The companion animal Ontario Animal Health Network has produced a series of mini-podcasts on COVID-19 precautions in veterinary clinics, featuring none other than Dr. Scott Weese. Each mini-podcast features a quick 3-5 minute “lighting round” on common questions and topics – bite-sized bits for busy practitioners and clinic staff who may only have a
COVID-19 is a Wake-Up Call to How We Live Our Lives
Words from Dr. Mike Ryan, of the World Health Organization. He’s been a star communicator throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to listen to voices like his and messages like this.
COVID-19 and Overdue Dog/Cat Vaccines, Part 4: Lyme disease
Lyme disease vaccine is a non-core vaccine, meaning it’s not needed for all dogs in all areas. It’s an effective vaccine, and I’d consider it a reasonable vaccine to give to dogs in (or visiting) higher risk areas, especially when there might be owner compliance issues with tick preventive medication. Available tick preventatives are very
COVID-19 and Overdue Dog/Cat Vaccines, Part 3: Leptospirosis
This is probably the vaccine about which I get the most questions when it comes to delays. Leptospirosis (aka lepto) is a regionally important and potentially life-threatening infection of dogs (and people) caused by serovars of the Leptospira bacterium. It’s generally considered a non-core vaccine, meaning it’s not needed for all dogs in all areas.
COVID-19 and Overdue Dog/Cat Vaccines, Part 2: Rabies
In some ways, the approach to rabies vaccine is easy. In other ways, it’s complicated. To some degree, the medicine is easy, but other considerations (like regulatory requirements) cloud the picture.
The medicine:
Rabies vaccines are highly effective. A single initial dose provides at least 1 year of protection. The first dose is supposed
COVID-19 and Overdue Dog/Cat Vaccines, Part 1: Core Vaccines
I’ve been dealing with questions (and some threats) about this issue for many months:
How to handle overdue vaccines because of COVID-19 delays
It’s a complex issue that’s hard to navigate because of limited data. We know how most vaccines work when used according to the label instructions. We don’t know much about what happens
Mink Vaccination Against SARS-CoV-2: Good or Bad?
That may seem like a strange question, but bear with me and read on.
Mink are back in the news, mainly with respect to vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Mink are very susceptible to this virus, and it’s been shown that they can transmit it back to people. Perhaps more of a concern is that several mutant
Routine Testing of Sick Pets Exposed to Owners With COVID-19: South Korea
There’s an interesting report that pets of people with COVID-19 in Seoul, Korea (and soon other areas) will be tested for SARS-CoV-2 for free, if the pets are showing signs of compatible illness. This comes on the heels of the (unsurprising) identification of an infected kitten in the city at the end of January,
More Again on COVID-19 Scent-Detection Dogs
I’ve written about COVID-19 scent-detection dogs before, and I’ve done a variety of interviews on the subject, but it keeps coming up.
Can scent-detection dogs help with COVID-19 control? The answer is (as with many things about the SARS-CoV-2 virus) less than clear. My current answer is… maybe… in some situations… potentially.
Let’s break it
SARS-CoV-2 Variants and Animals
There are lots of SARS-CoV-2 variants out there. The virus changes a bit all the time. However, there’s a lot of, well, concern about a few particular “variants of concern” (VOCs).
VOCs are “OC” because they have mutations that could increase their infectivity (i.e. ability to infect people), their virulence (i.e. severity of disease they