Ok, call me risk averse, but traveling to another country to have someone inject me with cells from organs or fetuses of animals isn’t high on my to-do list. I guess that’s a good thing, given the recent article in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report describing Q-fever in people from New York who traveled to
Do headline writers actually read the articles?
Part I Lyme disease is accompanied by enough paranoia. Bad headlines don’t help. A recent article on The Daily Mail is about Lyme disease and pets. It’s actually not a bad article, outlining some important issues. However, the headline shows a big disconnect between some good content in the article and a complete misunderstanding
Fake service animals in action
I go on periodic rants about people abusing service animal rules to take their pets places they cannot normally go (while potentially compromising the critically important need for true service animals to have unfettered access).
Sometimes, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one.
A recent article (pointed out by a writer from the VIN
Monkey bites and rabies quarantine
Oh, where to start…
- Why do people feel the need to have monkeys as pets? I realize that they’re fascinating critters, but is it in the best interests of the monkey
Boo Boo gets pardoned, but so much for stress relief
Let’s put this one in the "smart people doing stupid things" file.
Some well-intentioned people at Washington University in St. Louis thought they’d help relieve stress during exam time by bringing in a petting zoo – that unfortunately included "Boo Boo" the biting bear. As you can likely guess, problems ensued.
18 students sustained
Dumb internet advice
No, not what I write (although I certainly get enough emails suggesting otherwise… and I’m sure another round of interesting emails is going to be coming at my way shortly).
In the past, and even sometimes still today, public health has had to deal with the phenomenon of having "chickenpox parties." These are events held
Cat attack pins family in bedroom
Actually, the title of this post should be “Obese cat attacks family after being booted in the rear as a disciplinary measure. Family freaks out but wants to keep cat.”
Oh, where to start.
1) A 22 lb cat is obese and there are obviously animal care issues.
2) Kicking a
Things not to do with reptiles
I would have thought this would fall under the realm of common sense, but as the saying goes: Common sense is like deodorant, the people that need it the most don’t use it.
A recent report out of Scotland is warning people not to kiss their pet reptiles, in response to four people
“Angels’ eyes”…and this is a good idea because…?
Antibiotic resistance is a big deal. Lots of people and animals die because of it every year. It costs the healthcare systems (human and veterinary) tremendous amounts of money and it’s not getting better.
It’s been clear for years that we have to do a better job of using antibiotics responsibly, in both animals and
Projectile penguin poop
In my line of work, I deal with feces from a lot of different species. Never once, however, have I thought to model defecation pressure and distances.
Maybe I’m just strange.
A few years ago, German researchers felt the need to model the defecation habits of penguins. The title of the paper, published in Polar