StemCell Therapy

Jean-Yin Tan, University of Calgary

At a superficial glance, becoming a veterinarian seems like the realization of an animal lovers childhood dream devoting a career to the care of animals.

What many dont realize is the level of mental health distress associated with the profession in terms of work-life balance, emotional stress and financial health. Research has shown that veterinary professionals are already at high risk of suicide due to occupational stress, depression and burnout.

COVID-19 is having a further impact on vets. Earning a living as a veterinarian is directly tied to the financial success of a business, and the disruption from the pandemic has had a big impact on small businesses, including veterinary practices.

The owner of one successful mixed-animal veterinary practice in Alberta was willing to share with me his practices pandemic experiences and the impact of economic policies during this critical time.

One vital theme emerged from the conversation: any financial strain has been eclipsed by the emotional toll of the pandemic and the need to plan for the unknown.

As stewards of animal and public health, veterinarians have been authorized to provide services during the pandemic. The most visible impact on small animal veterinary services has been the influx of newly acquired puppies to the clinic.

Noting 50-person wait lists for dog adoptions and empty animal shelters, the Alberta veterinarian Ill call him Dr. Brian Jones because he asked that his real name not be used muses that puppies are like Toilet Paper 2.0.

Despite financial uncertainty facing many families, pet adoption and fostering has increased in Calgary as people found themselves with extra time at home and sought to fill a need for companionship.

As puppies grow older in their new homes, hopefully a short-term decrease in demand for vet services due to the pandemic will translate to a permanent increase in demand as veterinary practices gain new canine patients for life.

By contrast, large animal clientele have taken a financial hit from the pandemic, and this has had an impact on large animal veterinary services.

For Jones bovine clients, the closure of processing plants has been devastating, with the backlog of cattle hurting the calf market.

The vet explains that cattle ranchers and others in agriculture are price takers, meaning they input the costs of vaccinations, feeding and medications, with no knowledge of their ultimate price at market and return on investment. The uncertainty posed by the pandemic has placed a great deal of stress on his cattle-ranching clientele.

The different experiences of his practices small and large animal clientele have demonstrated the differences between demand for small animals pets are usually adopted to become longtime family members and large farm animals. The large losses suffered by the agricultural market as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic highlight a more volatile demand for large animal veterinary services.

Veterinarians play an important role as stewards of food safety, public health and animal health.

When veterinary services received essential status at the onset of the pandemic, the industry pledged to limit non-essential procedures so that ventilators, surgical masks and other critical supplies could be conserved for use in human hospitals.

Jones explains: We werent sure how many gloves we would have and how much oxygen we would have, and therefore vets made a conscientious effort to voluntarily reduce the supply of veterinary procedures and services in order to reduce consumption of medical supplies.

But according to the vet, the reduction in the number of staff working each shift as well as long hours has resulted in high emotional wear and tear, to the point that hes worried about worker burnout.

Furthermore, curbside dropoffs of pets to fulfil social distancing requirements have removed the face-to-face interaction between animal owner and veterinarian.

Not only is the added layer of phone calls with each client time-consuming, it also adds to the challenge of using non-verbal cues in conversation in order to have meaningful discussions that result in shared decision-making in health care.

Although government assistance programs are well-intentioned, Jones veterinary practice discovered first-hand how such programs can fail small businesses.

Without access to experts to help them navigate the eligibility requirements of each program and the paperwork to apply, his practice did not ultimately qualify for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, while it may have qualified for the work-sharing program.

Jones acknowledged that the stress and time spent applying for the programs added to the emotional toll on his staff, with only disappointing results when they were unable to take advantage of any of them.

Although veterinarians were granted essential service status and some have been financially stable through the crisis due to consistent consumer demand for vet services, the pandemics emotional toll has been severe.

With veterinary professionals already stressed out emotionally, its more important than ever to evaluate how these essential workers can be supported during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Jean-Yin Tan, Senior Instructor in Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Puppies and burnout: The impact of the coronavirus on veterinarians - TheChronicleHerald.ca

COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. For the 200+batscurrently in wildlife rehabilitation facilities across Pennsylvania, this presents a threat.Eman Anis, a microbiologistwith Penn VetsNew Bolton Center, is leading a study to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in North American bats, work being done with associate professorsLisa MurphyandJulie EllisandPennsylvania Game Commissionbiologist Greg Turner.

Because the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Pennsylvania Game Commission began collaborating in 2019 on thePennsylvania Wildlife Futures Programto address wildlife health problems, they were able to shift quickly to COVID-19 research. Now, the team is developing a rapid diagnostic test using bat guano sent from local wildlife rehabilitation centers.

The researchers goal is to verify that bats held over the winter in rehab facilities will not transmit disease. When you do these tests, youre trying to ask questions, says Murphy. Can bats harbor it? Do bats in Pennsylvania harbor it?

Testing the guano of North American bats for COVID-19 ties into Penn VetsOneHealthfocus, which recognizes that human, animal, and environmentalhealthare interrelated and that an adverse event in anyoneof these areas may also adversely impact the others, Murphy says. With disease, humans, animals, and the environment can all play key roles in transmitting and maintaining harmful pathogens. Identifying the role that each plays can be the first step in understanding how to stop or prevent further harm, she says.

There is no evidence that North American bat populations currently harbor COVID-19 or other beta-coronaviruses like MERS and SARS, but there is a possibility that humans couldtransmitdisease to bats, Anis says. This would present apublic health riskand is one of the impacts her study will mitigate. We dont want have another reservoir where they can transfer it back to humans, she says.

COVID-19 has the potential to weaken the already precarious health of bat populations, says Turner. Bats have been his main focus for 16 years as populations have declined due to habitat loss andwhite-nose syndrome, a fungus originating in Europe that thrives in the cold, humid caves and mines that bats use for hibernation.

Pennsylvania is home to nine species recognized as resident breeding bats, according to the Game Commission. As bats are able to be a reservoir for most coronavirus strains, they are likely to contract COVID-19 if exposed, Turner says. While the animals are generally able to survive a dormant coronavirus, many North American bats are already stressed due to white-nose syndrome. This presents the risk that the virus would becomeactiveand cause an additive mortality factor on top of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated many bat species.

The Indiana bat is currently the only mammal on the federal list ofendangered speciesin Pennsylvania.

Were turning the tide, seeing stabilization and maybe even a recovery, Turner says. To have something come in now could be catastrophic to these species. What would happen if the bat was immunocompromised from white-nose fungus, would COVID-19 be an additive affect?

While bats are often vilified in popular culture, Turner says they provide numerous services we would miss if they were gone, he says. All of the bat species inPennsylvaniaand the northeastern part of North America are insectivorous, so theyre eating nothing but insects. Each female little brown bat can consume 4,500 mosquito-sized insects per night. Bats consume an estimated 900,000 to 1 million insects per bat per year, says Turner, saving Pennsylvania farmers alone an estimated $3 million per year in crop damage and thus reducing the cost of production and the amount of pesticides used.

By eating insects, bats also prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as heartworm, encephalitis, West Nile virus, and potentially Zika virus, Turner says. We also have anecdotal evidence of people in wetland areas that were constantly battling mosquitos until they put up a bat box and had a colony of bats, he adds.

Bats are important to agriculture and to the ecosystems they live in, and theyre already under a considerable amount of pressure, Murphy says.

The New Bolton Center team began work on this project at the end of April, and Anis says the team is very confident that well be able to complete and validate the test and have it up and running soon. Our first goal is to help the rehab populations to release their overwintered bats, and we hope to expand beyond that.

While the current study is targeted to a very specific population and need, it has larger implications, says Murphy. Why does this matter now? We have an immediate need, she says. Most wildlife rehabilitation facilities are staffed with volunteers and funded via donations. During the pandemic, most are operating with a skeleton crew and limited financial resources, continuing to feed and care for overwintered bats that are ready to be released into the wild. To the specific populations of bats in Pennsylvania and people who are caring for them, it really does matter, it matters now, and we have no data to inform their decisions, Murphy says. Were going to address a very specific need, but, in terms of where it can go from there, the ramifications and the benefits, this is only the first step, Murphy says.

The lab, which generally tests diagnostic samples, began guano testing during the pandemic. The team practice all the needed biosafety and biosecurity measures and follow all of the CDC guidelines, says Anis. Its a big challenge she says to work with this new normal and being isolated. Having a purpose has helped.

In terms of thinking about what animal species may be susceptible to this virus, it doesnt just stop with bats, she says, citing evidence that weasels and ferrets are able to contract COVID-19, as can other animals. This disease is going to be with us, and is going to be a question and a concern for human and animal health for quite some time, she says.

See the rest here:
University of Pennsylvania studies US bats and possible COVID transmission - Jill Lopez

Comrades,

On the 70th anniversary of the Veterinary Medicine Industry, I cordially send my dearest regards and best wishes to all the cadres, civil servants, public employees, labourers and businesses working in the sector.

In 1949, when the resistance war against French colonialism was fiercely underway, President Ho Chi Minh still cared for and sent a letter to the National Veterinary Conference, in which he highlighted the importance of animal husbandry to the national economy, asking employees in the industry to take the lead in patriotic emulation and seek practical ways to develop and protect cattle. On July 11, 1950, the President signed an ordinance on the eradication of epidemiology and infectious disease in animal communities. Following Uncle Hos teachings, since then, our Party and State have always given care in this regard, leading and directing the veterinary medicine industry to constantly improve, develop and continue to make important contributions to the countrys agriculture sector, thus contributing to the overall development of the country. The Prime Minister decided to choose July 11 as the annual traditional day of the veterinary medicine industry.

Over the past 70 years of construction and development, the veterinary sector has attained many significant achievements in the prevention and control of animal, poultry and aquatic animal diseases, as well as in eliminating and well controlling many dangerous animal diseases and zoonoses. In addition, the sector has successfully researched and produced almost all veterinary medicine and vaccines to proactively prevent and control diseases, meeting both domestic needs and export demands. Due attention has been put to food safety and environmental protection, contributing to safeguarding and caring for public health. Particularly, the veterinary sector has trained generations of scientific cadres and workers, who are ethically pure, qualified and experienced, to meet the increasing requirements of the countrys construction, development and international integration cause.

On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I warmly commend the efforts made by generations of veterinary medicine cadres, civil servants, public employees, labourers and businesses, and congratulate the sector on the significant achievements attained over the past seven decades.

Today, in the cause of national industrialisation and modernisation and extensive international integration, with interwoven challenges and opportunities, the veterinary medicine sector needs to drastically innovate, unite, uphold a sense of responsibility, and integrate effectively and proactively, especially in the prevention and control of animal, poultry and aquatic animal diseases, ensuring food hygiene and safety, protecting public health and the ecological environment, and accelerating trade promotion and exports of animals and animal products. These should be considered the key and major tasks of the animal health sector in the coming time.

I am confident that by promoting its fine traditions, the veterinary medicine sector will continue to rise above and constantly improve to successfully fulfil all the tasks entrusted by the Party, State and people.

I wish good health, happiness and success for you all and your families.

Cordially,

NGUYEN PHU TRONG

Party General Secretary and State President

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Party General Secretary and President extends congratulations on 70th anniversary of the Veterinary Medicine Industry - Nhan Dan Online

Ron and Sharon Weiss started farming in 1977. They have been growing asparagus for the last 15 years. The familys 13 acres of asparagus is in addition to about 1,100 acres of wheat and soybeans raised on the Weiss farm in northwestern Minnesota. The Weiss family sells fresh and pickled asparagus at the Mentor Farmers Market and area grocery stores.

Family members are very important to the success of the Weiss farm. Ron and Sharon have four children. Daughter Shelby is married to Nolan Knott and another daughter, Kristen, is married to Ryan Brumwell. Ron and Sharons daughter Sara is married to Matthew Schindler and the Weisses also have a son, Matthew.

Ron and Sharon are members of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Ron is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Red Lake Falls Sportsman Club, serves as a 4-H leader, and is a Red Lake County Commissioner. Sharon belongs to the St. Josephs Catholic Church Parish Guild and is a Red Lake County 4-H Extension Educator. The Weisses are a vendor at the local farmers market in Mentor.

And yes, after picking and processing 13 acres of asparagus the family still loves to eat asparagus!

Though COVID-19 has forced cancellation of the annual Minnesota Farmfest, where the awards are presented each August, this years honorees will be celebrated in an online video tribute. The recognition, lead by University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel, will be available at 1 p.m., Aug. 6 at mnfarmfamilies.cfans.umn.edu.

Honored families are chosen, one per county, by local University of Minnesota Extension committees based on their demonstrated commitment to their communities and to enhancing and supporting agriculture.

Well miss the face-to-face ceremony for the 2020 Farm Families of the Year, but nothing diminishes pride we take in celebrating their accomplishments, said Extension Dean Bev Durgan. These families represent the best in agriculture. Theyre innovative and dedicated to their communities; they are stewards of the land.

A complete list of the 2020 Farm Families of the Year will be available at mnfarmfamilies.CFAMS.umn.edu.

Along with Farmfest, University units sponsoring the recognition event include University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

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WEISS FAMILY OF RED LAKE FALLS RECOGNIZED AS A 2020 UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA FARM FAMILY - kroxam.com

Whats in it for me?

Thats what I had to start asking myself about my life. I was done with struggling as a veterinarian and as a human!

After going all in, I discovered 3 awesome benefits of prioritizing wellbeing, and Ill share them with you in this article.

If youre looking for some simple strategies for cultivating wellbeing, check out this article, where I go into specific strategies you can use to quickly and effectively improve your wellbeing as a veterinary professional and as a human!

If you go all in on your own wellbeing, youll probably discover these 3 benefits for yourself!

Lets jump right in!

Once you start your wellbeing journey you will find that you can handle just about any combination of circumstance, conditions, or life events that come your way.

The skills and tools and strategies that youll discover on your wellbeing journey will also help you have a clear cut way of solving problems. This has been my favorite hidden discovery of learning the skill of wellbeing!

This means that youll be better equipped to handle those days at the veterinary hospital when people call out, clients are difficult, and when there is a surgery that goes wrong.

Youll also be able to handle all of Lifes throat punches more effectively.

Changing your perspective will allow you to do what you love - veterinary medicine - without feeling bitter or being burnt out.

Ultimately, you can have your dream job and enjoy your life simultaneously, but it all starts with wellbeing and perspective!

How about your home life? How are your personal relationships with your significant other? How about with your kids?

What do you think of the world outside of veterinary medicine? Who are you when you stop playing the role of veterinarian? Do you ever stop playing the role of veterinarian?

Even with COVID, do you see the world as a something that is becoming and getting better, or do you see it as something that is falling apart?

Do you see people as basically good or as evil creatures creating their own doom?

The perspective that you take in life is POWERFUL as it relates to your experience as a vet and as a human.

While we cant discuss perspective in detail here, you can learn 3 perspectives that will change your life in this 4-hr RACE-approved, online course.

Whether you call this self-care or something else, you have to prioritize yourself. Its much easier said than done, but it is possible to take AMAZING care of yourself AND be there for your clients and patients.

If it seems like an impossible thing to do, my best guess is that you havent spent enough time brainstorming how to make this work. It may take hours, days, weeks, and months of trying to move all of the life puzzle pieces around before you truly figure out how to best prioritize yourself while still making the veterinary impact you took an oath to resolve.

However, once you take the time and effort to figure it out, you will be more effective at providing care for clients, patients, family, and friends, which means you will be able to cultivate stronger and more meaningful relationships.

Youll no longer be resentful at everyone else for not looking out for you. Have you ever experienced that before? Have you ever been mad at someone else for not putting you first? Once you start caring for yourself, youll notice that others do more for you, as well!

I know it seems backwards, but it is what it is!

Wellbeing is a skill that needs to be cultivated. We can all start reaping benefits from simply committing to being well, but there are aspects that need to be practiced and refined.

Once you learn the skill of wellbeing, you will be able to start reaping some of these hidden benefits!

For more tools, strategies, and resources on how to take your wellbeing to the next level, check out Get MotiVETed Universtiy: School of Wellbeing for Veterinary Professionals.

Read the original here:
3 overlooked benefits of prioritizing your wellbeing - Jill Lopez

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Bats with covid-19? Pennsylvania researchers are trying to find out - TribLIVE

Posts shared on Facebook show an image of a sedated lion lying on its belly with its head through a sign of the famous Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Studios logo. This image has been photoshopped.

Reuters Fact Check. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt

Examples of such posts can be seen here and here .

As reported by Business Insider in 2015, the image seen here on Twitter, shows a Barbary lion named Samson getting CAT scan in 2005 (here).

When zookeepers at the Hai-Kef zoo near Tel Aviv noticed Samson was having trouble walking, Dr. Merav Shamir ( here ), a veterinary neurological specialistfrom Israel's Koret School of Veterinary Medicine ( here ), decided to do a full neurological exam. Samson was suffering damage to the posterior portion of his skull, which applied pressure on his cerebellum and the upper sector of the spinal cord ( here ).

Ten days after a six-hour operation to remove part of the thickened skull tissue, Samson was reunited at the zoo with his sister Delilah and able to walk normally ( here , here).

Leo, the lion seen in the current MGM logo, has been the companys mascot since 1957 ( here ). A 2012 article here published by Mental Floss says that Leo appeared in severalTarzanmovies as well as theTarzantelevision adaptation. MGM used several other lions prior to Leo, including Slats, Jackie, Tanner, and George. A YouTube video on the history of the MGM lion can be viewed here .

Further reading on MGMs lion is visible in a report by Mashable here

False. This is a photoshopped image of a lion receiving a CAT scan in 2005.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact checking work here .

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Fact check: Image does not show lion being sedated and abused for use in MGM logo - Reuters

Record numbers of PSC students ready to start careers as medics, dentists or vets

Peter Symonds College students are celebrating an impressive number of offers of university places to study medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine.

A total of 62 students have been offered places to study medicine, five students have places to study dentistry and eight students have been offered places to study veterinary medicine.

Student Georgina Hart, a former pupil at Kings School in Winchester, comments on the process: The application to study medicine is not a short or easy one, but now that I have come out the other side and received four offers, I feel thrilled that all my efforts have paid off!

Georgina is thankful to not face the process alone: Whilst applying to medicine required a lot of independence and self motivation, Symonds provided support along the way including running mock interviews and having doctors and other allied health professionals attend the careers day.

Teaching staff have been a huge help supporting medicine applicants in reviewing and improving personal statements. The Careers Department has also been of help with UCAS advice.

Student Hameem Khan, a former Cams Hill School pupil, comments on his college influence: I wanted to study medicine after the college helped me find work experience.

This inspired me to research into medical careers and sparked my interest. I feel very secure with my place and excited for the future.

Biology teacher Julian Foster reiterates: Places on courses such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine are notoriously difficult to obtain and so we are thrilled that the hard work and dedication of these students has paid off.

Their diligence and motivation has carried them through an extremely rigorous selection process with a demanding set of entry requirements and we wish them every success with their future studies.

The College has a number of programmes dedicated to improving access to medical and veterinary degrees and has close links with outreach programmes at a number of Russell Group universities, including the University of Southampton.

The College runs a very successful Oxbridge programme and isalso part of the HE+ collaborative project in Hampshire which is run in conjunction with the University of Cambridge and encourages students to apply to highly selective higher education institutions.

In addition students hoping for a career in a medical field can explore their interest further through various additional activities offered as part of the Colleges enrichment programme, including Future Medics, Future Vets and Biology Extension.

Students from Peter Symonds also have a long and successful track record competing in Biology and Chemistry Olympiads.

Symonds and former Thornden School student Omar Elawady looks forward to the future: My inspiration for studying medicine was my deep enjoyment of sciences, which was developed and blossomed thanks to the teaching at Symonds.

I decided to put this to good use in helping others after I witnessed my father get admitted into hospital due to a DVT. I feel excited that I get to pursue that further and study medicine at uni.

See more here:
PSC Scores Well With Unis - Winchester Today

In 2018, the market size of Nitenpyram Market is million US$ and it will reach million US$ in 2025, growing at a CAGR of from 2018; while in China, the market size is valued at xx million US$ and will increase to xx million US$ in 2025, with a CAGR of xx% during forecast period.

In this report, 2018 has been considered as the base year and 2018 to 2025 as the forecast period to estimate the market size for Nitenpyram .

This report studies the global market size of Nitenpyram , especially focuses on the key regions like United States, European Union, China, and other regions (Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia).

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This study presents the Nitenpyram Market production, revenue, market share and growth rate for each key company, and also covers the breakdown data (production, consumption, revenue and market share) by regions, type and applications. Nitenpyram history breakdown data from 2014 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.

For top companies in United States, European Union and China, this report investigates and analyzes the production, value, price, market share and growth rate for the top manufacturers, key data from 2014 to 2018.

The report firstly introduced the Nitenpyram basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the worlds main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.

The major players profiled in this report include:BASFHunan Dejia Biochemical TechSyngentaAdamaFMCSumitomo ChemicalJiangsu Huifeng

The end users/applications and product categories analysis:On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-CrystalLiquid

On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Nitenpyram for each application, including-AgricultureVeterinary Medicine

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The content of the study subjects, includes a total of 15 chapters:

Chapter 1, to describe Nitenpyram product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market driving force and market risks.

Chapter 2, to profile the top manufacturers of Nitenpyram , with price, sales, revenue and global market share of Nitenpyram in 2017 and 2018.

Chapter 3, the Nitenpyram competitive situation, sales, revenue and global market share of top manufacturers are analyzed emphatically by landscape contrast.

Chapter 4, the Nitenpyram breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions, from 2014 to 2018.

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to break the sales data at the country level, with sales, revenue and market share for key countries in the world, from 2014 to 2018.

You can Buy This Report from Here @ https://www.marketresearchhub.com/checkout?rep_id=2616726&licType=S&source=atm

Chapter 10 and 11, to segment the sales by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2014 to 2018.

Chapter 12, Nitenpyram market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2024.

Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Nitenpyram sales channel, distributors, customers, research findings and conclusion, appendix and data source.

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Nitenpyram Expected to Expand at a Steady CAGR through 2020 - Jewish Life News

Mr Cheng has paid tribute to Professor Ian McIntyre with his donation.

Mr Tong Fatt Cheng served in the state Veterinary service in Singapore and then joined the diplomatic service in 1989 as Singapore Ambassador to Japan then to the Peoples Republic of China and as Ambassador-at-Large until his retirement in 2004.

The generous gift by Mr Cheng, who graduated BVMS in 1957 from the University of Glasgow, will be used to establish the McIntyre International Research Fellowships which will foster international collaboration in research on farm animal diseases.

The Fellowships will provide funding for a British veterinary graduate to work overseas for two years and for an overseas veterinary graduate to come to the Glasgow Veterinary School for two years.

By establishing the McIntyre International Research Fellowships, Mr Cheng is paying tribute to Professor Ian McIntyre, the Universitys first Professor of Veterinary Medicine.

Professor McIntyre was an inspirational and innovative teacher, and a strong advocate for international collaboration in veterinary education and research. He was a leading member of the Glasgow team which developed the first antiparasitic vaccine for cattle (Dictol).

In his later career, Professor McIntyre was seconded to the University of East Africa In Nairobi and went on to make further contributions to veterinary medicine In Africa.

Mr Cheng said: I am delighted to commemorate Professor McIntyres name in perpetuity through the creation of these international fellowships.

Professor McIntyre was an inspiring teacher when I was a student at the University of Glasgow Veterinary School and I have always admired his achievements both in Glasgow and internationally.

Original post:
Glasgow University Vet school gifted 1m - Linlithgow Journal and Gazette

How do you define cytokine storm and sepsis?

Hunter: The last time I had the flu, about 20 years ago, I had a fever, I felt like my bones were being crushed, and I thought I was going to die. That was not because the virus was replicating in my lungs and causing a huge amount of damage; it was that these soluble immune factors everywhere through my bodythese cytokineswere causing this whole-body shutdown and making everything feel terrible. Thats how people think about cytokine storms.

Everyone has cytokines circulating in their bodies; thats a normal part of the immune response. But when that response overshoots where it should be to clear an infection, thats where it becomes pathological and is considered a storm. And it doesnt have to be an infection that triggers it. It could be that something turns on a T cell by mistake, it could be an autoimmune response, or it could be a treatment that boosts the immune response to cure cancer.

Mangalmurti: Sepsis is now defined as an abnormal host response to a pathogen, whether its bacteria, virus, parasite, or fungi. Most people should be able to clear the pathogen and return to a normal state. Sepsis is a dysregulated response where there is not necessarily a return to normal. In sepsis, the response is often characterized by both a hyperinflammatory and an immunosuppressive response happening at the same time.

Hunter: A cytokine storm can be part of that. The question is, At what point does cytokine activation become pathological? Immunologists may talk about cytokine storms, but Im not sure we really understand why they make our muscles ache or cause a fever or respiratory distress or heart failure. Thats one of the things were trying to explain. Why does it feel like this? How does it amplify? Why do some people make an appropriate response to control infection and live while some overshoot and die?

A through-line of this work seems to be that the immune response isnt always either completely protective or completely harmful, but it can be somewhere in between?

Hunter: Yes, its all about balance. Of course, we know that an immune response can be protective, but there are also immune-mediated diseases. Everyone knows someone with an immune-mediated condition like arthritis, lupus, diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease.

How have the two of you been working together?

Hunter: When Nilam and I first met I quickly realized my interests coincided with hers. I do basic immunology studying mice, while Nilams science is informed by her time in the ICU. Ive enjoyed getting her perspective on how disease works and the model infectious system that my laboratory uses. When Immunity asked us to write a primer for people who didnt really know what a cytokine storm was, we took that opportunity and ran with it.

Mangalmurti: A pandemic is never a good thing, but it has been a learning opportunity for all of us and a chance to bring together bench-based scientists with physicians and physician-scientists. We have a huge number of sepsis researchers on campus that dont necessary think theyre studying sepsis or dont contextualize their work that way.

A group of physicians and immunologists, including Chris and myself, started a joint sepsis working group so we could bring together scientists from many walks of life, so anyone from clinical epidemiology to fundamental basic scientists. The first meeting we had there were so many ideas flying back and forth about sepsis and pathogens and host response. It was exciting to see people from PSOM, the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, and Penn Vet so engaged.

Now with the pandemic, a focus on understanding the host response to infection is amplified and relevant to questions like why some people with COVID have no symptoms while others get hit really hard.

How is what were seeing with COVID-19 confirming or changing what we understand about cytokine storms and how to address them in patients?

Mangalmurti: Part of why I wanted to do this primer was to sort through this amazing amount of information about COVID that has been pouring in from Twitter, bioRxiv, and medRxiv and other places and try to make sense of it.

There was an opinion piece in the Lancet early on in the pandemic that everyone latched onto that suggested that specific therapies to tamp down cytokine storms were going to be beneficial for COVID. It was early in the pandemic, and this idea seemed to make sense. But we dont have rigorous evidence to back that up and, as we have learned more, we realized that it is not so simple.

In sepsis, multiple therapies to block cytokine have been tried before, and there hasnt been any survival benefit. In fact, there has been some increased mortality, maybe because the drugs are not striking the right balance of immune response versus immune suppression or are not being used at the right time point in the infection.

One thing that was very clear to us after the first week of seeing COVID-19 patients was that most who came into the ICU with organ failure clearly had a condition that seemed to predispose them to vascular injury: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, age, a history of vascular disease, or clots. And that was striking because its not something we usually see in most other forms of sepsis, or other forms of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

That got us thinking about innate immunity in the vascular compartment and whether this virus had a penchant for the vasculature. Maybe theres a way to use what we know about this relationship with the vasculature to design and use more targeted anticytokine therapies.

Of course, when patients are doing poorly, clinicians are often desperate for a treatment. I understand that; we just need to remember to proceed with caution when were treating with drugs outside of a controlled trial.

Hunter: From my perspective its exciting to think about targeted therapies that are already available, like antibodies to cytokines that are already used in the clinic; maybe they could be repurposed and used in this setting. But we really need large clinical trials to assess whether our excitement about some of these approaches is meaningful and valid. Perhaps one consequence of the pandemic is that more people will be thinking about how to more effectively use cytokine therapies or cytokine neutralizing approaches, not just in COVID-19 but in sepsis in general. Sepsis is a disease where the advances in immunology have not yet had the same impact that they have in other conditions, such as cancer and autoimmunity.

Can the idea of a cytokine storm help explain the spectrum of responses weve seen to the coronavirus, from asymptomatic patients to those with severe disease?

Mangalmurti: There are certainly anecdotes from people who get this disease that they are home, theyre having fevers every night, they dont feel well. These people are having a cytokine storm, but it resolves, and they dont end up on a ventilator in the ICU. Maybe those patients dont have the predisposing factors that we talked about. It could also be that they have less of a viral load.

Hunter: No one is studying the asymptomatic patients. One question is, How asymptomatic are they really? Maybe they had a small fever one day; maybe that was their cytokine shower.Also, as Nilam mentioned, in every other system the amount of the virus you are exposed to matters, so Im not sure why it wouldnt matter here, too.

You wrote this primer hoping to reach an audience of immunologists. What do you hope they start doing or doing more of?

Hunter: We, the basic immunologists, need to be thinking more about the physiology of what were doing. Often, well look at immune cells in isolation. We need to look at their effects on the vascular system, the impact on lung function, the impact on heart function. In general, we need to realize that it is really important to understand a whole disease process, to look at the system more broadly.

Your work seems to underscore the value of collaboration across fields.

Hunter: Absolutely. Nilam has worked on sepsis and has been seeing sepsis patients for a long time. Shes dealing with really sick patients who have a lot going on. Basic scientists tend to want to simplify and reduce things. And youve got to meet somewhere in the middle, I think, for complex diseases. Penn is a really good place to do that, at PSOM, CHOP, and Penn Vet.

Mangalmurti: Im usually talking with clinicians about ARDS and sepsis, and now to partner with immunologists who are taking a deep dive into the cytokines, into the pathobiology of these things and looking more at the host-pathogen interface, its a really nice intersection. As awful as the pandemic has been, I hope some of our trainees will be intrigued by all these unanswered questions and want to learn more about disease processes.

Read more from the original source:
Navigating cytokine storms | Penn Today - Penn: Office of University Communications

In the past 10 years, science has provided the recipe for a tasty new Florida-grown strawberry sold in local produce aisles, put drones into the hands of 4-Hers and revealed where to catch snook off Cedar Key. It may even have improved your marriage.

I dont blame you if you werent aware of many ways the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) touches your lives. Ive led UF/IFAS for a decade, and Im still learning about the vast scope of what we do.

Our berry breeders creating new varieties of food and our Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences offering couples classes are two examples of how UF/IFAS aims to improve the lives of 22 million Floridians. In addition to serving those who produce food for a living, we serve everyday citizens like you.

Our fisheries experts track the movement of species popular among anglers in the Gulf. Our Extension agents have expanded 4-H to include drones, 3-D printing, robotics and other science-themed learning.

Youve had a hand in this. Support for public science ensures the continued state investment in discovery and innovation. Of course, the need for that discovery grows as the state does. There are nearly 3 million more people in Florida than when I arrived in 2010.

My parting request as I retire this month is to please continue supporting public science. Your participation and feedback help us pursue the science most relevant to your lives.

For example, fishing boat captains guide our scientists to the best places to tag fish so we can monitor the health of fisheries. Citizens report to our entomologists what ants they find in their yards, revealing a geographic range and a variety of species we cant see from the lab.

Gainesville has been a great place to be a scientist because of public support and amenities that make this a great place to live and work.

My dogs receive the best possible medical treatment because of the people at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, which UF/IFAS and UF Health run jointly. My mornings are so much better because of Sweetwater Organic Coffee.

Having access to miles of bike path along Archer Road has allowed me to go on pre-dawn rides that maintained my health and perhaps extended my career. Being able to walk to the Limerock Road Neighborhood Grill made it convenient for me to hold frank after-hours discussions with friends and colleagues on how to keep agriculture thriving.

Gainesville and Florida have given UF/IFAS a great deal, and weve done our best to reciprocate. In the past decade weve built a state-of-the-art bee lab that trains hundreds of beekeepers from Alachua County and across the state to maintain hives of pollinators for crops and for backyard plants.

We rebuilt the Roland T. Stern Learning Center in the Austin Cary Forest off Waldo Road as a hub for fire science aimed at preventing the worst effects of wildfires. Its such a beautiful building and setting that its become a popular wedding spot.

In Cedar Key we built the Nature Coast Biological Station to focus on the science needed to protect the most pristine and natural shoreline in Florida. Not only that, but it has become a true community partner that organizes beach cleanups and other civic events, not just scientific ones

Long before the pandemic prompted farmers whod lost restaurant and hotel customers to open their farms for direct sales to the public, we connected producer and consumer. We brought Gainesville residents on tours of farms throughout the county.

UF/IFAS has driven UFs rise to top 10. After all, by at least one ranking, UF/IFAS has the best entomology and nematology department in the world. The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is consistently ranked in the top five ag schools, seemingly regardless of what metrics are used. That boost in stature will attract the best and brightest students and employees to become members of your community in Gainesville.

Please welcome them, including my successor and longtime friend, Dr. Scott Angle. Then let them know what you need help with so they can work on the science of solutions. You can expect great things from UF/IFAS.

Jack Payne is retiring this month as UFs senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources and leader of IFAS.

Continued here:
Jack Payne: UF/IFAS aims to improve lives of Floridians - The Florida Times-Union

A 90-minute virtual side event hosted by World Horse Welfare and The Donkey Sanctuary at this years United Nations High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been recorded and made available for public viewing.

Working Animals: Climate Change and Public Health Issues in achieving the SDGs was supported by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Senegal to the UN, represented by guest of honour, ambassador Abdoulaye Barro.

The live webinar was hosted by Roly Owers, CEO of World Horse Welfare. He welcomed presentations from a variety of experts from around the world and introduced the event, run via Zoom because of the pandemic, by noting The policies relating to the health and welfare of working animals really is relevant to climate, the health of people, the health of animals and the health of the environment.

The SDGs, set by the UN in 2015 and due to run until 2030, are designed to move the world towards a sustainable future for all.

Ambassador Barro from the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Senegal to the UN, spoke of the importance of working animals to the health and economy of his country with almost a million working equids.

Almost all farmers use equids, and 57% of Senegal is arable land and family farms. The income produced from a working horse can feed a family of six. They are multipurpose animals and also respectful of fragile environments, much more so than mechanisation.

Dr Rebecca Doyle from the University of Melbourne and International Livestock Research Institute showed that existing welfare challenges for working animals and livestock will continue and will be exacerbated by climate change. She went on to present examples of where working animals are contributing to achieving SDGs. Daniela Battaglia, of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, introduced to the event the concept and importance of a One Health approach: Recognizing the connection between humans, animals, plants and their shared environments in an integrated effort to reduce disease and pest threats and ensure safe food supply.

Talking about the trade in donkey skins, Ian Cawsey, Director of Advocacy & Campaigns at The Donkey Sanctuary, pointed out that These skins are transported across the world with little sanitation. Not only are communities deprived of the working donkeys they need, but it also poses a biosecurity risk which we should all be concerned about.

Dr Aileen Pypers, a behavioural vet and consultant running Pets at Play throughout South Africa, highlighted that there are anecdotal ideas abounding around working animals that dont necessarily have research to back them up but that they should be supported and explored.

BonnieWyper, from Thinking Animals United, summarised the importance of working animals in achieving SDGs: Without acknowledging thatanimalsimpact on every single SDG, Im not sure SDGs can actually succeed.

A Q&A session followed the presentations,with stakeholders invited to submit their questions. These focusedon how awareness of therole healthy, working animals can play in attaining the SDGs, while mitigating the spread of disease during the global health crisis can be raised, with research, veterinarian training and childrens education emerging as the most valuable routes.

See original here:
Improving lives and livelihoods: UN webinar on working equines - Horsetalk

Veterinarians are still working to gain the trust of beekeepers in the wake of a federal rule that went into effect in 2017 bringing veterinarians and beekeepers together.

Dr. Terry Ryan Kane, a bee veterinarian in Michigan and secretary for the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium, said the bee community did not anticipate the rule, which restricts beekeepers from using certain antimicrobials in honeybees without a veterinary feed directive or prescription from a veterinarian.

Most livestock producers have a relationship with a veterinarian, Dr. Ryan Kane said. That was not true for the beekeeping community. We are establishing relationships now. ... Someday it will be routine for veterinarians to be involved in the bee industry, but we are not there yet.

Historically in the U.S., beekeepers and veterinarians have had very little interaction, and beekeepers were able to administer over-the-counter antimicrobials themselves.

Dr. Ryan Kane compared the current situation with how veterinarians became involved with fisheries nearly 40 years ago. She said, Back in the 80s, we went through this with fisheries, when aquaculture was starting to grab hold in the U.S.

Dr. Ryan Kane, a backyard beekeeper herself, knows some veterinarians who just happen to also be beekeepers for fun.

Beekeepers are broken into three categories: backyarders, who keep only a few hives; sideliners, who have between 50 and 100 hives; and commercial beekeepers, who operate with over 300 hives. Commercial beekeepers make up a small portion of the overall industry but control the largest portion of bee colonies in the U.S.

There were 2.67 million bee colonies in January 2019, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The beekeeping industry is worth about $17 billion a year, according to the National Honey Board.

Dr. Tracy Farone, a veterinarian who is a professor of biology at Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and a board member of the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium, said veterinarians were brought into the beekeeping world because of the diseases bees face and the potential for antimicrobial resistance.

I understand why beekeepers want to do what theyve always been doing, but theyre facing more and more bee health problems. It would be good to get veterinarians on board. Dr. Farone said. We can contribute here. We can provide so much more than a prescription or VFD to the industry. If we can blend veterinary medical expertise within the beekeeping industry, its not just an arranged marriage, but a marriage where we can help each other.

Including bee health within veterinary colleges curriculums is on the rise now in the U.S. But veterinary education in France has included an entire rotation on beekeeping for decades.

Ive gauged veterinarian interest, developed and shared lectures on what veterinarians need to know, Dr. Farone said. Bees are our most important agricultural animals, in regards to the number of crops they pollinate and their economic contribution to the agricultural industry. Without bees, the whole thing falls apart, so why wouldnt we have veterinarians for bees?

Dr. Farone suggests veterinarians interested in expanding their practice into bee health take the time to learn about the beekeeping industry, consider getting involved in local bee clubs, and identify current clients who have backyard hives.

Dr. Ryan Kane, who serves on the AVMA Committee for Environmental Issues, said the COVID-19 pandemic has put a spotlight on how the natural world needs to be taken care of.

Veterinarians should be at the forefront of protecting the environment, she said. Its one health.

Like Dr. Farone, Dr. Ryan Kane noted that bees are a key crop pollinator.

This is a global security issue. There is a veterinary public health obligation to protect our food resources, food safety, and food security, Dr. Ryan Kane said. We take insects for granted. We smash them, were afraid of them. We have shirked our duties by not studying them and not taking care of them. They make our systems work.

Dr. Ryan Kane said veterinarians who have bee health experience are promoting the insects.

She recently co-edited the forthcoming book Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner with Dr. Cynthia M. Faux, a professor of veterinary science at the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine. The book is a collaboration among veterinarians, entomologists, toxicologists, and a pharmacologist. It is set to be released in 2021.

Dr. Ryan Kane doesnt expect it will take long for veterinarians to be included in the beekeeping community.

It wont take many years to get us up to speed, to where the beekeeping community trusts our knowledge, but now we should learn from the beekeepers. There is so much information out there, she said.

View original post here:
Veterinarians and beekeepers: An arranged marriage - American Veterinary Medical Association

Devin Schell, an animal technician at Washington State Universitys Veterinary Teaching Hospital, holds Terri, a 20-pound African spur-thighed tortoise. The tortoise was found on the side of the road and is believed to have been struck by a car.

By Josh Babcock, College of Veterinary Medicine

A tortoise believed to be run over by a vehicle could live another 90years thanks to the care of Washington State University veterinarians.

The unnamed tortoise, now known as Terri, was found on the side of a road in Benton City, Wash., back in March.

Her shell was smashed, there was a section of exposed spinal cord, and she was in shock when she was found. Miraculously, she was still able to move all four limbs.

Honestly, I didnt think she was going to make it, but I wanted to take her to the place where she would get the best care, Kyley Ackerson said.

Within minutes, Ackerson, with her fianc David Cotton behind the wheel, decided to make the one-hundred- and fifty-three-mile drive to WSUs Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

There, WSUs exotics team, with veterinarian Marcie Logsdon on the case, spent nearly three months tending to Terri.

We were hopeful. We thought she had a reasonable chance because she is an African spur-thighed tortoise and tortoises can heal some amazing things, Logsdon said.This one was a fighter.

The roughly 20-pound tortoise nearly succumbed to her wounds the first night.

If we wouldnt have taken her to WSU, she would have died that night, Ackerson said.

After a few weeks at the hospital, Terri started to grow new bone over the crack in her shell.

However, she was still slow and appeared ill.

As her stay at the hospital continued, veterinarians found Terri was not defecating. An x-ray revealed the tortoise had eaten over 70 rocks before she came to the hospital. The rocks ranged from quarter-sized stones to pea gravel.

Many enemas, fluids and weeks later, Terri was able to pass the rocks.

Logsdon said if not for the rocks, the tortoise would have been able to leave the hospital much sooner.

The only thing more shocking than the rocks to the exotics veterinarian the couples generosity.

They only knew this tortoise for five minutes and they drove all the way to Pullman and footed the entire bill, she said.

Ackerson said she raised more than $1,000 of that bill through a fundraiser on Facebook.

Friends, family, strangers I dont even know. They heard her story and now, here we are, Ackerson said. I am an animal person and I hope someone would do the same for me if I was in that situation.

Ten-year-old Terri is still bouncing back and strengthening her back legs for what could be the next 90 or more years of her life. She needs it too. Tortoises like Terri grow to an average of 70 to 100 pounds but can grow as large as 200 pounds.

Back in Benton City, Terri is getting spoiled with carrots, geraniums, hay and lettuce.

Reptiles dont show emotion, but I like to think shes happy, Ackerson said.

Continued here:
Terri the tortoise makes a turnaround - WSU News

COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease. For the 200+ bats currently in wildlife rehabilitation facilities across Pennsylvania, this presents a threat. Eman Anis, a microbiologistwith Penn Vets New Bolton Center, is leading a study to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in North American bats, work being done with associate professors Lisa Murphy and Julie Ellis and Pennsylvania Game Commission biologist Greg Turner.

Because the School of Veterinary Medicine and the Pennsylvania Game Commission began collaborating in 2019 on the Pennsylvania Wildlife Futures Program to address wildlife health problems, they were able to shift quickly to COVID-19 research. Now, the team is developing a rapid diagnostic test using bat guano sent from local wildlife rehabilitation centers.

The researchers goal is to verify that bats held over the winter in rehab facilities will not transmit disease. When you do these tests, youre trying to ask questions, says Murphy. Can bats harbor it? Do bats in Pennsylvania harbor it?

Testing the guano of North American bats for COVID-19 ties into Penn Vets OneHealthfocus, which recognizes that human, animal, and environmentalhealthare interrelated and that an adverse event in anyoneof these areas may also adversely impact the others, Murphy says. With disease, humans, animals, and the environment can all play key roles in transmitting and maintaining harmful pathogens. Identifying the role that each plays can be the first step in understanding how to stop or prevent further harm, she says.

There is no evidence that North American bat populations currently harbor COVID-19 or other beta-coronaviruses like MERS and SARS, but there is a possibility that humans could transmit disease to bats, Anis says. This would present a public health risk and is one of the impacts her study will mitigate. We dont want have another reservoir where they can transfer it back to humans, she says.

COVID-19 has the potential to weaken the already precarious health of bat populations, says Turner. Bats have been his main focus for 16 years as populations have declined due to habitat loss and white-nose syndrome, a fungus originating in Europe that thrives in the cold, humid caves and mines that bats use for hibernation.

Pennsylvania is home to nine species recognized as resident breeding bats, according to the Game Commission. As bats are able to be a reservoir for most coronavirus strains, they are likely to contract COVID-19 if exposed, Turner says. While the animals are generally able to survive a dormant coronavirus, many North American bats are already stressed due to white-nose syndrome. This presents the risk that the virus would become active and cause an additive mortality factor on top of white-nose syndrome, which has decimated many bat species.

The Indiana bat is currently the only mammal on the federal list of endangered species in Pennsylvania. Were turning the tide, seeing stabilization and maybe even a recovery, Turner says. To have something come in now could be catastrophic to these species. What would happen if the bat was immunocompromised from white-nose fungus, would COVID-19 be an additive affect?

While bats are often vilified in popular culture, Turner says they provide numerous services we would miss if they were gone, he says. All of the bat species in Pennsylvania and the northeastern part of North America are insectivorous, so theyre eating nothing but insects. Each female little brown bat can consume 4,500 mosquito-sized insects per night. Bats consume an estimated 900,000 to 1 million insects per bat per year, says Turner, saving Pennsylvania farmers alone an estimated $3 million per year in crop damage and thus reducing the cost of production and the amount of pesticides used.

By eating insects, bats also prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases such as heartworm, encephalitis, West Nile virus, and potentially Zika virus, Turner says. We also have anecdotal evidence of people in wetland areas that were constantly battling mosquitos until they put up a bat box and had a colony of bats, he adds.

Bats are important to agriculture and to the ecosystems they live in, and theyre already under a considerable amount of pressure, Murphy says.

The New Bolton Center team began work on this project at the end of April, and Anis says the team is very confident that well be able to complete and validate the test and have it up and running soon. Our first goal is to help the rehab populations to release their overwintered bats, and we hope to expand beyond that.

The lab, which generally tests diagnostic samples, began guano testing during the pandemic. The team practice all the needed biosafety and biosecurity measures and follow all of the CDC guidelines, says Anis. Its a big challenge she says to work with this new normal and being isolated. Having a purpose has helped.

While the current study is targeted to a very specific population and need, it has larger implications, says Murphy. Why does this matter now? We have an immediate need, she says. Most wildlife rehabilitation facilities are staffed with volunteers and funded via donations. During the pandemic, most are operating with a skeleton crew and limited financial resources, continuing to feed and care for overwintered bats that are ready to be released into the wild. To the specific populations of bats in Pennsylvania and people who are caring for them, it really does matter, it matters now, and we have no data to inform their decisions, Murphy says. Were going to address a very specific need, but, in terms of where it can go from there, the ramifications and the benefits, this is only the first step, Murphy says.

In terms of thinking about what animal species may be susceptible to this virus, it doesnt just stop with bats, she says, citing evidence that weasels and ferrets are able to contract COVID-19, as can other animals. This disease is going to be with us, and is going to be a question and a concern for human and animal health for quite some time, she says.

Eman Anis is an assistant professor in pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Julie Ellis is an adjunct associate professor in pathobiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Lisa Murphy is an associate professor of toxicology and director of the Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic Laboratory System-New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

Greg Turner is a wildlife biologist with the Pennsylvania Game Commissions Bureau of Wildlife Management.

This study was made possible with support from the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Read more:
Bats and COVID - Penn: Office of University Communications

Twenty years ago or so, antibiotic resistance wasnt on the radar for most cow-calf producers. If a calf got sick, you gave it a shot and it generally got better.

That began to change about 10 years ago, says Amelia Woolums, a veterinarian and professor of pathobiology and population medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University. Around 2011, we started to see bacteria classically associated with BRD (bovine respiratory disease) being found with multiple resistance genes.

That was in lung samples from cattle that died from BRD. What about incoming cattle? Are the bacteria in those cattle carrying antibiotic-resistant genes?

READ: Preserving antibiotics for all

So she and others did a small in-house trial on 50 newly arrived high-risk calves. The calves all got an antibiotic on arrival and were nasally swabbed to see if any had highly resistant Mannheimia bacteria. On arrival, one calf tested positive. Fourteen days later, 88% had multidrug resistant Mannheimia on their nasal swab, she says.

That alone raised plenty of eyebrows. Then there was this: By day 14, all of the Mannheimias were also resistant to Baytril and we hadnt even given the cattle Baytril.

Without getting into the private lives of bacteria, the basic thing at work is that they can swap chunks of DNA. As that happens, genes that create resistance to antibiotics can spread. Even more fascinating as well as alarming is that the bacteria dont have to be closely related for that to happen.

READ: The last over-the-counter antibiotics?

None of this is breaking news any longer. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been a concern in both human and veterinary medicine for some time now.

It still is. Thats where you come in.

Weaning time approaches, and for some in drought areas, it may come sooner rather than later. As we plan for that annual ritual, now is a good time to revisit why the judicial use of antibiotics is so important.

READ: How to respond to consumer concerns over antibiotic use

Even more, its time to revisit why a herd health program that includes vaccinations is important. You know, people have been able to use antibiotics to cover up bad management and I feel like we cant rely on that any more, Woolums says. Weve got to go back to good management, really good cattle care. And then, when you need to use an antibiotic, try to pick the right one.

Thats because different antibiotics work best on different bacteria. So that means working with a veterinarian to use the right product appropriately.

Whats more, it means managing your cattle so they dont get sick in the first place. I think we need a renaissance of good husbandry, she says. Then, if we are a little more careful with how we use antibiotics, maybe theyll still be functional when we need them.

View post:
Here's why judicial use of antibiotics matters - Beef Magazine

ASF has been spreading rapidly, threatening pork production and human food security worldwide.

The study from the K-State research team, headed by Megan Niederwerder, assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was published in the journal Transboundary and Emerging Diseases.

The team said the paper provides the first evidence that feed additives may be effective tools against the virus, that chemical feed additives may potentially serve as mitigants for reducing the risk of ASFV introduction and transmission through feed.

"Over the last two years, ASF is estimated to be responsible for the death of at least 25% of the world's pig population due to the emergence of the virus within China and subsequent spread to over 10 other Asian countries," Niederwerder said.

"In 2019, we published the first report of African swine fever virus, or ASFV, transmission through the natural consumption of plant-based feed. Our subsequent work has focused on mitigation of ASFV in feed through the use of chemical feed additives and heat treatment, she added.

Niederwerder and her team examined two different classes of liquid feed additives, including a medium-chain fatty acid-based additive and a formaldehyde-based additive, for efficacy against ASF virus in cell culture and in feed ingredients. In general, the scientists observed that both chemical additives demonstrated evidence of reducing the virus infectivity, with data supporting dose-dependent efficacy.

The study lead said there are currently no commercially available vaccines and no effective treatments that can be administered to pigs for ameliorating disease caused by the virus. Thus, control of ASF is focused on biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of the virus into negative countries or negative farms and regions within a positive country.

The other method of containment would involve large-scale culling of infected or high-risk animals to contain the spread of the virus.

"Our new research reports novel data evaluating the efficacy of feed additives on inactivating ASFV in an in vitro cell culture model and a feed ingredient transoceanic shipment model," Niederwerder said. "This will provide valuable information to the swine industry with regards to mitigating the risk of potential routes for introduction and transmission of ASFV through feed and ingredients."

The K-State study was funded by a grant from the Swine Health Information Center and the State of Kansas National Bio and Agro-defense Facility Fund.

While she said the results of the study are promising, Niederwerder emphasized the need for a multifaceted approach to reducing the risk of ASF virus in feed, including sourcing ingredients from countries without the virus when possible, applying holding times to high-risk ingredients, and implementing consistent biosecurity protocols at the feed mill.

Source:Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.13699

Title:Mitigating the risk of African swine fever virus in feed with antiviral chemical additives

Authors:MC. Niederwerder, S. Dee, DG Diel, A MM. Stoian LA Constance, M Olcha, V. Petrovan, G. Patterson, AG CinoOzuna, R RR Rowland

Go here to read the rest:
Certain feed additives may be effective tools against African Swine Fever - FeedNavigator.com

Dr. Ron Mergl will be remembered for his infectious smile, ability to make people feel at ease, tireless work ethic, and giving back to the community.

He always went above and beyond for everybody that he met, said his wife, Dr. June Mergl.

He bent over backwards for all his clients. He often gave them his cell number and we always got a lot of calls and he would go in to meet them, if possible.

Mergl, who was a longtime owner of Niagara Falls Animal Medical Centre and Virgil Animal Hospital with his wife, died Saturday from glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumour.

He was 61.

In a tribute posted to Niagara Falls Animal Medical Centres and Virgil Animal Hospitals Facebook pages Monday, June said her husband touched the lives of many individuals, both human and animal, and that his loss will leave a space that can never be filled.

His compassion and caring for all animals, large and small, and their owners for over 31 years at Niagara Falls Animal Medical Centre, and for over 35 years as a veterinarian in the Niagara region, will remain a cornerstone and tribute to him for many years to come.

She said her husband, who was born in Welland and grew up in Pelham, was more than a veterinarian. He was also a Christian, a philanthropist and a family man.

He contributed to, and participated in, so many foundations, boards, charity events, volunteer clubs and charities, that we have lost count.

Mergls volunteer ethic was ingrained in him.

He always believed you have to give back to the community thats given you so much.

June said her husband was an active participant along with his family at St. Andrews United Church for more than 25 years.

His pride and joy in the volunteer world, she said, was Rotary Club of Niagara Falls, where he was a past president and a multiple Paul Harris Fellow.

He was extremely generous with his time and his money to a fault and could not say no to any organization or extended family member that needed financial help.

Along with June, Mergl participated twice in Rotary International National Immunization Days against polio in India and Benin, Africa, spending a month at a time and using their own money to do so.

He also travelled to Malawi, in Africa, for Veterinarians Without Borders to vaccinate hyenas and dogs against rabies, which was killing the local children, and, with the help of Rotary International, started a lifesaving program of rabies vaccination in Uganda, that also saved many childrens lives.

June said although Mergl already had a bachelor of science and a doctor of veterinary medicine, he went back to school at Brock Univwersity, and received his masters of science in infectious and zoonotic diseases in 2010. He is listed as a co-author on several published articles as a result.

At one time, Mergl wrote a column for the Niagara Falls Review and, about four years ago, was honoured with an award of merit by the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association for all the work he had done in veterinary medicine and outside of his profession.

He was always attending veterinary conferences across the world to stay up to date in the latest advances in veterinary medicine, and to continue his high-quality level of care to his beloved patients and their wonderful clients.

June said her husband was also known for always being on the go.

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He was busy with everything. He was full of ideas and projects and always planning vacations and fun things to do with his entire family.

June, who has been a veterinarian for 35 years in Niagara, said she will continue to run both the Niagara Falls and Virgil clinics for the time being.

She said people who want to remember her husband can donate to the research section of the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada, Rotary Club of Niagara Falls and Veterinarians Without Borders.

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Longtime Niagara vet went 'above and beyond' for clients, community - NiagaraFallsReview.ca

Mike Teavee, played by Paris Themmen, was a bit younger and much rowdier than his other contest-winning peers. The 11-year-old cowboy-loving tween bounced around everyone else until he was "accidentally" trapped in a TV in the TV room of the factory and somehow stretched out to 10 feet tall (completely the Oompa Loompas' fault!).

After his charismatic role in Willy Wonka, Themmen had a brief career on Broadway as a teen in the late '60s and later became a theatre major at New York University. According to an archived version of his official website, he wanted to travel internationally following his graduation.

"I founded 'Access International,' a travel service sending backpackers standby on charter flights to Europe," he wrote. "During this time I visited 36 countries on 6 continents, (I'm up to 40 now!) everything from the Jungles of the Amazon to the Sahara Desert. You name it, I've been there."

His career path took multiple different paths, including real estate, film production, "a stint in Walt Disney Imagineering," retail, and more "entrepreneurial ventures." He honestly added, "As you can tell from my past, there is no telling what I may do next. (Direct?) In any case, I have lived a full and eminently satisfying life."

Themmen added a sentiment that all the living Willy Wonkaactors can likely relate to: "There is life after art."

Read more from the original source:
What the last living stars of Willy Wonka are up to now - Nicki Swift