By Scott Weese on Posted in Horses,Other diseases,VaccinationBeing an equine vet in some parts of Australia (namely Queensland) is scary… to the point that people are leaving equine practice or refusing to treat certain cases. That’s because of Hendra virus, a bat-associated virus that infects horses and which can spill over into people. It hasn’t infected many people, but it is most… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsOne of the first diseases that really hit home for me in terms of concerns about canine importation and travel was leishmaniasis. This nasty parasitic disease is something I certainly didn’t learn about in vet school, and it wasn’t on my radar at all until I started getting calls for help managing infected dogs. As… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Other animals,RabiesToday’s post comes from Rachel Gagnon, Rabies Science Transfer Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), highlighting some of the amazing work being done in Ontario in the ongoing battle against wildlife rabies. Ontario’s rabies control program is a world leader when it comes to controlling and eliminating rabies. The MNRF… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,ParasitesNegotiating the world of antiparasitics for dogs and cats can be daunting. With the wide range of products, similarly named products with different ingredients and differently named products with the same ingredients, it’s hard to keep up. The Ontario Animal Health Network as put together some useful tables that outline antiparasitic products available in Canada… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsMelioidosis is a disease that wouldn’t come to mind with a sick dog here in Canada. However, it is present in various parts of the world and is also a serious disease in people. Recognizing a case in North America is rare (and it’s easy to miss since most veterinarians haven’t even heard of it,… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsWe’ve tried a number of different infectious diseases initiatives in the past, aimed at increasing infectious disease education and awareness of both veterinarians and pet owners. Some have worked very well (like this blog), others less so. However, there’s still a lot that can be done. Here’s our latest initiative – whether it flies or… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Parasites,Salmonella,ToxoplasmosisI think I’ve covered this before (probably a few times), but the question keeps coming up so it can’t hurt to talk about it again: “Is freeze-dried raw pet food any different than fresh or frozen raw diets, from a microbiological standpoint?” We don’t have much pet food-specific research, but there’s little reason to believe… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’m a little late writing about this (since I’m talking about 2018 forecasts midway through 2018), but the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)‘s parasite forecasts are worth a look. They don’t include Canada, but they show some interesting predicted patterns in the US. The maps are below, but check out the CAPC website to get… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsHere are the latest maps from our Pet Tick Tracker. More details (and submission information) are posted at PetsAndTicks.com. Keep the reports (and ticks) coming!… Continue Reading
By Maureen Anderson on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesPublic Health Ontario has once again posted their updated Lyme Disease Risk Areas map for 2018. For comparison, you can still also access the 2017 map too, and you can see that once again (not surprisingly) the risk areas have expanded somewhat, including more of Eastern Ontario, as well as a few notable spots in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Birds,HorsesWhen I talk about infection control (or infectious diseases, in general), I emphasize the need to avoid tunnel vision. Sometimes, we run into situations where someone says “that animal tested negative for [name your bug], so we don’t have anything to worry about.” Well, no. It means you (probably) don’t have to worry about that… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsAt the 2018 American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) forum, Dr. Michelle Evason gave an update on the Canadian canine lifetime Lyme study, which she also wrote about briefly last year on this blog when the study was launched. It’s a longterm (lifetime, hopefully) study following a large group of dogs, looking at Lyme… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsA new canine importation checklist infographic for veterinarians has been released by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association. English and French versions are below. To download the pdf files, use the links at the bottom of the post. While intended for veterinarians, the checklist would also be useful for rescues and other organizations (or even individuals)… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,DogsBy Dr. Michelle Evason, University of Prince Edward Island We’re all worried about ticks. Ticks on dogs, ticks on cats, ticks on horses and ticks on us. The reason for this concern is twofold: no-one wants to get sick (or have a loved one get sick), and ticks are quite simply “gross.” In dogs and… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsOur first set of tick maps are available at PetsAndTicks.com. I don’t think there are any great surprises so far, but it’s interesting to see where black legged ticks are being reported. The Ontario map is copied below but the website has maps from submissions from across Canada. To answer a recent question…yes, we accept… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsChicago has a city bylaw banning pet stores from sourcing dogs from puppy mills (i.e. selling commercially-bred pets). So, what’s an enterprise puppy mill owner to do? Apparently they start a rescue as a way to get their dogs sold instead. No, they didn’t see the light and decide to get out of the puppy… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsA recent report from the Netherlands in Emerging Infectious Diseases (van Dijk et al 2018) describes a new twist on raw feeding concerns, Brucella suis infection. Here’s the short version of the story: A dog in the Netherlands developed fever, ascites (fluid free in the abdomen) and inflammation of the testicles. After failing to respond… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsThe latest IDEXX Laboratories maps and case list are below. Canine flu continues to cause problems in some parts of the US, and is spreading in some states. California and Nevada have had active flu for a few months, but it may be abating. New clusters are popping up in other areas, most notably in… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,ParasitesIf you’d asked me a few years ago, I wouldn’t have said that’s a question I’d expect to get (daily). However, we’re in a different world tick-wise now, so it’s a common and understandable question, particularly because of our tick tracking efforts. The answer is no/possibly/maybe later. How’s that for a straight answer? We are… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,HorsesAs part of our recently launched PetsAndTick.com information and tick-tracker website, we are offering a pilot tick identification program. We will be offering identification of ticks that are removed from animals (non-human animals, to be specific). The program will complement our tick-tracking efforts and help gather more information about expanding tick ranges and incursions of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Horses,Other animalsAfter a particularly miserable spring here (to put it mildly), it’s finally warming up, and the snow’s almost gone. That’s the good news. The bad news is that ticks are also going to start coming out and looking for food – that means looking for animals (including us). I assume there will be lots of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsI’ve been holding off saying “it’s gone” but based on all the information we have at the moment, there’s no evidence of ongoing canine flu activity in Canada, at least for now. No new cases have been identified in a few weeks and we are now beyond the 28-day recommended quarantine period for all of… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsNo news is good news… at least hopefully. The past week was quite encouraging. No new cases of canine influenza were identified in Ontario. A couple of “inconclusive” results were obtained from dogs in the Northumberland cluster that were previously positive. I approach these as essentially “weak positives,” because it means the test detected viral… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in DogsLone-Star-tick-associated meat allergy is an interesting phenomenon in people that is getting a lot of attention, especially as these ticks (like others) are expanding their range. The condition itself is one of those odd-ball quirks of nature that you’d never expect. The basic story goes like this: galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) is a carbohydrate that’s part of cell… Continue Reading
