If a groundhog sees its shadow, there’s more winter on the way. If it doesn’t see its shadow, spring is coming soon. So what does it mean when a groundhog attacks a cop?
MRSA testing and false advertising
I received a flyer from Zoologix, a company that offers various (typically unvalidated and unproven) PCR tests for animals. The flyer headline was "Pets can carry MRSA – but testing can help."
Testing in certain situations is useful, but this is almost always limited to diagnosis of animals with active infections (i.e. they’re
All natural organic antibiotic?
A recent press release from All Pet Naturals proclaims "First All Natural Organic Antibiotic for Pets Now Available."
I know that "organic" and "all natural" are big catch-words for some people, and may be mistakenly perceived as indicators of safety or quality. There are very good reasons why
Zebra sidelines football player
No, I’m not talking about a referee, I’m talking about a real zebra. Pittsburgh State football player Joe Windscheffel will miss the entire upcoming season after being attacked by a zebra on a farm in Kansas. In a related story, Kansas State University Professor Gary West remarked about various problems associated with people owning exotic
Salmonella Apapa from a reptile
A recent case report in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology (Cooke et al. 2009) described isolation of Salmonella Apapa from the feces of a 67-year-old woman with abdominal pain. The patient had a history of various medical disorders but no clear evidence of a compromised immune system. She was hospitalized, and Salmonella Apapa was
Brucella canis: the other Brucella
Brucellosis can be a pretty nasty disease. Most people with brucellosis are infected through ingestion of contaminated food or contact with infected farm animals. Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis are the most common bacterial species involved. However, there is also another Brucella species, B. canis, which (as the name implies) is associated
Leave the rabid cat at home next time
A stray cat taken by someone to a family gathering in Delaware, USA, resulted in 17 people from 4 states undergoing rabies post-exposure treatment. The kitten was found by the side of the road, taken to the gathering (it’s unclear whether it was found on the way there or earlier), and when it became
More on Giardia in healthy dogs
New research provides more information on the debate about testing and treating of healthy dogs for Giardia. Two abstracts on the subject by researchers at Colorado State University were presented at the recent American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine conference.
In the first study (Clark et al), fecal samples were collected from 220 healthy
Transmission of herpesvirus from a person to a rabbit
A paper in the July 1 edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Muller et al) describes a case of encephalitis (brain inflammation) in a rabbit caused by human herpesvirus type 1. The owner had a severe herpes infection with genital and oral lesions five days before the rabbit got sick
Rabies vaccine access exceptions
In Canada, access to rabies vaccine for animals is restricted to veterinarians (i.e. only vets can buy the product itself and administer it to people’s animals). In general, this is an excellent approach because it ensures that the vaccine has been handled and stored appropriately, animals have been vaccinated properly and accurate vaccination records are