A recent CDC expert commentary was recently published on “Animal Lovers and Zoonotic Diseases: 5 Things to Know“. Regular readers of Worms & Germs will find many of the points very familiar, but the article provides a nice summary of some of the recurring themes that arise when dealing with animals and people
Canine brucellosis international, factsheet for veterinarians
Recently 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
Itchy dogs: Topical treatments and culture-critical cases
The 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, through the open-access ISCAID Guidelines for the diagnosis and antimicrobial therapy of canine superficial bacterial folliculitis (Hillier et al. 2014). Click here to download the infographic in pdf.
Continue Reading
Small animal infectious diseases, and how they get around
The 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 here.
Continue Reading
Ontario hits 10 000 dRIT rabies tests since 2015
Today’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
Updated Lyme disease risk map and infographic
Public 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
Yet another reason not to feed raw chicken
As if another reason was needed, a recent study from Australia (Martinez-Anton et al. 2018 J Vet Internal Med) found a strong association between dogs that consume raw chicken meat and a serious neurological condition known as acute polyradiculoneuritis (APN). APN is comparable to Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) in humans. The main objective of
A perfect storm for canine flu
There were several more reports over the weekend in follow up to the canine influenza outbreak at dog shows in Florida early last week. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, associated cases were then found in North Carolina, and have now been reported in 11 states, no doubt from dogs that were at the shows
Raccoon Rabies – 1 Year Later
It has been just over 1 year since the discovery of the first rabid raccoon in Ontario in over a decade, and the first rabid wildlife in the Hamilton area in over two decades. Since then well over 4500 abnormal or “found dead” wildlife have been tested, and 253 animals carrying raccoon-variant rabies have
Rabies Posters & Latest Update
Raccoon-variant rabies cases around the Hamilton area continue to trickle in slowly but steadily each week. The total number of cases is now up to 187 since December 2015, with 132 cases in raccoons and 53 in skunks. The remaining two cases were in less common – but not altogether unexpected – species: a fox