A lot of interesting case reports get published in human medical and veterinary journals, but I always take case reports with a grain of salt. It’s not that I don’t trust the validity of the report, but there are those who may over-react to a single case. A publication about a single case typically signifies
Review: Cranberry Supplements For Urinary Tract Infections in Dogs and Cats
As part of our upcoming revision of the 2019 ISCAID guidelines for diagnosis and management of bacterial urinary tract infections (UTIs) in dogs and cats, we recently did a systematic review to determine if cranberry supplements reduce or help treat urinary tract infections (UTIs) in dogs and cats. Our conclusion was… we have
IMRAB 3 TF Canine/Feline/Ferret Rabies Vaccine Recall
Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) has issued a voluntary recall of one lot (serial #18665) of its IMRAB 3 TF rabies vaccine that was distributed in the US, because some vials in the lot were found to contain sterile water instead of vaccination. That’s a big oops, but it’s also good to see that it was
Infection Control for Alveolar Echinococcosis in Dogs
I periodically get calls from concerned veterinarians (none recently from Ontario, thankfully) along the lines of “We did surgery on a dog with a liver mass that was diagnosed as Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). What is the risk to the staff and what do we do to decontaminate the clinic?”
Depending on how well
Treatment Duration For Pneumonia in Dogs and Cats: Systematic Review
Whether it’s dealing with an individual patient or developing international antimicrobial use guidelines, one of the bigger challenges we face in regard to antimicrobial treatments for dogs and cats is determining how long different infections need to be treated.
Unfortunately the treatment durations most commonly used are not evidence-based. We have very little data to
Rabies Treatment: Demise of the Milwaukee Protocol
We call rabies “almost invariably fatal” in people. Rabies kills an estimated 50,000 people a year globally, mostly in Africa and Asia. Even with very intensive care, the prognosis is grave. Only a very small number of people have survived rabies: there are approximately 34 documented cases of survival, but an even smaller number
Surgical Antimicrobial Prophylaxis Guidelines In Dogs and Cats
Antimicrobials are often used at the time of surgery, but it’s widely accepted that there is tremendous overuse of antimicrobials in this context in both human and veterinary medicine. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is indicated in some surgical patients to reduce the risk of surgical site infection, but in a large percentage of cases use of antimicrobials
Fatal H5N1 Influenza in a Dog: Alberta, Canada
We’re in the midst of a pretty bad human flu season. That’s a problem by itself, as it also means severe flu cases and hospitalization rates are high, and likely to increase. High flu activity in people also amplifies concerns regarding H5N1 avian influenza, because it creates more opportunities for an infection with both
Antimicrobial Use in Animals: When More Might Be Better
That headline might get some people worked up, but hopefully they’ll read the whole post before firing off an angry email.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge problem in humans and animals, which means we need to improve or optimize how we use antimicrobials, but this is not synonymous with reducing use. Most of the
Antibiotics For Pyometra Surgery in Dogs
It’s World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week. Did you know that? Probably not. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge global health threat with an unfortunately crappy marketing plan.
I’m on my way back from the BC One Health and Zoonoses Symposium where I was talking about AMR. It’s a complex issue and there are a