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 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 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 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 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,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 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 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
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseasesThis is another one of those “I can’t say much specific because of privacy laws, but there’s so much social media paranoia that I have to say something.” Is there concern about Brucella canis in Ontario? Yes. We have been concerned about this bacterium for a while, particularly in imported dogs and commercial breeders (including… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Deworming,Dogs,ParasitesEchinococcus multilocularis (EM) is an important zoonotic tapeworm. The situation with this parasite in Canada (and probably the US) is unclear and evolving. It’s increasingly clear that EM is present in a high percentage of wild canids (e.g. coyotes, foxes) in some regions. What this means for human health isn’t clear yet. This tiny tapeworm lives… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationWe often talk about rabies in the context of high GDP countries, focusing on wildlife rabies and exposure during travel. However, in many parts of the world, exposure to canine rabies is an ever-present risk, and there can be substantial barriers to getting proper post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) when needed. That’s part of the reason tens… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Other diseases,ParasitesThe title says it all… see below for the latest and greatest infographics from the Ontario Animal Health Network, including an update to the very popular E. multilocularis infographic and a new one on treatment of feline upper respiratory tract infection. To download the infographics in pdf format, visit oahn.ca at these links: Treatment… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Other diseases,VaccinationHere’s a report from Cornell University’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center, describing importation of a canine distemper strain that hasn’t been found before in North America: 02/05/2019: (N. America) In early October of 2018, a 12-week old “Sheltie” arrived from Korea. Approximately 12 days later, the dog began with a cough and lethargy with blood work indicating… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in RabiesRabies and distemper are the two things that come to mind first when a raccoon is acting strangely. Rabies is a big concern because it can also be transmitted to people. Distemper is also a viral infection, caused by canine distemper virus, and is transmissible to dogs and some wildlife species, but is not zoonotic.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationIt’s easy to get complacent about rabies, even when you live in an endemic region. While we have ample bat rabies, Arctic fox rabies and raccoon rabies in Ontario, spillover into domestic animals is relatively rare. Success can breed complacency, though. When control measures work, it’s easy to forget why they are so important. That’s… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationHere are some more leftover questions from the talk I did a talk recently for Third Age Learning in Guelph: As West Nile virus seems to be spreading, is there a vaccine becoming available for the general population? Probably not, but that’s just a guess. While it should be possible to make an effective human… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,RabiesI did a talk recently for Third Age Learning in Guelph, and there was an abundance of questions. I didn’t get through them all at the time, so I figured I’d address some of them here: Do mice carry rabies? Mice aren’t rabies reservoirs like raccoons, skunks or bats, as they don’t have a rabies… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Cats,Dogs,Rabies,VaccinationBefore the emails start rolling in… yes, it’s from a satire site. See Dr. Sarah Boston (veterinary cancer surgeon extraordinaire)’s take on how veterinarians are misleading people into protecting people. EXPOSED – Vaccination of Pets Found to be Part of Larger Plot to Prevent Rabies in Humans… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Dogs,SalmonellaThe Minnesota Department of Agriculture has recalled some lots of raw pet food from Woody’s Pet Food Deli, after linking them to a human infection. The link isn’t definite, but was obviously enough to prompt a recall. The situation involves a person who developed salmonellosis and, as is typical, an investigation of possible sources ensued.… Continue Reading
By Scott Weese on Posted in Deworming,Dogs,ParasitesEchinococcus multilocularis, a small tapeworm with a big name, is causing big concerns in Ontario, an area that was until recently considered free of this parasite. This tapeworm is normally found in the intestinal tract of wild canids (e.g. coyotes, foxes) and can also infect dogs. That itself isn’t a problem, since the intestinal form… Continue Reading
