Graham, 72, who worked at Westover Veterinary Centre in Norfolk for 40 years, set off on his bike from his home in Crostwick last week. He aims to complete the journey in two years, following a route that will take him through Western Europe and into Greece before flying to Ethiopia and cycling through Kenya, where he spent eight years as a government veterinary officer in his early career. He will then follow the Indian Ocean down the African continent's east coast to Cape Town.
Graham said: "I’m no stranger to life on the road – my first job on qualifying was as a field vet in Kenya which I did for eight years. This will be a real adventure though as I am definitely not an accomplished cyclist, however I look forward to the challenge and to raising money for AWF. The route may change slightly as the trip goes along, but that’s down more to government travel advice than my decision - for example, although not currently on my route, I would still like to cycle through Egypt to give a lecture or two, however we’ll need to see what’s possible."
Graham cycled via London to join the annual AWF Discussion Forum in Westminster, attended by other vets, parliamentarians and key stakeholders from the sector, before continuing his cycle to the English south coast with TV vet Emma Milne. Along the way Graham will also be working with equine charitable organisations including the Brooke, SPANA and World Horse Welfare, giving equine welfare and dentistry talks, as well as occasionally returning to the UK to lecture and attend AWF Trustee meetings.
If you would like to sponsor Graham and donate to AWF, or simply find out more about his trip through his regular blog posts, visit vetduncdares.wordpress.com.
The company has introduced a new online range of pack inserts for several of its key products including Vetoryl, Felimazole, Metrobactin and Thyforon so veterinary practices can download and print the latest pack inserts for the treatments.
The move will ensure that practices always have access to the most up-to-date information about the prescribed medication. Dechra says it will also save time as staff will not have to copy original documents from the pack.
The pack inserts will be available via www.dechra.co.uk and www.dechra.ie. In addition, Dechra has developed dispensing envelopes which are available at no charge from wholesalers in packs of 25.
Larry King, Marketing Manager, said: "Veterinary practices often dispense pharmaceuticals from bulk which involves having to copy original pack inserts for owners.
"By printing the online pack inserts, practices will no longer have piles of inserts to store and will be safe in the knowledge they are supplying the most up to date pack insert to their clients.
"When used together, the pack inserts and dispensing envelopes provide practices with an effective solution when dispensing from bulk."
The webinar programme includes both clinical and non-clinical topics.
Clinical topics include post mortem/diagnostics and calf pneumonia, parasitology – getting the basics right, and herd health planning – vaccination on farm.
Non-clinical topics include business skills, motivational interviewing techniques – facilitating effective communication between farmers and vets, and cow signals.
Webinars take place on the last Wednesday of each month, except August and December when there are no sessions.
Each webinar lasts for one hour, including a live question and answer session with the presenter. Those who are unable to view the live webinar will be able to access the content at a later date, but will not be able to pose questions.
To access the webinars, you need to register on Merial’s Nexus portal (merialnexus.co.uk). If you sign up in advance for individual webinars, you'll get reminder emails before they start.
There are three awards, two ruminant and one companion animal, of up to £4,000 each. Each project needs to be completed within 1-2 years and the veterinary practitioner proposals will be judged by university academics to ensure independent assessment.
Michelle Townley, Veterinary Advisor at MSD Animal Health (pictured right), herself a winner of an MSD bursary in 2001, said: "Our existing Research Bursaries are well-known amongst practitioners focusing on ruminants, having run for 6 years. For the first time, however, we are offering a broader level of support which includes both ruminant and companion animal practitioners. Our aim is to engage as many people as possible as we view our investment in research, and the pursuit of new knowledge, as the lifeblood of the veterinary industry."
The deadline for entries is 30th November 2017.
For further information, visit: www.msd-animal-health.co.uk/researchbursary.aspx.
Earlier in the year, we conducted a survey of veterinary surgeons to ask what you felt were the biggest problems with using Facebook as a way to share or discuss clinical information.
According to the survey, veterinary surgeons felt the greatest problem with Facebook is that you cannot see the professional qualifications of those contributing to a discussion, so unless you know them offline, you have no context for what they post. Even in closed groups, it can be hard, if not impossible to know whether you are talking to someone with many years' experience, or virtually none; an RCVS Specialist, or a general practitioner, or a veterinary nurse.
The father of the world wide web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee recognised transparency as one of the most significant problems with the Internet during the Dimbleby Lecture at the end of last year. He said:
“Another problem people are perhaps increasingly aware of, particularly more recently, has to do with the fact that much of the web has insufficient accountability. There is by design, no approval system people need to go to, to share their information online. They don’t have to come and ask me to post something. So as soon as someone posts something on the web it can be viewed by a huge number of people. This seemed to work when people posted as individuals with their own reputations at stake. But now we have systems which create fake accounts and there are millions of automated systems, bots we call them, for robots, on social media platforms spreading messages of hate and conflict
"Because of this, misinformation has been spreading rapidly. There are not enough systems holding these people and this information to account. They should be testing the truthfulness of the information organisations and individuals are putting online.”
Whilst it is perhaps unlikely that malign foreign governments have been infiltrating veterinary Facebook groups to spread discord or indeed that there are many individuals deliberately spreading misinformation in this small profession, Sir Tim's point is still highly relevant to the sharing of clinical information, advice, experience or opinion.
The problem is that Facebook gives equivalence to everyone's opinion, an equivalence they simply do not deserve.
Sir Tim is right, you should indeed be questioning the truthfulness, or rather the accuracy of clinical information and opinions posted by colleagues online, and the starting point for that is knowing who posted it, and what qualifications they hold.
The new VetSurgeon.org discussion forums make an important step forward with that, by displaying the year and place of qualification next to posts, together with veterinary postnominals, taken from members' full VetSurgeon Profiles. We're also going to make it compulsory for contributing referral practitioners to complete their profile before posting.
The other biggest problems identified in the survey are how quality information gets drowned in a sea of 'me too' replies on Facebook, how it is difficult to refer back to old posts with useful information and how information is badly curated, making it hard to find what interests you.
On VetSurgeon.org content is now curated both by type, for example forum or news posts, and by areas of clinical interest, which each have their own group you can join and subscribe to. That makes it easier for referral practitioners or postgrad students to follow just their specific area of interest, or for anyone just trying to find information quickly.
We also asked what we could do to encourage you to visit VetSurgeon.org more often for clinical discussions. 62% of you said: 'improve the ease of use on smartphones' and 50.9% said: 'create a way for you to put a question to a group of expert clinicians'.
So that is what we've done (or are doing).
The new VetSurgeon discussion forums have been significantly enhanced for mobile phones. The new main navigation makes it far easier to find your way around the site. You can now reply to forum posts on the same page as the original post, which may sound like a small thing, but it makes a big difference. Elsewhere, we've optimised our use of the more limited space available.
Very soon, we'll be unveiling another feature designed to improve the quality of online clinical discussions, and to stop them drowning in a sea of me too replies. In our new Expert Help Forums, all members will be able to ask a clinical question, but only referral practitioners and selected expert general practitioner members will be able to reply (so long as they display their credentials, of course). When they do, they'll get proper recognition for their help, something which is again missing from Facebook.
With all this talk of better standards of clinical discussions on VetSurgeon.org, it is also worth reminding everyone that time spent in the forums counts towards your annual CPD requirement too. Just click the 'Claim CPD' button in the title.
Finally, as with any building project of this magnitude, there are inevitably some snags. Things that don't work or display as expected, especially on older or more obscure devices. If you come across something like that, please do email details (your browser, version and device type) to support@vetsurgeon.org and we'll endeavour to get it fixed, pronto.
Photo: Arlo Guthrie, Editor www.vetsurgeon.org
The Farm Vet Champions initiative has been set up to build a supportive community of farm animal veterinary professionals to collaborate in championing good antibiotic principles.
Led by RCVS Knowledge and funded by the VMD, the project has brought together a number of UK veterinary and agriculture organisations to develop free learning materials for farm veterinary professionals.
The new online course covers:
A course offers a total of 20 hours of free on-demand CPD.
The second phase of the initiative, due to start development over Summer 2021, will provide online and in-person networking opportunities for Farm Vet Champions to learn from one another by sharing their experiences and working together towards the common goal of good antibiotic stewardship.
Chris Gush, Executive Director of RCVS Knowledge, said, “With antimicrobial resistance being one of the top 10 health threats facing our planet, we are delighted with the quality of the Farm Vet Champions course and we look forward to connecting with farm vets across the UK to tackle AMR. Farm Vet Champions is just the beginning of our work in antimicrobial prescribing, and we look forward to building on our resources that will benefit all animals, the public and society.”
Fiona Lovatt, Farm Vet Champions Clinical Lead, said, “I am incredibly proud of the Farm Vet Champions project and extremely grateful to every member of our steering group who have been instrumental in the creation of high-quality and engaging learning materials. I encourage all UK farm vets to sign up and join us on the journey to tackle AMR.”
Farm Vet Champions can be accessed for free at https://learn.rcvsknowledge.org/
This brings the total reported the UK so far this year to eight, following 28 last year and 287 in total.
For a map of all confirmed cases and information for veterinary professionals and pet owners about CRGV, visit: www.alabama-rot.co.uk.
BVA Congress 2008 will combine both political and CPD sessions under the theme ‘Vets in a changing environment’. Building on last year’s BVA Congress in Belfast, hailed by many delegates as ‘the best Congress for many years,’ Congress 2008 aims to provide excellent networking potential at a friendly, popular Congress where wide-ranging CPD and political sessions are all part of the attraction.
Alongside a thought-provoking and topical contentious issues programme will run three parallel wide-ranging CPD programmes run by partner organisations including the Association of Government Vets, Association for Veterinary Teaching & Research Work, British Cattle Veterinary Association, British Equine Veterinary Association, British Small Animal Veterinary Association (Metropolitan Region), British Veterinary Zoological Society, BVA Overseas Group, Laboratory Animals Veterinary Association, the Royal Veterinary College, Sheep Veterinary Society and the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons.
BVA says Congress 2008 has something to offer everyone, whether Defra’s new chief scientist Professor Bob Watson talking on climate change - the global challenge, Stephen Gates on inspirational leadership, Neil Morrison OBE on empowerment through livestock, Adrian Boswood on cardiovascular medicine or Keith Chandler on field equine dentistry.
This year’s Congress will be held in the heart of London, at the Royal College of Physicians by Regents Park, a venue which offers exceptional conference, meeting and banqueting facilities with convenient links to transport on its doorstep. Having returned to London, BVA Congress will also make use of some of the facilities the capital has to offer with the Party Night at the world famous Café Royal and the Congress Banquet at Stationers Hall, one of the few ancient livery halls remaining in the City of London and certainly one of the most beautiful.
Date and location: 25 - 27 September, Royal College of Physicians, London
New research, conducted by the WALTHAM-initiated Laminitis Consortium, has raised questions over the assumption that soaking hay will make it safe to feed to laminitis-prone horses and ponies1.
The Laminitis Consortium comprises world-leading equine veterinary, nutrition and research experts interested in collaborating on the important topic of laminitis. It includes the authors of this work: Dr Pat Harris of the WALTHAM® Equine Studies Group, Clare Barfoot of Mars Horsecare UK Ltd and Dr Annette Longland of Equine Livestock and Nutrition Services (ELNS).
Over-consumption of water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC) has been associated with the onset of laminitis. It has been recommended that hay with a non-structural carbohydrate (WSC and starch) content of less than 10% should be fed to obese animals as well as those at risk of laminitis2 and that hay should be soaked in water before being fed in order to reduce the WSC3,4,5. The study, which was completed earlier this year, examined the loss of water-soluble carbohydrates from nine different hays submerged in water for up to 16 hours. It was presented to the biannual Equine Science Symposium in America in May 2009.
Previous studies have shown that the prolonged soaking of chopped hay in large volumes of water can result in the leaching of nutrients, including soluble carbohydrates. However, because common practice in the UK tends to involve long-stemmed hay, soaked in relatively small volumes of water over varying timescales, the Laminitis Consortium's study aimed to replicate such a practice6.
The nine different hay samples were analysed for WSC and then soaked in cold water. The soaked samples were subsequently analysed at four intervals of 20 minutes, 40 minutes, three hours and 16 hours.
Clare Barfoot said: "The results showed a highly variable leaching of WSC and substantially less leaching than reported previously for chopped hay soaked for 30 minutes.3
"Very few samples reached below 10% WSC, despite prolonged soaking. The concern is that this strongly suggests that soaking may not be sufficient to render some hays safe to feed to horses and ponies prone to laminitis.
"Our current advice is that ideally you should analyse your hay before feeding it to an animal at high risk of laminitis and choose hay with the lowest WSC content you can find. Soaking hay provides an additional safeguard but should not be relied upon."
The study also highlights that if hay is soaked for extended periods, it may not meet the nutritional requirements of the animal because substantial amounts of other nutrients, protein, vitamins and minerals will also be lost 5. In such cases it is even more important that the horse or pony should receive a balanced supplementary feed.
The Laminitis Consortium is continuing its work in this area and hopes to be able to identify practices that will be of greater benefit to the horse owner faced with hay of unknown WSC content.
1Longland AC Barfoot C & Harris PA (2009) The loss of water- soluble carbohydrate and soluble protein from nine different hays soaked in water for up to 16 hours. J. Equine Vet Science 29 (5 ) p 383 - 384, 2 Frank N Equine Metabolic Syndrome J Equine Vet Sci 29 (5) p 259 - 267, 3Cottrell, E., Watts, K., Duarte, S. and Ralston, S. (2005). Equine Science Symposium, 2005, 4Kenny, D. (2007). Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. 5Warr EM, Petch JL. Equine Vet Educ 1993;5:169-171, 6Longland, A.C. (2009) In preparation.
The aim of the study was to assess the adverse effect profile of each individual AED by analysing all available data that has been published for each specific AED and then evaluating how reliable the data was. The study was published in BMC Veterinary Research (DOI: 10.1186/s12917-016-0703-y).
To do this the researchers gathered, screened and assessed all the information published in peer-reviewed journals and publications. The individual studies were then evaluated based on the quality of evidence, study design, study group sizes, subject enrolment quality and overall risk of bias. The results, say researchers, now provide a new and more objective insight into the tolerability and safety of the AEDs.
Co-author of the study, Marios Charalambous, said: "We recruited systematic and statistical methods to combine, compare and summarize the results of independent studies and, therefore, create more objective and reliable conclusions based on the current evidence. It was a time-consuming, demanding and challenging process, but we are sure that we provide the clinicians now with essential information which they can use for daily practice."
By reviewing, assessing and untangling the vast amounts of data, the researchers found that much of the evidence for the medical treatment of canine epilepsy was based on subpar reporting of adverse effect and in studies that were below the expected standard. They say that only in recent years can the quality of studies carried out be considered adequate.
Professor Holger Volk, Clinical Director of the RVC Small Animal Referral Hospital and Professor of Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery (pictured right), said: "Not only does this study offer a new perspective on the management of canine epilepsy, but also highlights the importance of the need for trials which provide high quality evidence in order to have more reliable and objective results about the safety and tolerability of the AEDs in veterinary medicine."
Dr. Dave Brodbelt, Senior Lecturer in Companion Animal Epidemiology, added: “This is a valuable addition to the body of literature on canine epilepsy, highlighting safety issues and adverse events related to its management and adding further depth to the evidence base relevant to practicing vets."
Animal Health has today launched a free news alert service to help people keep in touch with the latest developments on notifiable animal disease.
The service is targeted mainly at the farming community, although it is available to everyone. By registering, subscribers will receive alerts on up to five notifiable animal diseases – foot and mouth disease, bluetongue, avian influenza, Newcastle disease and classical swine fever. Subscribers can choose to receive alerts via a voicemail on a landline telephone or mobile telephone, via text, fax or email.
To sign up online to the Animal Health Subscription Service visit the Animal Health website at www.defra.gov.uk/animalhealth.
To sign up by telephone dial 0844 884 9888 and follow the press button instructions.
The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) has launched a new 'Use Medicines Responsibly' campaign.
The main thrust of the campaign is an initiative by NOAH to encourage pharmaceutical companies to add: 'Use Medicines Responsibly' as a strapline to their own advertising campaigns, with a link to the NOAH information resource for prescribers and users of animal medicines: www.noah.co.uk/responsible.
Speaking at the NOAH annual members' conference in Northampton, NOAH chief executive Phil Sketchley said: "NOAH believes responsible promotion of animal medicines to be an important link in the chain towards responsible use. Companies' promotional material can educate prescribers and users of animal medicines to the benefit of their animals' health and welfare.
"We believe this new advice resource, with the reminder on advertisements, will help."
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."
Zoetis has launched a new high precision treatment gun for single-handed low volume subcutaneous injections.
The gun handles medications up to 5ml per treatment. The company says it is designed for use with its long acting moxidectin injectable wormer and clostridial vaccines specifically, but is also suitable to other low dose medications administered subcutaneously
Zoetis vet Dave Armstrong said: "One-handed operation enables quicker treatment, better sheep welfare as a result of eliminating needle bending or breakage, and lower risk of self-injection by the operator."
As an indication of operator risk, Zoetis points to a report from one staff nurse working just 30-hours a week at a West Midlands hospital's A&E department, who dealt with three incidents of wormer self-injection in 20141.
Single-handed operation is made possible by a serrated needle guard that creates a skin fold into which the needle penetrates. Mr Armstrong says development of the gun is part of Zoetis's commitment - "as much as necessary, as little as possible" - towards helping farmers strengthen their effective and responsible use of animal medicines. He emphasises that for precision medicines to be exploited fully and responsibly, precision instrumentation is essential.
To accompany the gun, two detailed advisory booklets covering treatment techniques and equipment maintenance have also been published, covering a number of different designs including different volume injectors, pour-on applications and drenching guns. Copies are available free of charge to farmers from POM VPS medicine suppliers.
Reference
The RCVS has announced that those veterinary surgeons who wish to gain the middle tier RCVS Advanced Practitioner status will have extra time to do so this year.
The status, which was launched last August, recognises those veterinary surgeons who can demonstrate knowledge and skills beyond their initial degree in a designated field of veterinary practice. This year the application process, which opens today, will end on Friday 30 October, meaning that veterinary surgeons will have over four months to submit their application, compared to less than three months last year.
Christine Warman, Head of Education at the College, said: "Following on from the great success of our first ever application process last year, in which some 640 vets applied of whom 575 were successful, we have decided to lengthen this year's application window. We hope that this will allow prospective applicants extra time to consider and make an application."
Applications received in June and July will be considered by the Advanced Practitioner Panel and, where successful, ratified by the RCVS Education Committee in October this year, which may result in an earlier listing for successful applicants. Successful applications received in August, September and October will be ratified at the Education Committee's February 2016 meeting.
This year veterinary surgeons will be able to make an application for Advanced Practitioner status through the online 'My Account' area on the RCVS website (www.rcvs.org.uk/login). The fee payable on application is £80 and the RCVS can also now take payment online.
Details of the application process, eligibility criteria, eligible qualifications and fee information, as well as a list of designations, can be found in the Advanced Practitioner Applicant Guidance Notes document which is available to download from www.rcvs.org.uk/advanced
Those who are interested in applying can also contact Duncan Ash, RCVS Education Officer, for an initial discussion on 020 7202 0703 or d.ash@rcvs.org.uk
The programme covers periodontal treatments, restorative dentistry, orthodontics and maxillofacial surgeries, among others.
Improve says training will be delivered via a mixture of face-to-face theory and practical skills using real-life cases that can be immediately applied in practice.
The course is led by Alix Freeman (pictured), a European and RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Dentistry, who developed the course content.
Alix said: “This course will equip you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to enable you to perform advanced dentistry and oral surgery procedures in practice.
"The tutors will enthuse you with their passion for dentistry and oral surgery.
"You'll be taught the most up to date and innovative treatments in a leading dedicated dental training lab with the best equipment and materials.
"You'll gain the confidence to undertake root canal treatments, jaw fracture planning and repair, oronasal fistula repair and oral oncologic surgery.
"This is the first advanced dentistry certificate of its kind in the UK and is sure to be very popular”.
Upon completion, participants will be eligible for the General Practitioner Advanced Certificate in Small Animal Dentistry (GPAdvCert SADen&OS) from the International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies (ISVPS).
https://improveinternational.com/uk/coursedate/gpadvcert-in-small-animal-dentistry-and-oral-surgery
According to the NFU, last year farm animals worth an estimated £2.4 million pounds were severely injured or killed by dog attacks last year.
Obtaining forensic samples after an attack can be difficult because so often they happen in remote places and rural police can't always attend quickly enough to get a sample.
Dr. Nick Dawnay from Liverpool John Moores University therefore developed Early Evidence Kits to enable samples to be collected by vets, famers and police from the crime scene immediately.
Following a successful proof of concept in Wales, the research team is now trialling the kits in ten regions of England and Wales, with support from IVC Evidensia farm practices.
Over the next twelve months the trial will refine best practices for collecting forensic samples from livestock attack scenes.
David Martin, Group Head of Animal Welfare at IVC Evidensia said: “This project marks an exciting step forward in collecting and analysing canine DNA from livestock.
"It offers police and farmers a means to hold irresponsible dog owners culpable for the damage and losses caused by their pets.”
“As a profession we can support this research by ensuring samples are taken from as many cases within the relevant force areas as possible so that the team at John Moores gets sufficient material to be able to complete this project as soon as possible.
"All IVC Evidensia farm practices in the participating regions are being encouraged to use the kits and we want to ensure all farm practices in those regions know about this important project.”
It is hoped new legislation for England and Wales will be brought in to give police officers the power to take a DNA sample from a suspected dog to compare to canine DNA left at an attack scene.
Dave Allen, North Wales Police and NPCC Livestock Offence Working Group Secretary said: “These kits are an exciting development and can be utilised for an issue that causes major concern to our UK rural communities”.
Veterinary practices are now being encouraged help raise awareness of the project, particularly to encourage farmers to take part and use the kits to collect evidence in the following regions:
https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/about-us/news/articles/2024/5/17/forensic-science-to-help-farmers-foil-sheep-attacks
Vetoquinol UK is offering vets the chance to receive a free pair of either Oster A5 clippers or the new cordless Oster Power Pro Ultra Clippers, worth over £200, free of charge.
Buy £400 worth of Marbocyl P (palatable) tablets, and Marbocyl SA injection to get the Oster A5 clippers, which is equivalent to a 25% discount. Alternatively, to receive the new Oster Power Pro Ultra Clippers, you need to buy £700 of Marbocyl P and Marbocyl SA, equivalent to a discount of 29%.
There is also the option to include Clavaseptin in this offer. Clavaseptin is a highly palatable amoxycillin/clavulanic acid antibiotic licensed for both dogs and cats. Buy £400 worth of Marbocyl, Marbocyl SA AND Clavaseptin and receive the Oster A5 clippers, or spend £700 on these three products and receive the Oster Power Pro Ultra Clippers.
These Oster Clipper offers are valid until 29th August, or while clipper stocks last, and cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion offers.
Petplan, the pet insurance provider has been selected as a Which? Best Buy. The independent consumer guide selected Petplan's 'Covered For Life' policy that covers animals for accidents and illnesses, including reoccurring conditions, such as diabetes and glaucoma, year after year, as long as the policy is renewed annually.
Alison Andrew, Petplan's Marketing Manager said: "The Which? report is crucial to being acknowledged as a worthy pet insurance provider. We feel being selected as a Which? Best Buy reflects how we treat our customers by offering excellent customer service, paying claims quickly, discounts on pet products and regular information about pet care through our magazine PetPeople."
Petplan provides insurance cover for dogs, cats, rabbits and horses and is the largest provider of animal health insurance in the world.
Ceva Animal Health has renamed the veterinary behaviour product DAP as Adaptil, to highlight its key benefit of helping dogs 'adapt' to new situations.
Along with the name change, Ceva is launching a new Adaptil Collar. According to the company, the collar has undergone a number of improvements: it is now easier to fit, due to a new, practical buckle; it has a larger surface area for better diffusion of the pheromone and the Adaptil name is on the collar in print as well as braille.
In addition to the new name, both Adaptil and Feliway are having a packaging makeover to make them more consumer friendly. Packaging will now feature pictograms of situations in which the products should be used, encouraging dog and cat owners to use the product ranges appropriately.
Ceva will be offering pet owners a free limited edition Adaptil Frisbee for every Adaptil Collar bought from their local participating veterinary practice. The company is also running an online competition from 17 June until 17 July on the company's secrettohappypets.com website. Pet owners will have the opportunity to win a weekend for two with their pet in a Best Western pet-friendly hotel by submitting a story on why their pet deserves a weekend away.
Julia Wood, product manager at Ceva Animal Health said: "We have listened to feedback given on our pheromone range from both pet owners and veterinary professionals. The launch of Adaptil and the marketing support that we are putting behind both Adaptil and Feliway will boost awareness of the pheromones and their benefits amongst pet owners and further enhance their standing as the UK's leading veterinary behaviour products."
For more information, please contact your Ceva account manager or call 01494 781510.
A new session has been added to Ceva Animal Health UK's Cardio Academy CPD website entitled "Thoracic X-rays: Abnormal Features".
In the 30 minute multimedia presentation, the cardiology specialist Nicole Van Israël discusses X-ray abnormalities within the cardiovascular and respiratory systems of cardiac patients. This includes a discussion on how to measure heart size and how to identify and interpret lung patterns.
Participants can then receive a CPD certificate by completing the quiz for this session. The Cardio Academy CPD website is free of charge and can be accessed on www.cardioacademy.cevalearn.com.
In addition, the first four sessions can still be accessed which cover the Pathophysiology of Mitral Valve Disease by Adrian Boswood, Clinical Examination of the Cardiac Dog by Gérard Le Bobinnec and Thoracic X-rays - How to Proceed and Thoracic X-rays - Normal Features by Nicole Van Israël.
For further information, please contact your local Ceva account manager.
The founders of ioLight, Andrew Monk and Richard Williams, will be in attendance on the Bayer stand to answer questions about the new product.
James Crawford, Head of Marketing at Bayer, said: "Bayer is delighted to present the ioLight microscope on our stand at the London Vet Show 2016. The microscope provides fantastically clear images and is simple to use, showing off Bayer's products for all our customers to see."
Professor Mike Taylor, a Diplomate of the European Veterinary Parasitology College, is in the process of evaluating the ioLight microscope as a tool for the diagnosis of parasitic infections of farm animals.
Normally he uses a laboratory microscope for this work but they are not routinely used on a farm. He has also tried a portable digital microscope, but finds it does not give the resolution required for identification of protozoan parasite species or for counting nematode eggs. Mike said: "The ioLight’s portability, image quality and connectivity to the Apple iPad offer great potential for the development of rapid methods for identifying parasites, or determining parasite burdens. I can envisage its use by both veterinarians and suitably trained livestock farmers, in the practice laboratory or directly on the farm."
Andrew Monk said: "Since our launch earlier this year we have seen a massive interest from the veterinary sector. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to demonstrate our microscope to such a large audience, and are looking forward to working with Bayer."
For more information visit iolight.co.uk or email Andrew Monk at andrew.monk@iolight.co.uk.
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.
In their report, RCVS assessors highlighted the calm and professional environment at Lumbry Park, which they said, taken together with the enthusiasm of the team provided a very positive overall feel. Its provision of separate dog and cat patient visiting rooms was also singled out as a good use of space and support for clients, especially with the potential for long stay cases.
Lumbry Park Hospital Director Ray Girotti said: "We wanted to participate in the Practice Standards Scheme to benchmark the service we offer to our patients and their owners against the best veterinary hospitals in the country. The whole team has worked together to get us to this stage and we are delighted that our efforts have been recognised by the RCVS with the award of Hospital status."
The company says the new award, which invites nominations from both pet owners and practices, is also to help raise awareness of Pet Diabetes Month, which this year takes place in November.
Pet Diabetes Month will have an emphasis on detecting the condition through initially screening urine samples, with pet owners being encouraged to visit their local vet practice.
Caroline Darouj, Product Manager at MSD Animal Health said: "There will be two categories for the award – one for the Pet Diabetes Professional Carer of the Year and one for owners – the Pet Diabetes Carer of the Year.
"A diagnosis of diabetes and decision to treat a feline or canine patient requires a lifelong commitment from the owner. We want to recognise the many loving pet owners who commit to giving their pet regular insulin injections and the practice staff who support them. We also want to create awareness of the importance of early diagnosis so pet owners can more easily spot the signs and realise that treatment is an option, which can be made easier with the use of the VetPen."
She added: "In veterinary practices there are outstanding individuals who make an extra effort to provide reassurance for pet owners when they may feel overwhelmed or fearful of their ability to cope with their pet’s diabetes. The Professional Carer of the Year could be a vet, vet nurse, animal nursing assistant or receptionist."
Pet owners and practice staff can nominate in either category. All the details can be found at www.mypetonline.co.uk/petdiabetesmonth.
The website will also be a central source of information about what’s going on during the campaign, tips on diabetes detection and prevention, plus a number of activities to get the attention of pet owners of all ages.
The deadline for nominations is 30th November 2017.
For further information please contact your MSD account manager.