By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,SalmonellaHow’s this for timing? As I was writing the post below, my youngest daughter walked in the door and said “a chick pooped on me today“. It wasn’t a total surprise since I’d heard a vague thing from her about maybe having chicks in the class for the end of the year. Is it potentially… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationDuring today’s Public Health Agency of Canada webinar, part of a new webinar series on zoonoses and adaptation in a changing world, Chelsea Raybern from the Kansas State Deptartment of Health and Environment provided a report about rabies in a dog that was imported into Kansas from Egypt in 2019. The dog had been in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsDr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, has issued a spotlight report: Handle with Care: Preserving Antibiotics Now and Into the Future. There’s nothing too surprising in it, which in a lot of ways is the point. Addressing antimicrobial use and resistance isn’t rocket science, it’s application of a lot of basic, common sense measures.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsBack in 2008, we reported an association between feeding raw diets to dogs and shedding of cephalosporin-resistant bacteria in dogs (that makes me feel old… one of many things that does these days, I guess). It didn’t get too much attention at the time, since the main focus of the study was on Salmonella, the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,ParasitesIn a presentation yesterday at the 2019 ACVIM Forum in Phoenix AZ, Dr. Ray Kaplan from the University of Georgia gave a somewhat scary talk about the emergence of multidrug-resistance in the hookworm Ancylostoma caninum. Resistant parasites don’t tend to get as much attention as resistant bacteria, but they can present similar challenges. The concern is… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAs part of our research into antibiotic use and resistance, we’re looking at what drives antibiotic prescribing, use and compliance. It’s a complex subject and needs to be approached from a variety of angles. One angle is looking at what pet owners perceive or want, as this can be an important influencing factor. To address… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsBrucella canis is getting a lot of attention these days, and taking up more of my time than I ever would have thought a few months ago. Identification of infected dogs linked to a commercial breeder in Iowa (also see our previous post from Tuesday) has attracted a lot of attention. It’s hard to say how noteworthy… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesRecently another couple of good examples have cropped up of the risks of canine brucellosis (caused by Brucella canis) associated with both canine breeding kennels and international movement of dogs. The state veterinarian for Iowa confirmed that there were several cases of brucellosis diagnosed in dogs from a small breeding facility in Marion County. Officials… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in DogsThe latest companion animal infographic from the Ontario Animal Health Network (OAHN) is now available! Currently the network is working on a series of infographics focused on good antimicrobial stewardship. Stewardship includes knowing when NOT to use antimicrobials, and what to use when antimicrobials are needed. Guidance is available from leading veterinary infection control experts,… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseasesThe latest issue of Veterinary Clinics of North America: Small Animal Practice includes a number of chapters on infectious diseases that have been making regular appearances on this blog, including rabies, influenza, brucellosis, Lyme disease, and more, as well as chapters on certain feline-specific infectious diseases. Check out the full table of contents and summaries… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationEffective tomorrow, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has suspended importation of dogs to the US that: are from Egypt, or originated in Egypt and have been in another country for less than 6 months. This is being done because of multiple cases of rabies in imported dogs specifically from Egypt over… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animals,Pocket petsWhen I talk to veterinary and public health audiences about zoonotic diseases, I often talk about rat bite fever because it highlights some common issues that are important to keep in mind. Usually, I start by presenting a case of a child with a fever and rash. Then, I mention that someone finally asked about… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationRabies is “almost always” transmitted by bites and “almost invariably” fatal once disease develops in a person or animal. We use a lot of these kinds of disclaimers with infectious diseases, which can be frustrating, but it’s necessary because exceptional (strange) things occasionally occur. A report in an upcoming edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases (Zhao… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Deworming,Dogs,ParasitesNothing has changed about Echinococcus multilocularis (the fox tapeworm) in the past couple of months, but my phone is ringing off the hook following another round of media reports about this parasite. Here’s a recap of the issues: Echinococcus multilocularis is a small tapeworm normally found in the intestinal tract of wild canids (e.g. coyotes, foxes)… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsA recent presentation at ECCMID (European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases) in Amsterdam described a series of linezolid-resistant enterococci in dogs and cats in the UK. I’m only able to get information from media reports, so details are limited (and potentially lost in translation); however, it’s an interesting story. It’s unsurprising in many… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesI keep saying spring is approaching and I keep getting disappointed by the cold weather. But it’s going to happen soon, so we’ve been gearing up for tick season. There are a few new initiatives underway for tracking ticks and tickborne diseases in Canadian dogs and cats. Check out the recent post at PetsAndTicks.com for more… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsThe snowfall we had on the weekend notwithstanding, spring is here. As the weather warms up in Ontario (and other regions), we have to once again think more about ticks. Once the temperature reaches ~4C, hungry ticks that didn’t feed in the fall will come out, looking for food. Accordingly, tick prevention for people and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsRaw diets have been in the news a lot lately because of Salmonella contamination. It’s not surprising at all since bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Listeria are expected to be found in raw meat (that’s why we cook it). We know that dogs and cats fed raw meat are at increased risk of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI guess we’re not the only ones dealing with Brucella canis issues lately. In February, we were dealing with B. canis in dogs imported into Ontario from South Korea. Currently, we’re dealing with a larger issue in commercial dog breeding facilities in Ontario. Imported Brucella canis also appears to be an issue in the US… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationRabies vaccination of dogs is legally required in many areas. In most of those, it must be given by a veterinarian, unlike some other vaccines that can be purchased from a veterinarian or supplier and administered by owners. Why does a veterinarian have to administer rabies vaccines? There are a few reasons. One is that… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseases,VaccinationI’ve had a few discussions with people over the past week about geographic variation in disease risk. It’s a great subject because it’s an important and often overlooked issue. Whether it’s animals being imported, animals moving with their owners, animals accompanying owners on vacation or animals being moved between regions within the county, movement between… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Other animalsAnd now for something completely different. We’ve studied Clostridium difficile in my lab for years and we probably have one of the world’s most diverse collections of this important bacterium. We have thousands of isolates from people, pets, livestock and many different wildlife species (as well as from meat, vegetables and water). Most of the… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,RabiesI’m taking a Brucella break to post a few interesting rabies stories. More rabies in Nunavut A rabies warning was issued to residents of Taloyoak, Nunavut in response to identification of rabies in “a number” of dogs and foxes (I’m not sure what that number is). This isn’t really new, as Arctic fox rabies is… Continue Reading
