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 British Veterinary Association has opened Through the eyes of vets, an exhibition in the House of Commons of the diverse work carried out by veterinary surgeons, depicted in a series of photographs by its members.

The exhibition comprises 22 photographs showing a range of subjects from across the UK and overseas, including cattle during a TB testing day on the island of Arran, a surprising find during surgery, a look down the microscope at feline myofiber disarray and a practical session of bee veterinary medicine.

The photographs were selected from around 1,000 that were submitted to the association's photo competitions by its members in 2016 and 2017.

The exhibition was officially opened today by Neil Parish MP, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EfraCom) and BVA Honorary Member, at an opening ceremony attended by parliamentarians as well as many of the veterinary surgeons whose photographs feature in the exhibition.

Neil said: "These photos show the diverse range of things that vets are involved in. What we respect from BVA is that we get good clear, evidence-based advice when we need it."

BVA member and Director of Cambridge Veterinary Group Lucy Crosby was commended for her snake intubation picture last year. She said: "The exhibition is a really exciting opportunity for vets to show that their skills extend beyond the operating room to the arts.

"I personally feel privileged to have my photo shown here. The veterinary profession and what we do is diverse and it's important to broadcast to the general public just how important the profession’s contribution is to the country."

BVA President, John Fishwick said: "It's an honour to have the opportunity to exhibit our members’ photographs in the Palace of Westminster. Vets work in practices across the UK, in government policy, public health and food safety, industry and technology, the armed forces, and beyond.

"As a profession, we play a significant role in many areas of personal and political life; an issue that EU exit has brought into sharp relief. With the political landscape shifting so rapidly, it’s apt that we’re showcasing vets’ work to parliamentarians to make sure it’s at the forefront of their minds as they return for the New Year."

The exhibition will be open daily until Thursday 11 January in the Upper Waiting Room of the House of Commons, an area open to Members of Parliament, Peers and visiting members of the public.

To view the photographs exhibited, and many others from BVA’s photo competitions, visit BVA’s Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/britishvets/albums/

VetCT has published a white paper on the use and potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in veterinary medicine.

The paper details the current and potential uses of this rapidly developing technology, and its benefits and risks.

It provides an introduction to AI and its uses in human medicine, small animal, farm and equine practice, radiology and veterinary education.

It also looks at the potential impact on the wellbeing and working life of veterinary teams.

Results from VetCT’s recent survey on the opinions of AI within the veterinary profession are included in the paper.

Julien Labruyère, Chief Innovation Officer at VetCT, said: “This is a crucial moment in the veterinary industry to ensure we have the knowledge and safeguards in place to apply AI safely, effectively and with confidence to support good clinical practice and ultimately, improve animal welfare.

"This white paper aims to provide a firm foundation for understanding AI and stimulate discussion on how it may impact both people and animals.”

The paper also calls for the development of industry-wide guidance, standards and regulations to safeguard veterinary teams and animal health and welfare as these tools are deployed.

Julien added: “AI development is accelerating rapidly, with global governments and industries racing to regulate to ensure the benefits outweigh the potential negative impacts of this far-reaching technology.

"It’s vital that opinion leaders, organisations and regulators from across the veterinary world come together and develop guardrails so we can have confidence that AI tools will benefit our teams and our patients.”

https://5345458.hs-sites.com/vetct-ai-white-paper 

Miele Professional has released the results of a survey¹ looking at how practices handle their laundry, finding that two thirds do not comply with WRAS Category 5 Regulations.

The research found that 93% of practices have a washing machine on site, but two thirds of those use a domestic machine rather than a commercial one. 69% of staff also take their uniform home to wash in a domestic machine.

Only commercial machines conform to the WRAS regulations, with thermal disinfection capabilities to minimise the risk of cross infection. 

The survey also provided an argument for using a robust commercial machine able to cope with high levels of usage and the variety of materials needing to be cleaned: 83% of practices said they use their machines more than once a day and listed bedding, drapes and gowns as the most common materials that need to be cleaned regularly. 

Les Marshall, Sales & Marketing Director at Miele Professional, said: "Our research shows that veterinary staff realise the importance of hygiene when cleaning their laundry. At Miele Professional we understand that preventing infection is key. When caring for animals who need medical care, reliable and effective equipment that can wash items ranging from bedding to gowns to reusable bandages is essential.

"As a leading supplier to the care and hospital sectors, all our machines are tested and approved to Water Regulatory Advisory Scheme (WRAS) category 5 for mains connection in any high-risk establishment."

The company says that in addition to meeting WRAS category 5 requirements, it's machines:

• have thermal disinfection capabilities, which kill 99.99% of all pathogenic germs and are suitable for killing both vegetative bacteria (including mycobacteria and fungi) and deactivating viruses.
• use commercial filters to capture any animal hair during the washing process, thereby stopping it get stuck in the drum or blocking drain pipes.
• are available with different drum sizes so they can handle the differing laundry requirements of a small animal practice to an equine practice which may require larger and denser items such as horse rugs to be cleaned.  

Miele Professional is exhibiting at the London Vet Show and will be holding a seminar on 'Controlling the risk of infection with a commercial laundry system' in the Business Theatre on 18 November, 12-12.50pm.

The seminar will explore the benefits of using a commercial laundry over a domestic machine, best practice around thermal disinfection and why it’s vital for veterinary practices to meet WRAS category 5 requirements.

For more information visit www.miele.co.uk.

Reference

• 95 respondents were surveyed online in June 2016

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."

A study published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) has shown that the urine dipstick test is not accurate for detecting proteinuria, either when used alone or when combined with the urine-specific gravity (USG) in cats.  

The study, titled “The utility of combined urine dipstick analysis and specific gravity measurement to determine feline proteinuria”, assessed the utility of the urine dipstick alone and combined with the urine-specific gravity (USG) for detecting proteinuria in cats.

For the study, the clinical records of cats presenting to a referral hospital between January 2011 and January 2017 were reviewed retrospectively.

To be eligible for inclusion, feline urine samples had to have undergone a complete urinalysis including dipstick evaluation, USG and urine protein-to-creatinine (UPC) measurement.

A total of 121 urine samples were included and diagnostic agreement and test accuracy were calculated for the dipstick test alone and in combination with the USG, using different cut-off values for proteinuria. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were also calculated.

Jorge Pérez-Accino, corresponding author for the paper, said: “The diagnostic agreement between the urine dipstick and UPC ratio was poor and did not improve if the USG was considered together with the dipstick.

"A dipstick result of equal or greater than “Trace” (0.1-0.3g/L) had a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 31% to detect proteinuria.

"With regards the ROC curves, the area under the curve (AUC) of the urine dipstick alone was poor (0.57). When combined with the USG results, this improved to fair (0.78) but the specificity and negative predictive value (NPV) were still low.”

Nicola Di Girolamo, Editor of JSAP said: “These findings indicate that clinicians should not rely on the results of the urine dipstick test in combination with USG in cats for detecting proteinuria. Instead other quantitative methods, such as UPC ratio, should always be performed to detect proteinuria in cats.”

The full article can be found in the September issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice which is free for BSAVA members. It can also be read online here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13184

The BSAVA has put together a collection of resources relating to urinalysis and proteinuria, available here: https://www.bsavalibrary.com/content/urinalysis--160 

Reference

1. J. Pérez-Accino, L. F. Bernabe, E. G. Manzanilla and J. Puig. (2020) The utility of combined urine dipstick analysis and specific gravity measurement to determine feline proteinuria. Journal of Small Animal Practice, 61 (9). Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13184

The RCVS Council has approved changes to the supporting guidance that underpins its Code of Professional Conduct to allow for non-veterinarians to support veterinary surgeons in the certification of products of animal origin for export.

The plans developed by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), an agency of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), involved the creation of a new role of Certification Support Officers (CSOs), non-veterinarians who would support the work of Official Veterinarians (OVs) in the signing of export health certificates for products of animal origin such as meat, dairy, processed products and animal by-products.

The proposals for the creation of CSOs by APHA has arisen due to concerns about the growth of exports in recent years and the potential for an up to 300% increase in products requiring OV certification if the UK has to certify exports of products of animal origin to the EU once the UK leaves the EU. Under APHA’s plans CSOs will work under the direction of veterinary surgeons and support their certification work (for example, verifying temperature checks), although the final certification will always need to be signed by OVs. The role will not involve certification relating to live animals or germinal products.

At the RCVS Council meeting on Thursday 1 November 2018 Council members agreed to facilitate APHA’s proposals and to make changes to the RCVS requirements so as to allow CSOs to support OVs in their certification work.

Amanda Boag, RCVS President, said: "As we have stated in our recent statement on ‘no-deal’ Brexit, it has been estimated that there would be 325% increase in veterinary certification requirements if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, and with these proposals Defra and APHA are preparing for this by increasing the support available for Official Veterinarians. Furthermore the proposal is in line with the concept of a vet-led team, with veterinary surgeons focusing on tasks only vets can do, whilst delegating some tasks to suitably trained and quality-assured members of our teams.

"We appreciate that there were some concerns over the level of education and training required by CSOs and are glad that the APHA has accommodated those views by increasing the level of education to three A-Levels (or equivalent in Scotland) and clarifying the nature of the training required by CSOs.

"By signalling its support for the proposals, RCVS Council has been assured that the integrity and value of the veterinary signature will be upheld and we are glad that we can play a key role in helping the veterinary profession prepare the UK for leaving the EU."

The RCVS position statement on the potential impact of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit scenario is available at www.rcvs.org.uk/brexit

Bristol-based Dayna Johnson has been struck off by the RCVS Veterinary Nurse Disciplinary Committee after she was convicted of stealing controlled drugs from a practice where she worked.

Miss Johnson was convicted at North Somerset Magistrates’ Court following a guilty plea of the offence of theft by employee in December 2023, after she stole buprenorphine belonging to Yatton Vets earlier that year.

She was sentenced to a fine of £120, a surcharge of £48, and costs of £85.

There were four further charges against Miss Johnson.

Charge one related to Miss Johnson stealing 5ml of methadone in December 2022 from her employer, Vets4Pets in Bristol, and injecting herself with the methadone.

The police investigated the incident and Miss Johnson accepted a conditional caution for the theft, the condition being she should attend a drug awareness course.

Charge two related to Miss Johnson dishonestly taking a syringe of methadone in August 2023 from her employer, the Langford Small Animal Hospital, and injecting herself with it.

Charge three related to two dates in September 2023 when she dishonestly took methadone, gabapentin and buprenorphine from Yatton Vets, her then employer, injecting herself with the buprenorphine and then working when unfit to do so.

Miss Johnson was later convicted of theft in relation to the buprenorphine (charge five).

Charge four related to an incident in November 2023, when Miss Johnson dishonestly took a syringe of buprenorphine from Bristol PDSA, for the purposes of self-administration, and was dishonest both to other members of staff and in the clinical records about the circumstances of taking the buprenorphine.

Charge five was in relation to Miss Johnson’s criminal conviction.

At the outset of the hearing, Miss Johnson admitted all charges in their entirety.

Having reviewed all the evidence and taken Miss Johnson’s admissions into account, the Committee found each of the charges proved.

After the criminal proceedings had finished and had been reported to the College, Miss Johnson wrote a letter expressing her deepest apologies to both the RCVS and the profession.

Within this she also made it clear that she took full responsibility for her actions.

In a later statement, she added that she had tried to use the experience to learn and improve in every aspect of her career and life and did not want to defend her behaviour.

Within this statement she also retracted a previous request to resign from the register, stating that she would accept any outcome to the investigation.

In deciding whether the proved charges amounted to serious professional misconduct, the Committee took the following aggravating factors into account:

• Risk of injury to an animal or human
• Recklessness in carrying on working despite the risks to animals and colleagues
• Premeditated misconduct (for example obtaining keys/codes to the controlled drugs cabinet)
• Abuse of professional position
• Misconduct sustained or repeated over a period of time
• Conduct contravening advice issued by the RCVS, including the Preliminary Investigation Committee and Professional Conduct Department, or other appropriate authority (the police conditional caution)

The Committee identified no mitigating factors and concluded that for each of the individual charges Miss Johnson’s conduct fell far short of the conduct expected of a member of the profession and that each of the charges one to four amounted to serious professional misconduct.

In relation to charge five, the criminal conviction, the Committee noted that the nature and the circumstances of the offence involved dishonesty, abuse of her professional position regarding access to controlled drugs, breach of her employer’s trust, and that the misconduct took place notwithstanding an investigation by the police for similar conduct in December 2022.

The Committee therefore concluded that charge five rendered Miss Johnson unfit to practise.

When deciding on a sanction, the Committee took into account mitigating factors, which included:

• There were no previous disciplinary findings against Miss Johnson
• Her criminal conviction was now a spent conviction
• Her misconduct appeared to be as a result of her drug addiction at the time
• She had made some efforts to avoid repetition by engaging with addiction recovery meetings and talking therapies
• She said she had been drug-free since December 2023

The Committee found no further aggravating factors at this stage.

Kathryn Peaty, chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf said: “The Committee considered that the overall misconduct proved so serious and was incompatible with remaining on the register.”

She added: “The Committee accepted that Miss Johnson was currently likely to be drug-free on the basis of her evidence and that of her referee, but it noted that independent testing proving she had been drug free for any period of time was not available to it.

"Furthermore, Miss Johnson had been unable to demonstrate that she had worked without any incident recently as she had accepted she had been dismissed from her recent job.

“Having taken into account all of the aggravating and mitigating factors, and balancing the public interest and the need to uphold and maintain standards within the profession, and having decided that Miss Johnson’s insight was limited, the Committee concluded that the sanction of ‘removal’ was the only proportionate sanction it could impose in this case.

"It also decided that such a sanction maintained public confidence in the veterinary profession, safeguarded animal welfare and protected the public from any future risk of repetition of similar behaviour.

“The Committee therefore directed that the Registrar remove Miss Johnson’s name from the register of veterinary nurses forthwith.”

Bayer Animal Health has taken over the marketing and sales of the antibiotic Nisamox (tablets containing Amoxicillin and Clavulanic Acid), from Fort Dodge Animal Health.

Under the new arrangement, the design of Nisamox tablet packaging will change to reflect the change of ownership, however, Bayer says the quality of the tablets and the competitive pricing remain unchanged.

Nisamox tablets are licensed for use in cats and dogs to treat infections of the skin, urinary tract, and respiratory tract caused by susceptible Staphylococci, and also to treat enteritis and urinary tract infections caused by susceptible E.coli.

Nisamox tablets will continue to be available in three strengths: 50mg, 250mg, and 500mg. For information on Nisamox tablets, contact your Bayer territory manager.

Researchers from Ghent University (UGhent), Austria Veterinary Medicine School (Austria VetMed) and the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) have published the first systematic review of the evidence for the efficacy and safety of all anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in feline epilepsy.

The aim of the study was to assess the efficacy and adverse effect profile of each individual AED by analysing all available data published and then evaluating how reliable it was.

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, as well as the efficacy and safety outcome measures.

Lead-author, Marios Charalambous from Ghent University, said: "We recruited systematic methods to combine, compare and summarise 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, and we hope we provided the clinicians now with essential information which they can use for daily practice." 

The researchers found that much of the evidence for the medical treatment of feline epilepsy was based on below-par reporting of efficacy and adverse effect, worse than what was formerly reported in dogs.

The lack of good quality evidence led authors to conclude that it would be: "...rather inaccurate to make definite statements on which one [AED] should be considered as a first or second choice in terms of both efficacy and safety profile. However, if clinicians focus on AED’s efficacy, phenobarbital can be used as first-choice monotherapy and if they focus on AED’s safety, imepitoin or levetiracetam can be used." 

Holger Volk, Head of the Department Clinical Science and Services and Professor of Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery at the RVC, said: "Not only does this study offer a new perspective on the management of feline 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 efficacy and safety of the AEDs in feline epilepsy."

The study was published in BMC Veterinary Research (https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-018-1386-3).

Work aimed at developing a new vaccine to protect against abortigenic and neurological equine herpes virus (EHV) has begun at the Animal Health Trust (AHT).

Dr Neil Bryant from the AHT, who is leading the research, said: "EHV is a major welfare concern for horses and foals and causes emotional, as well as financial strains, on horse owners and breeders around the world. It can strike any horse at any time so a vaccine will be of global welfare benefit to all horses, including the thoroughbred and sports horse breeding industries, and would help control this serious and sometimes fatal disease."

As a viral infection, EHV can cause respiratory disease, abortion or fatal illness in new born foals and neurological disease in adult horses, with signs ranging from slight wobbliness through to complete paralysis. The disease can strike any horse at any time because the virus, like other herpesviruses (such as the cold sore virus in humans), becomes dormant within most horses early in their life. It then re-emerges when the animal is later stressed such as when transported or mixed with new horses. A seemingly healthy pregnant mare may suddenly, and without warning, abort her unborn foal or may show signs of respiratory disease including mild fever, coughing and discharge from the nose. A horse which appears fit and well may suddenly show abnormalities when walking and within hours may be unable to stand. 

Despite the potential severity and impact of outbreaks, there is still no vaccine that is licensed to protect against the neurological form of the disease and abortions still occur in highly vaccinated horse populations. The AHT says protection afforded by existing vaccines currently in use is sub-optimal, something that was highlighted by the 2016 abortion storm in Hertfordshire in fully vaccinated animals.

Neil added: "We have become aware of a pressing need for progress towards a new and improved EHV-1 vaccine. Just last month, the AHT was again called upon to work with the racing industry and affected parties in dealing with confirmed cases of EHV-1 abortion in premises in Yorkshire and Suffolk."

To that end, the charity has now established the Equine Industries EHV Vaccine Steering Group. Chaired by Professor Joe Brownlie of the RVC, the steering group includes world-renowned experts on both human and equine herpes viruses from a number of research establishments, who have concluded that the most appropriate way forward is for the AHT to design a modified live virus (MLV) vaccine. 

After securing funding from a large number of organisations, including the Alborada Trust, EBM Charitable Trust, Horserace Betting Levy Board and the Racing Foundation, Paul Mellon Estate, Thompson Family Charitable Trust, Coolmore Ireland, Newsells Park Stud, Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association and Juddmonte Farms, the AHT has begun its five-year research programme.

Neil added: "We’re at the beginning of a very exciting and potentially ground-breaking vaccine development. Through our research, we will construct different viruses with attenuating mutations and assess their suitability as MLVs. We hope our findings will enable further development by vaccine manufacturers in creating an effective vaccine to protect against the serious clinical signs induced by EHV-1."

The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has issued a statement following media reports and concerns raised on social media about serious adverse events given in dogs given a vaccine containing four strains of Leptospira bacteria:

"We would like to reassure vets, and through them dog owners, that we are constantly reviewing adverse event report data to ensure that the benefits of each UK licenced veterinary medicine product outweighs the risk posed by their potential side-effects.

There are a number of vaccines authorised in the UK containing either two (L2) or four (L4) strains of Leptospira. Based on the most recent periodic safety update report data received for each product, the incidence of adverse animal reactions for all L2 vaccine products combined is 0.015%; for L4 vaccine products this figure is 0.069%.

In other words, the VMD has received fewer than 2 adverse reactions for L2, and fewer than 7 for L4, for every 10,000 doses sold. This includes every suspected adverse event reported, even cases that were considered unclassifiable or were later found to be unrelated to the vaccine.

The overall incidence of suspected adverse reactions for both L2 and L4 vaccine products is therefore considered to be rare."