UK Veterinary Referral Centre VRCC is working alongside Kenyan veterinary surgeons Dr Zahoor Kashmiri and Nonee Magre to stage a long weekend of small animal lectures on the shores of the beautiful and historic Indian Ocean City of Mombasa.

The event, which will be open to vets and students from throughout East Africa is scheduled to take place in November.

VRCC has been greatly encouraged by the support already received. Theunis de Bruyn, Merial’s Export and Sales Manager for the region, said: "This will be a wonderful, much needed opportunity for East African veterinary professionals to meet, interact and up-date themselves on developments in small animal medicine and surgery."

It is hoped that the specially-tailored CPD weekend will be the first of many. The Directors at VRCC see this as a practical opportunity to increase the level of small animal treatment throughout the region, helping a country that is really working hard to recover from its recent political turmoils.

Companies or individuals who are interested in supporting this project in Kenya should contact VRCC who will welcome co-operation from others keen to help. See www.vrcc.co.uk.

The National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) is looking for ‘it shouldn’t happen to a pet’ anecdotes, from the mildly humorous to the downright ridiculous, to highlight the lack of awareness of pet health issues amongst owners.

With a prize of £500 towards a staff Christmas party for the winning anecdote, NOAH will use the stories in a campaign to raise awareness of common pet care misconceptions and to highlight the importance of animal health and welfare considerations amongst owners and potential owners to enable them to make informed decisions about their pets’ healthcare.

Phil Sketchley, NOAH chief executive, said: “From owners who have reported carrots stuck in their hamsters’ throats, not realising that they store their food in pouches in their mouths, to reports of nocturnal chinchillas that sleep a lot during the day, if you have heard a silly pet story then we’d like to hear from you.”

If you have a funny pet-related anecdote, please visit http://www.noah.co.uk/ and enter your details on the ‘it shouldn’t happen to a pet’ entry form. The closing date for applications is Friday 30 May.

Dechra has expanded its endocrine app with new material on feline hyperthyroidism, with guidance for vets on the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of the condition.

The updated content includes instructions on interpreting blood test results and dosing with Felimazole (thiamazole), which is now available as both a tablet and a honey-flavoured oral solution.

The new Felimazole Oral Solution formulation is presented in a syringe graduated in 0.25 mg increments to ensure accurate dosing.

Thomas Johnson, Dechra companion animal brand manager said: “Consistent management and accurate treatment is key to enabling cats with feline hyperthyroidism to lead long and healthy lives.”

Dechra’s Endocrine app already covers Addison’s disease and canine Cushing’s syndrome. The inclusion of feline hyperthyroidism content aims to provide a single resource for veterinarians managing endocrine disorders in companion animals.

Dechra’s Endocrine app is available at the Apple App Store or Google Play Store

https://www.dechra.co.uk/products#/search=Felimazole 

The Kennel Club has launched the Genetics Centre at the Animal Health Trust (AHT) to accelerate research into inherited canine disease.

It aims to create further diagnostic tests which, together with breeding advice, will improve the health and welfare of generations of dogs.

Because of the small gene pool in purebred dogs, inherited diseases resulting from single gene mutations are more likely to occur than in their cross bred cousins. This can lead to significant welfare issues. There are more than five million purebred dogs in the UK alone and many of these will benefit from the findings of the Genetics Centre.

Over the next five years, the centre aims to investigate 25 inherited diseases. It will develop, where possible, screening tests to determine affected and carrier dogs that can be performed with simple mouth swabs. In deciding which diseases to investigate, the joint Kennel Club and AHT team will look at their impact on the health and welfare of dogs, but also on the support of breeders and access to data and samples.

Dr Peter Webbon, Chief Executive of the AHT, said: "We're delighted to work in partnership with the Kennel Club on this important welfare issue. Our level of skill and expertise within this field is unparalleled and the new centre enables us to extend our current range of DNA tests.

"We hope, in time, this will equip breeders with essential information so they can plan successful breeding strategies to avoid the birth of affected dogs, and ultimately, to eliminate disease from breeds at risk."

Dr. Cathryn Mellersh and Dr. Sarah Blott, two of the AHT's genetics experts, will lead the Centre. Both have been fundamental in identifying defective genes and developing screening tests which identify a dog's genetic status and minimise the risk of producing affected puppies.

The Centre will also introduce new approaches in dog breeding.  One major advance will be estimated breeding values (EBVs). These will enable whole dog populations to be evaluated for inherited disease - even if individuals haven't been scanned or DNA tested themselves.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson, said: "The Kennel Club is pleased to support research which improves the health and happiness of dogs. Working in partnership with the Animal Health Trust means we can start to tackle the problem of inherited disease much quicker.  

"We have already made significant investment in this area, and are now delighted to step up the scope of this research. It is a very real possibility that through this Centre we will be able to eradicate certain inherited diseases in some dogs."

Dr Ed Hall, President of BSAVA, said: "Inherited disease is one part of a complex issue involved with breeding pedigree dogs.

"I personally welcome any efforts to improve our current understanding of the area and trust that the Kennel Club Genetics Centre will make massive progress in the next five years in order to enable owners to make informed breeding decisions and, in time, to reduce the effect of inherited disease."

Vets Now, the UK's only national dedicated out-of-hours veterinary emergency care provider, is set to open its 33rd clinic in July.

The clinic will be located in Portsmouth and will operate from the premises of the Harbour Vet Hospital, 251 London Road, Northend, Portsmouth, PO2 9HA.

Prior to the clinic opening Vets Now will be holding an open evening on the 22 July 2008. The evening is an opportunity for practices in the area or veterinary professionals thinking about working within the clinic to come down and find out more about Vets Now.

Richard Dixon, Managing Director of Vets Now said, "The open evening is an excellent opportunity for the practices in the area who have already subscribed to the service to come down to the host clinic, the Harbour Vet Hospital, and see the facilities that Vets Now will be using.  Likewise for those who are interested in using Vets Now as their 0ut-0f-hours provider it is an ideal opportunity for them to come and meet the team, see the facility and find out a little bit more about the service we'll be providing.

He continued, "With regard to staffing the clinic, the open evening is also an opportunity for veterinary professionals who are interested in working with Vets Now either on a permanent or occasional basis to call in and meet our recruitment team and discuss the opportunities which are available."

The open evening on the Tuesday 22 July will be held in the Harbour Vet Hospital, 251 London Road, Northend, Portsmouth, PO2 9HA and will be running from 7.30pm - 9.00pm with drinks and nibbles provided.   Vets Now has asked that anyone planning to attend the open evening email marketing@vets-now.com

Zero Pain Philosophy, the initiative set up by Matt Gurney and Carl Bradbrook to improve pain management in veterinary patients, is asking vets to complete its second annual Big Pain Survey.

The Big Pain Survey is designed to identifying opportunities to help veterinary professionals improve their patient pain management and take a zero tolerance approach to pain in their patients.

Last year's survey revealed that only 18% of veterinary professionals use pain scoring for chronic pain, 78% of practices don't offer pain clinics, only 23% of vets always prescribe analgesia for acute otitis externa, 70% of vets don't do epidural anaesthesia at their practice, and most veterinary professionals agreed that clients' understanding of pain is low. 

The organisers say that last year's survey results also suggest that awareness around educational information such as the WSAVA pain management guidelines needs further promotion, particularly when it comes to the use of local anaesthesia.

For example, 39% of practices don’t use local anaesthesia during bitch spays.

Lack of experience was commonly cited as the reason that local anaesthetic was not used for a variety of procedures that would benefit from it, including dental extractions.

For those vets that do use local anaesthesia more regularly, many said they feel they still need further education about it.

Survey: https://forms.gle/prMypCrs5NB32yXZ7

Vita Animal Health has shared the results of a survey it commissioned which has found that 68% of dog owners either ‘don’t know’ or are ‘not sure’ about how pre and probiotics can support gastrointestinal upset.

In the online survey of 392 dog owners, which was conducted Companion Consultancy, 64.5% of owners said their dog has suffered from gastrointestinal upset.

51.8% said they used home cooked chicken and rice to manage their dog's digestive upset.

28.6% sought veterinary advice.

18.8% used a pre and probiotic, despite half of the respondents thinking they would be useful.

Veterinary nurse and sales manager at Vita, Tara Evans, said: “We know that digestive upset is very common in dogs, and almost two thirds of the survey respondents identified that scavenging was the primary cause of upset.

"We want to help support pet owners in knowing how they can best look after their pet in these situations, and provide them with both educational resources and an effective product.

“Education is key in helping owners make the best choices for their dogs.

"Changing their diet in a time of digestive upset isn’t always the best option, so it’s important that we provide owners with up-to-date information."

www.vitaanimalhealth.com

Electoral Reform Services (ERS), the independent body that carries out the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Council election, has offered reassurance that the election was fair, in spite of a number of voters being sent duplicate ballot papers.

According to the College, ERS designs and prints the ballot papers, and receives back votes via the post, internet and text message, but it does not distribute the ballot papers: this was carried out by a separate mailing house contracted directly by the RCVS. Although the exact number of voters who received duplicate papers is not known, it may have been up to 289, as that was the shortfall of voting papers at the mailing house. 

ERS carried out a review of voting patterns, including issues such as multiple votes coming from a single IP address, and concluded that it was not possible to say there had been instances of dual voting. Even in the small number of cases where there was a suggestion of dual voting, if those particular votes had been discounted it would not have affected the outcome of the election.

In a letter to the College, Adrian Wilkins, ERS Senior Consultant said: "Our view is... that although a number of members were sent two ballot papers, there is no firm evidence of fraud, and that the result is an accurate reflection of the views of the members of the Royal College. Our recommendation is consequently that the result should be declared as per our election report of 30^th April 2012."

As a consequence, the RCVS returning officer, Gordon Hockey, Acting Registrar, declared the election results on 30 April.

Forte Healthcare has launched CharcoPet, an activated charcoal oral gel to bind and eliminate hazardous substances in dogs, cats, and exotic pets, in the UK and Ireland.

CharcoPet is a ready-to-use oral gel formulated with 50% activated charcoal and marine-derived polysaccharides.

Forte says Charcopet has a high concentration of activated charcoal per ml, which reduces the volume needed and minimises handling stress.

It's supplied in a 2 x 30ml dial-dose syringes, with each syringe suitable for up to 15 kg bodyweight, used at 2 ml/kg bodyweight orally, repeatable every 4–6 hours if clinically required.

Dr Lucy Chadwick MVB ACIM CMktr MRCVS, Global Partnerships Manager & Head of Technical Services at Forte Healthcare said: “CharcoPet represents a major step forward in veterinary care, offering practitioners a fast, precise, and reliable solution when faced with suspected or confirmed cases of toxin or medication ingestion."

https://fortehealthcare.com/product/charcopet 

Defra has published a final epidemiology report into the Avian Influenza outbreak confirmed in Oxfordshire on 4 June.

The report concludes that at the time of writing (2 July) infection was confined to a single premise, and there is no evidence of infection on any contact or geographically close premises, or evidence of spread of infection to any other premises to date

While it has not been possible to conclusively identify the source of the infection, the two most likely sources of the outbreak are thought to be:

• Unidentified Avian Influenza in domestic premises in Great Britain, associated either by proximity or potential contact, or
• Avian Influenza in wildlife in contact with the IP Investigations are now complete.

Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, Alick Simmons, said
 
''This incident has demonstrated again the potential for avian influenza to be introduced into domestic poultry in the UK. The risk of further incidents, while low, remains.  I urge poultry keepers to maintain the highest standards of biosecurity and to report suspicion of disease promptly including where records indicate increased mortality or reduced performance.''

Research published online in the Veterinary Record has revealed that one in four dogs competing in Crufts is overweight, despite the perception that entrants are supposed to represent ideal specimens of their breed¹.

The researchers based their findings on 1120 online images of dogs from 28 breeds —- half of which are prone to obesity — that had appeared at Crufts, the largest dog show of its kind in the world.

Only adult dogs that had been placed between first and fifth in their class between 2001 and 2013 were included in the study.

The images were coded and anonymised, and 960 were deemed suitable for assessment. A second person then graded the body condition of each dog in one sitting, using a previously validated method. One in four (252; 26%) was found to be overweight.

Pugs, basset hounds, and Labrador retrievers were the breeds most likely to be assessed as being overweight. Dogs were overweight in 80% of the pug images, 68% of the Basset Hound and 63% of the Labrador images.

The researchers said that the three breeds with the highest prevalence of being overweight among the online images are prone to excess weight. Nevertheless, since pugs were originally bred to be a companion dog, while hounds and Labradors were bred for hunting and fieldwork respectively, being overweight would not be advantageous.

Standard poodles, border terriers, Rhodesian ridgebacks, Hungarian vizlas and Dobermanns were the least likely breeds to be overweight.

The prevalence of being overweight among the show dogs was less than that reported generally for pet dogs in the UK. Nevertheless, the researchers say the fact that a quarter were above ideal weight is still a cause for concern: “These dogs showcase the ideal characteristics of the pedigree breed, and there is a danger that widespread media exposure might adversely influence owner perception of optimal body shape.”

The Kennel Club has recently introduced changes in policy for judging criteria, to emphasise characteristics that promote good health in dogs. However, the researchers say that breed standards of optimal condition should be reinforced for competition, to ensure consistency: “Further effort is now required to educate owners, breeders and show judges so that they can all better recognise overweight condition, thus helping to prevent the development of obesity.”

Reference

1. Best in show but not best in shape: a photographic assessment of show dog body condition doi 10.1136/vr.103093

The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh has awarded its 2007 Marbocyl Achievement Award to Geoff Culshaw, BVMS, CertVC, MRCVS, Head of the School’s small animal cardiology unit, and Diane MacDonald, VN, Head Nurse in the Hospital for Small Animals.