surveyed would consider an endoscopy when presented with the signs of recurring colic.
"However whilst this is great progress, when diagnosis is compared to the incidence of ulcer, we know that more needs to be done. It is believed that up to 30% of leisure horses have some degree of gastric ulceration, and this increases in sports horses, yet just a fraction of this figure represents those scoped."
Richard Hepburn BVSc MS(Hons) CertEM(IntMed) DipACVIM(LA) MRCVS, American and RCVS Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine at B&W Equine Hospital says he is pleased that more horses are being scoped for gastric ulcers but says that further education is needed: "We've seen a huge leap in the appreciation of the incidence of gastric ulceration in non-racing animals, which long term will better our understanding of the individual clinical relevance of particular lesions, and the benefits of treatment and management change.
"This should improve both performance and horse welfare, as well as increasing client satisfaction. Despite the huge increase in the diagnosis and treatment of equine gastric ulcers it is still believed that many horses go undiagnosed."
Ceva Animal Health has announced that it has made its cardiology webinar series, first broadcast in November and December 2013, available to view on demand at: www.cardaliscpd.co.uk.
Featuring some of the UK's leading veterinary cardiology specialists, the webinars that can be watched on demand include:
Each webinar lasts for around 1.5 hours. CPD certificates are then available after answering questions relating to each webinar.
Senior product manager Fraser Broadfoot MRCVS said: "We have been overwhelmed by the response to this webinar series, which shows how strong the demand is for high quality cardiology CPD. Ceva remains committed to continue supporting veterinary professionals by carrying out ongoing cardiology seminars, webinars and online CPD programmes."
For further information, please email Ceva Animal Health on customerservicesuk@ceva.com.
Apparently, there were over 100 times more recorded outbreaks of equine flu across the UK in 2019 than the year before1, and numerous equestrian events were cancelled as a result.
The company says that despite this, as of 2019, only about half of all UK horses are vaccinated2.
Blaise Scott-Morris MRCVS, Equine Marketing and Technical Manager at MSD Animal Health said: "Last year’s outbreaks of equine flu rocked the equine world, raising important animal welfare issues and costing the racing industry millions.
"Furthermore, they highlighted the need for good preventative healthcare and, in particular, vaccination. It’s vital that more owners are encouraged to vaccinate and those that already have, to keep up with their annual vaccinations and health checks so we don’t experience the same suffering again."
MSD's campaign invites horse owners to join the movement to #fightequineflu, and there is a range of materials to help practices promote the campaign and encourage clients to talk about vaccination and preventative healthcare, including an educational infographic poster, a social media pack and new resources on the Chameleon appointment reminder system.
MSD will itself be promoting the campaign on social media (Facebook: @Keeping Britains Horses Healthy, Instagram: @KeepingHorsesHealthy), and through partnerships with consumer channels such as Horse and Country TV.
There is also a new information resource online at www.kbhh.co.uk/achoo, which offers horse owners links to a range of other educational preventative health materials and horse care advice.
To request your Fight Equine Flu practice pack, speak to your MSD account manager.
References
The College says it will, however, continue to operate as close to normality as possible, with the main support services for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses such as advice, lifelong learning (including qualifications and the new 1CPD platform), finance and Practice Standards available as usual over the phone, on email or via the website.
The College’s main statutory activities around accreditation, registration and regulation of the professions will also be largely unaffected, with most Committee, Sub-Committee and working group meetings held by telephone or video conference.
Apparently, however, the April meeting of RCVS Council was going to be too big to be held remotely, so it has been cancelled.
The things that were up for discussion, such as the standard of proof and the report of the Legislation Working Party, will be moved to a subsequent meeting. Should there be any urgent business to consider, Council members have been asked to remain available via email on the date originally scheduled.
The College says it will be deciding whether to proceed with forthcoming DC hearings on a case-by-case basis, to balance maintaining the health and welfare of all involved with the College’s responsibility to protect animal health and welfare and public health.
The College is having to postpone or cancel an increasing number of its events; latest updates and advice for the profession is at: www.rcvs.org.uk/coronavirus.
RCVS Chief Executive Lizzie Lockett, pictured right, said: "We have been planning for this eventuality for some time, so whilst Monday’s announcement from UK Government came a little sooner than expected, we are in a strong position to be able to operate as close to normal as possible.
"We have an excellent and highly committed team of staff and Council members at the College, who I know will continue to work hard from kitchen tables, studies and living rooms over the coming days and weeks to serve the veterinary professions and the animal-owning public.
"Whilst we are fortunate that much of our work can be carried out remotely, we fully appreciate that this is not the case for most veterinary professionals who themselves are currently facing many significant challenges in their daily work to care for the nation’s animals whilst also prioritising the health and welfare of their own teams."
The College is urging all veterinary surgeons, nurses and practices to check they have supplied it with their most up-to-date email address via www.rcvs.org.uk/myaccount so it can relay its latest advice as the situation evolves.
The training material includes a range of new downloadable marketing resources for vets and SQPs to help maintain communications with their farmer customer base while face-to-face contact opportunities are restricted. They include a newsletter and social media and farmer engagement tools for various dairy, beef and sheep disease management issues.
Vets can also access new BRD management content highlighting the benefit of immunity-led disease prevention and ultrasound scanning of calf lungs. You can also view a range of practical ‘how to’ videos, as well as five different webinar recordings explaining ways to collaborate more effectively with farmers over youngstock rearing issues. The content is based on implementing MSD Animal Health’s versatile calf health checklist engagement tool, which facilitates an audit-based approach to assessing and improving current on-farm management practices.
MSD says it has another two webinars in the pipeline, which will be released in the weeks ahead: ‘Immunology’ with Professor James Roth and ‘Salmonella’ with Katrina Henderson from SAC.
To access all the training content, visit: https://www.msd-animal-health-hub.co.uk
In the 15 minute podcast, Carolyn Kyte, a vet in general practice, talks to Natalie Barnard, a veterinary dermatology specialist from Highcroft Referrals, and together they share their experience of the challenges of treating animals with otitis and explain why owners play a important role in successful treatment of the condition.
Dechra Brand Manager Carol Morgan said: “Otitis is very common, particularly in dogs, but there is no ‘quick fix’ when some underlying factors are causing the problem. This can lead to frustration for the pet’s owners and animals not getting the consistent treatment they need to get better.
“What Carolyn and Natalie bring to the table with their new podcast for the Dechra Academy is a light and insightful discussion about communication and education being the keystone for better otitis outcomes and how vets can improve on their consultation skills to handle cases better.”
The otitis podcast is here: https://academy.dechra.com/learn/course/internal/view/elearning/1034/think-differently-about-otitis
The online book invites veterinary surgeons to leave written messages of condolence, and pictures.
The book will be available until Monday 3rd October.
Dr Melissa Donald MRCVS, President of the RCVS who will be attending the Queen’s state funeral on behalf of the College, said: “I, along with my colleagues in the Officer Team and on RCVS and VN Councils, were greatly saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty the Queen last week.
“As our Patron and benefactor since her accession to the throne 70 years ago, as a keen supporter of the veterinary professions who had many interactions with its members, and as an animal-lover, we were keen to give veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses the opportunity to leave messages of condolence, anecdotes about meeting Her Majesty, and tributes for her many years of duty and service to this country.
“After it closes, we plan to save a digital copy of the online book in the RCVS historical archives for posterity.”
Any nurses who have not received the original email should contact communications@rcvs.org.uk.
A poll carried out by The Children's Mutual has found that becoming a veterinary surgeon is one of the most popular career ambitions for 5-7 year olds, second only to becoming a teacher.
The Children's Mutual questioned over a thousand parents about what their children said they wanted to be when they grew up and found that the majority of today's children are looking for a career which requires further training and education. The top careers of doctor, teacher and vet have featured in the 'What I Want To Be' poll for the last three years, demonstrating that children consistently aspire to careers that will need higher education.
However, if you want your children to follow in your footsteps as a vet, you might like to start setting something aside now. According to The Children's mutual, it currently costs £74,700 to train to become a doctor and £75,100 to become a vet but these are set to increase by around £41,000 based on current projection levels over the next 18 years.
The top 10 career ambitions in 2010 (2009 in brackets) were:
Tony Anderson, Marketing Director of The Children's Mutual, said: "The children questioned for our research are lucky enough to have a Child Trust Fund account and with half of accounts opened with us receiving additional savings on a monthly basis, we hope these children face brighter financial futures. The question going forward is how parents will fill the savings black hole for children born from January 2011 if the Child Trust Fund is scrapped."
Ceva Animal Health has announced that it will be bolstering its spring Feliway TV advertising campaign with a campaign across the London Underground to help extend its reach to light TV viewers.
The campaign will once again feature the brand's 'That Purple Cat' character. Highlighting stress-related feline behaviour problems and encouraging cat owners to talk to their vet about Feliway, the advertisement will appear on channels such as ITV2, E4, More4 and Channel 4 (London only) from 14 February until 27 March.
The campaign will also be running on 50 high impact TV screens on the London Underground from 28 February until 13 March and 18 April until 1 May. So, according to the company, the ad will not only reach over 1.2 million people who commute and use the Underground every day, but will also be seen by millions on one of the busiest days of the year on the Underground, the Royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
Julia Wood, product manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: "By extending our advertising campaign across the London Underground we are complimenting our TV campaign and targeting commuters with busy lifestyles - who spend little time watching TV - during a unique point in their day."
To support the campaign, Ceva is offering veterinary practices free merchandising material including client leaflets, double sided A3 posters and A5 window stickers. A range of offers are also available for free mini merchandisers and digital photo frames in return for purchasing product. In addition, Ceva is running a prize draw for £250 worth of Champneys Spa vouchers for that 'purrfect' pampering session.
For more information, please contact your Ceva account manager or call 01494 781510.