By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,VaccinationIf you’re one of the many (many) people asking about what to do in the midst of a canine respiratory disease outbreak, or someone who just wants to know what to do to reduce everyday risk of CIRDC, here are some basic pointers: The microbes that cause respiratory disease in dogs are primarily spread by… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animals,Rabies,VaccinationThe Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has launched its new (and long-awaited) rabies website. The site includes a section for the public which is an ideal resource for clients, and a section for veterinarians with detailed information about reporting, risk assessment, sample submission and testing, and post-exposure management (for companion animals and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationWhen I saw “rabies socks“, my first thought was “someone’s going to be cursing their autocorrect“. Apparently not. The Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians (OAVT) Rabies Response Program (RRP) World Rabies Day socks (they might want to come up with a shorter name) are on sale now, with a portion of the proceeds going to the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationCDC has released a new dog importation poster along with an updated importation page on their website. Rules are still pretty lax (but stricter than in Canada), but more effective communication never hurts.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,VaccinationMandatory vaccination for horses entering shows, other events and sales has been a surprisingly contentious issue for years. Some groups have required equine influenza vaccination for a long time, and it’s an accepted measure. Attempts to mandate vaccination for some other groups or events have often been met with resistance, even when those attempts were… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,VaccinationThe season has arrived. Right on schedule, the first case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in an Ontario horse has been identified, prompting an advisory from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). The affected horse was from Sudbury, Ontario, and was euthanized because of progressive and severe neurological disease. It… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationImportation issues, Part 1 A Facebook post was forwarded to me the other day. It reads “Drove to the airport today to pick up this lovely little girl [puppy] who flew all the way to Montreal from Baku Azerbaijan. Spent the afternoon with her romping around in Westmount Park. She will be up for adoption… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,MiscellaneousAre you an Ontario horse owner? University of Guelph researchers now recruiting for new equine project! Horses travel frequently, and the nature and extent of these travel patterns can contribute to the introduction and spread of diseases. The University of Guelph is conducting a study to determine how these movement patterns can influence new disease… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in MiscellaneousHand hygiene is an incredibly basic every-day infection control measure, and one of the most important means of preventing the spread of infectious pathogens. Hand hygiene should be used at home, at work, and especially in healthcare environments where there may be more bugs and more susceptible individuals. That includes veterinary clinics. Also keep in… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in MiscellaneousA recent episode of the popular TVO current affairs show "The Agenda with Steve Paikin" explores the topic of “Our Relationship with Cleanliness" – an informative, yet fun look at the topic of germs. Panelists (including yours truly) take a cultural, historical, psychological and sociological look at the microorganisms on us and around us –… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousThe Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has released the 2012/2013 Human Antimicrobial Drug Use Report. Why write about this on a site dedicated to zoonotic diseases and diseases of animals? For a few different reasons, actually. One is that we have to realize that antibiotics (and bacteria) don’t care if drugs are used on… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousSorry… nothing to do with zoonotic diseases, but still entertaining. Our two iPads stopped working over one weekend last October. Figuring they were destined for recycling, I came across some internet posts that said “whack it.” I figured that I had nothing to lose and if nothing else, I’d get the satisfaction of beating on… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousThe International Society for Companion Animal Infectious Diseases (ISCAID) and International Feline Retroviral Research Symposium have joined forces for a combined conference in 2014. This meeting, which would be of relevance to veterinary researchers and veterinary clinicians with an interest in infectious diseases, will be held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario (Canada) Oct 19-22. More information can… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousAnother popular post from the archives, and a nice light topic for the holidays! (Original post date 25-Nov-2010). Pardon my straying from the zoonotic disease realm, but here’s a little light reading… Medical Mysteries of the 100-Acre Wood Children around the world have been entertained by activities in the 100-acre-wood for decades. But at what… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousI just read a recent Medscape article entitled Human-Animal Interactions: a primer for clinicians. I assumed it would be one more relatively generic article about zoonoses, focusing on agriculture. Some of those aspects were there, but it had a lot more depth than I expected and went beyond the same old superficial talking points. The… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousFor the complete song lyrics, see below. For the grand finale by the Worms&Germs singers (otherwise known as members of the Rainbow Chorus of Waterloo-Wellington – more details below!), click on the YouTube video. On the first day or Christmas, my true love gave to me, A dog with lepto in its pee. On the… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in MiscellaneousWhen it comes to hand hygiene, there is an unfortunately all-too-common misconception that wearing gloves makes hand washing or using alcohol-based hand rub unnecessary. In veterinary and human medicine, gloves, like hand hygiene, are typically used for two reasons: to prevent spread of germs or chemicals from a patient/person/object/surface to a person’s hands, and/or to… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in MiscellaneousI read an interesting article earlier this week that I felt was worth sharing. The article, which appeared in the Huffington Post, is entitled “7 common myths about pandemics and new diseases” written by Dr. William Karesh, executive VP for health and policy with the EcoHealth Alliance. It talks about several misconceptions a lot of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Miscellaneous“Show me the peer-reviewed publication.” This is a common refrain used, particularly by the scientifically-minded, when talking to someone about the latest trendy diagnosis, treatment or other medical "discovery." It used to be relatively easy to use this method to assess the reliability of new information. If something was published in a peer-reviewed journal, it… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousAt a time when there’s much concern about antibiotic use and resistance, and when there’s talk about restricting antibiotic use in animals, it amazes me that some huge, illogical and easy-to-correct loopholes remain in the current system. The approach to access to antibiotics for animals varies greatly in different countries: In some, access to antibiotics… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousThe UK’s Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has taken the long-overdue step of requiring people selling alternative therapy products for prevention and treatment of diseases in animals to actually show that the products are safe and do what they claim. The effort includes products like homeopathic nosodes, nutraceuticals and herbal preparations. Historically, alternative medicines have received… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in MiscellaneousProbiotics are widely available and increasingly popular as "alternative" or "natural" approaches to treatment and prevention of disease. When considering the use of probiotics, it’s important to think about what a probiotic really is. A widely used (and my favourite) definition is: Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when given in adequate doses, provide health effects… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in MiscellaneousToday is World Hand Hygiene Day, an occasion being promoted by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) “SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands” campaign. This WHO initiative is aimed primarily at improving hand hygiene in healthcare facilities around the world, in order to help reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) (e.g. infections that people develop while in hospital). Also… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in VaccinationThe medical journal Lancet has fully retracted the flawed 1998 study that raised a link between MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination and autism in children. This study fueled incredible debate and was a driving force in the anti-vaccination movement, and subsequent declines in vaccination rates were a key reason for the resurgence of measles. It also… Continue Reading
