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I was wondering if you or anyone else may know, the email began. Of course the questions that followed were about the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Are dogs and cats susceptible? Could the pet food she usually buys, which is manufactured in Italy, transport the disease? It occurred to me, she wrote, that if someone at the dry food plant went to work, and didnt know that they were infected with the virus, and they sneezed or coughed, perhaps the food could infect the pets who eat it? An interesting question. Later that evening, when I arrived at a social gathering, COVID-19 continued to be the topic of conversation. Rumors flying. Wasnt there a case in Chilmark? (No, just healthy people self-quarantining after travel to Italy.) Wasnt there an infected dog in Hong Kong? Well, sort of but dont freak out, at least not any more than you already have.

Lets talk about COVID-19 and pets. First well define our terms. The organism in question is a brand-new variant of coronavirus, technically called SARS-CoV-2. For simplicity we will just call it coronavirus today, remembering that there are many other variants of coronavirus in the world unrelated to the current situation. The disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 is COVID-19 (short for coronavirus disease 2019).

The pet food question breaks down into two parts. The first part is whether coronavirus could be physically transported via bags of pet food from a factory in Italy to a home in West Tisbury. The bigger question is whether (and how long) coronavirus can survive on objects. Think of all the packages containing all the products made in China, or Italy, or the State of Washington, being shipped around the world every day. Preliminary studies suggest the virus may persist on surfaces for a few hours or up to several days, depending on conditions such as type of surface, and environmental temperature or humidity. According to the World Health Organization, The likelihood of an infected person contaminating commercial goods is low, and the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature, is also low.

The second part of the question is whether Pandy, the puppy, can be infected and/or transmit the virus to his owner. Here is the evidence to date at the time this column went to press. A single dog in China was placed in quarantine after its owner was confirmed sick with COVID-19. According to Hong Kongs Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the dog was repeatedly tested over five days. Three of these tests showed a weak positive, indicating a low level of infection with the virus. The dog has shown no signs of illness.

Initially the specialists stated, The implications of a weak positive test result are unclear, and its unknown if the presence of the virus is due to infection, environmental contamination, cross-reactivity, or even potential issues with the test itself. Later statements from experts from the School of Public Health of the University of Hong Kong, the College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences of the City University of Hong Kong, and the World Organization for Animal Health unanimously agreed that these results suggest that the dog has a low level of infection, and it is likely to be a case of human-to-animal transmission. In other words, the owner infected the dog, not the other way round. And the dog did not get sick.

So could that dog then pass the virus on to another person? The current thinking is that dogs are not likely to be important epidemiologically in the spread of COVID-19. There is no evidence at this time of pet-to-person transmission. If dogs had been an important source of transmission to humans, there would almost certainly already be significant evidence of this in mainland China. Sadly, in some parts of the world, people are actually abandoning or euthanizing their pets despite these facts.

Of course, Pandy the puppy could theoretically carry virus on his fur, just like any object can, be it a doorknob or a bannister. This could occur only from direct contact with an infected human, such as a sick person petting Pandy with a contaminated hand. Thus, current recommendations are that if you are sick, avoid contact with your pets. No petting and snuggling. No doggie kisses. No face licks. No sharing food. If you can, let someone else who isnt sick take care of the pets. If you have to interact with Pandy while ill, use the same precautions against passing on the virus as you would with humans, such as wearing masks and washing hands.

There is also misinformation being spread about veterinary vaccines. The canine coronavirus vaccine and the bovine coronavirus vaccine are for completely different variants than SARS-CoV-19, and are species-specific. Neither vaccine will protect any animal dog, cow, or human against COVID-19, no matter what you read on Facebook. Neither are these vaccines safe to use in people.

I was wondering if you or anyone else may know, my client wrote. We are all wondering that these days. This is still an emerging disease, with rapidly evolving information. As far as veterinary advice, I advise that you simply follow the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations. If you are sick, minimize contact with your pets as well as with people. In the unlikely case your pet develops an unexplained illness after contact with a person with a confirmed case of COVID-19, keep your pet and yourself at home. Contact your local public health official and your veterinarian. Talk to them before actually bringing your pet into a veterinary clinic, so they can advise you as to how to handle the situation based on the most current knowledge. Include your pets in any emergency preparedness planning, including having a two-week supply of their food and essential medications on hand. Take care of yourselves. Take care of each other. Take care of your pets. And wash your hands.

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Visiting Vet: COVID-19 and our pets - Martha's Vineyard Times

In a sobering indicator of how quickly the COVID-19 coronavirus is spreading in Wisconsin, the number of confirmed cases in the state jumped to 19 on Friday, up from just a single case less than a week ago.

The new cases extended the outbreak to Racine, Milwaukee and Sheboygan counties, state health officials said Friday.

Five people have been diagnosed with the disease in Dane County, including one who has since recovered and tested negative, according to the state Department of Health Services. Six cases have been confirmed in Fond du Lac County, three in Sheboygan County, two in Milwaukee County and one each in Racine, Pierce and Waukesha counties.

Details about two of the Dane County cases were revealed Friday through other sources.

In one, UW-Madison said a School of Veterinary Medicine employee tested positive for the virus after having recently traveled internationally. The person was on campus at some point before going into isolation, UW-Madison Police spokesman Marc Lovicott said.

Citing patient privacy, Lovicott declined to say if the employee had contact with the public at UW Veterinary Hospital or with veterinary medicine students but said all people in close contact with the employee are being contacted by Public Health Madison and Dane County.

Non-essential employees in the veterinary medicine building were told to go home Friday and self-monitor for symptoms.

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Number of COVID-19 coronavirus cases in Wisconsin has reached 19 - Madison.com

The news is flooded with information about coronavirus and how to prevent further transmission. By now, weve all heard about the 20-second handwashing rule singing Happy Birthday twice while washing your hands does the trick and dont forget to wash between the fingers and the backs of the hands.

But the information about pets is unclear. The consensus is that dogs (and cats) cannot get COVID-19; the dog who tested positive in China was probably around a person who was shedding large quantities of the virus, according to the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois. (The dog later tested negative.)

Related: Can Dogs Get the Coronavirus?

Scientists and veterinarians have stated that pets cannot get sick with COVID-19 and infect humans; no animal of any kind in the United States has been reported as carrying the disease.

However, dogs may carry germs on their fur from humans, so its advised to wash your hands after petting your dog (or any dog), especially if other people have stopped to touch your pup.

Despite the need to socially isolate or even self-quarantine, we still need to take care of our dogs.

Here are some tips to best take care of everyone in your household.

While youre stocking up on TP and Ramen noodles, dont forget your dogs food and medicine. If you can, buy enough food for at least two weeks (or more). Get the highest quality food you can afford to keep your dogs immune system in tip-top shape. If you cook your dogs food, make a large batch and freeze in portions.

Fill or refill any prescription drugs your dog needs, as well as stocking up any supplements, vitamins, as well as any heartworm and/or flea and tick preventative. For small-dog people (or people with large bathtubs), replenish dog shampoo, as keeping the fur clean will help keep everyone healthy.

Related: When Disaster Strikes, Here Is What Should Be On Your Dog Emergency Checklist

Make sure your emergency plan is in place in case you get sick. If youre hospitalized or stranded during traveling, you need to be able to reliably contact a dog sitter. If you are sick and self-quarantining at home, your dog will still need to be walked. Find someone who you can trust with your dogs life, and ask them about their last-minute availability. Write up a list of essential information, and store it in an accessible place.

Nows a good time to get veterinarian records of your dogs vaccination history and make sure they have wearable identification, such as an ID tag or identification collars. You will need these records for services like boarding, daycare and dog walking services. Identification will be critical in the event that your dog slips her collar. If you havent already microchipped your dog, do so on the next vet visit.

People who are sick with COVID-19 can contaminate their dog by sneezing or coughing and if someone else touches that dog, the virus can be transmitted. So, if you come down with the virus, you must quarantine yourself and your dogs. However, the CDC recommends that you restrict contact with your dogs. This includes petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food. If this is impossible, wear a face mask and wash your hands thoroughly before and after contact.

Related: Here Are the Most Common Travel Injuries Your Dog May Encounter in the Car and How Much Theyll Cost You

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How to Protect Your Dog During the Coronavirus Pandemic - This Dog's Life

The meeting started with the yowling feedback echoes of open microphones dialed into a teleconference line.

Can I have folks mute their phones or their computers or both? Greg Stasinos, the emergency preparedness official with the state Health Department who was moderating the meeting, asked the epidemic-response experts on the line.

This is one of the difficulties of coordinating the Governors Expert Emergency Epidemic Response Committee at a time when a disease so infectious is sweeping the state that it makes meeting in person a liability. The 20 members of the committee, which advises Gov. Jared Polis about how best to respond to an epidemic, on Monday held their first formal meeting since COVID-19 hit the state.

The latest from the coronavirus outbreak in Colorado:

>> FULL COVERAGE

They called in from wherever they happened to be hunkered down. Dogs sometimes barked in the background when members spoke. Cellphone ringtones occasionally interrupted.

But the logistics of the meeting were also the least of the challenges facing the committee, which is made up of experts in health care, public health, veterinary medicine, public safety, emergency management, communications and other fields. Though the committee normally meets every three months and has offered help on public health crises in the past, it has been more than a century since the United States has seen an epidemic this serious.

What were embarking on here, one member said during the meeting, is evidence-informed guesswork.

But in they plunged.

First came an update on the new coronavirus spread in Colorado 160 confirmed cases at the time of the meeting. We do expect the numbers to go up significantly from here as time goes on, state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy told the group. Then came discussion about how far the state should go to stop it.

The committee was formed in 2000, to advise the governor on the public health response to acts of bioterrorism, pandemic influenza, and epidemics caused by novel and highly fatal infectious agents, according to its authorizing statute. It offered guidance during the H1N1 flu epidemic in 2009, the Ebola scare and, most recently, the states Hepatitis A outbreak. It participates in trainings and helps make changes to the states pandemic response plan.

But its never faced a situation like COVID-19, where the state is exercising public health powers it hasnt used since the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

The first option discussed at Mondays meeting was also the least controversial: closing bars and restaurants statewide to in-person dining, as well as closing casinos, gyms and theaters. About an hour after the committee meeting ended Monday afternoon with agreement to recommend the action, Polis announced an order to do just that.

But then the conversation wandered into more difficult areas.

There was discussion about the need to draw up a list of essential and non-essential businesses a prelude to a possible order requiring all businesses deemed non-essential in the state to close. Grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, banks and health care providers made the cut as essential. But how do you classify a hardware store? Or should you not even draw up a list but instead make rules to limit crowding in any business?

As we outline what is essential, it does begin to get really quite complicated, said Dr. John Douglas, the executive director of the Tri-County Health Department.

Polis, who listened in on most of the call, asked the committee to keep that discussion going. He did not rule out additional orders shutting down businesses to stop the spread of the virus.

I think you need to do more work on (it) and bring back in a few days when we figure out whats in and whats out, Polis said.

There was talk about the need for more medical supplies, especially the protective equipment that health care workers must wear when treating a COVID-19 patient.

There was an idea floated to require hospitals to cancel all elective surgeries which a representative from the Colorado Hospital Association said could be financially devastating to rural hospitals that are currently seeing little COVID-19 activity in their areas.

There was debate about how best to house the partners and roommates of medical workers who show symptoms of the disease and need to be isolated In hotels? Empty recreation centers? How do you keep the medical workforce from getting sidelined by the same thing thats affecting their patients?

The health care system is starting to get stressed right now, Dr. Daniel Pastula, a member of the state Board of Health, said. So I think we should take this absolutely very seriously, and anything we can do to slow this down thats reasonable I think we should consider.

By the end of the meeting, there was an understanding that they would need to meet again probably soon.

Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the executive director of the state Health Department, closed the meeting by thanking the committee members.

Hang in there, she said, and take care of yourselves.

This reporting is made possible by our members. You can directly support independent watchdog journalism in Colorado for as little as $5 a month. Start here: coloradosun.com/join

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A special committee advises the governor on how to respond to an epidemic. They've never faced a test like this. - The Colorado Sun

Motoo Kobayashi,1,2,* Yuki Okada,1,2,* Hiromichi Ueno,1 Takayuki Mizorogi,1 Kenji Ohara,1 Koh Kawasumi,1 Kohei Suruga,3 Kazunari Kadokura,3 Yasuyuki Ohnishi,2 Toshiro Arai1,2

1Laboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Tokyo 180-8601, Japan; 2One Health Co. Ltd, Tokyo 157-0066, Japan; 3Food Function R&D Division, International Operation Department, Kibun Foods Inc., Tokyo 206-0812, Japan

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Toshiro AraiLaboratory of Veterinary Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, 1-7-1 Kyonancho, Musashino, Tokyo 180-8601, JapanTel +81 422 31 4151Fax +81 422 31 7841Email tarai@nvlu.ac.jp

Background: Obesity has become a serious public health problem all over the world, and prevalence of obesity has increased in cats. Obesity is characterized by continuous low-grade inflammation based on oxidative stress by excessively produced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Supplementation with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds is very effective to relieve the obesity condition. A plant extract mixture containing Rhus verniciflua and some other herbs, Rv-PEM01-99, shows anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with Rv-PEM01-99 as an anti-inflammatory compound in healthy and obese cats.Materials and Methods: Ten healthy mix breed cats and four obesity disease cats were used. The healthy cats were randomly divided into control and test groups. Anti-inflammatory compound, Rv-PEM01-99, in which quercetin derivative is the main component, was supplemented to the healthy test group and the obesity disease cats at the dose of 100 120 mg/kg/day (2.5 3.0 mg/kg/day as quercetin) for 4 weeks. Metabolites, hormones and enzymes were measured before and after the compound supplementation.Results: The anti-inflammatory compound supplementation decreased serum amyloid A (SAA) concentrations as inflammatory markers in both healthy and obesity disease cats. In obesity disease cats, plasma total cholesterol concentrations and AST and ALT activities decreased significantly after the compound supplementation.Conclusion: Quercetin derivative seems to have strong anti-inflammatory activities. In the healthy cats, anti-inflammatory compound supplementation decreased plasma NEFA and SAA concentrations. In the obesity disease cats, the compound supplementation may have alleviated obesity disease by relieving inflammation and improvement of lipid metabolism in livers.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory compound, cat, obesity, quercetin, SAA

This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License.By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.

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Effects of Supplementation with Anti-Inflammatory Compound Extracted f | VMRR - Dove Medical Press

The Incredible Dr. Pol has been running on National Geographic Wilds network now for sixteen seasons. Its almost exhausting watching Dr. Jan Pol do his rounds on farms, calfing cows or castrating bulls or horses.

Hes tireless, with everyone on staff scrambling to keep up with him.

Born in the Netherlands, Dr. Pol attended Utrecht University Veterinary College in the 1970s and studied hard to become an animal practitioner.

I was the youngest of six children on a dairy farm in the Netherlands during World War II, told NatGeo Wild in 2016. When I was 12 years old, the local veterinarian had me come along to my brothers farm to help with some small sows that were farrowing.

That was the beginning of my interest in veterinary practice and I subsequently worked toward pursuing a veterinary medicine degree.

In 1954, my youngest sister moved to Ontario, Canada, and I became an exchange student in Michigan during 1961 to 1962, which allowed my parents to visit my sister in Canada. When I began studies . . . , we were told that it would be impossible to practice in that country. As it turned out, of a dozen classmates, I am one of two that actually went into veterinary practice.

The father of three looked back on his impressive career in his book, Never Turn Your Back on an Angus Cow and sounds pretty amazed at how well its gone for him. He has an optimistic mindset thats informed how he approaches his practice.

I have spent my whole life being with animals, as a vet and as an owner. Until they start inventing new animals, I think I can say there isnt a type of animal I havent looked in the eyes and wondered how it was feeling.

My wife, Diane, and I once estimated that Ive handled more than a half-million patients, without one of them ever complaining about me!

Dr. Jan Pol is 77 years old and began his work as a vet almost forty years ago, starting his own practice in 1981. Before that, he had been working with another established vet for ten years.

When I opened my practice outside the small town of Weidman, Michigan which is about twelve miles from the larger and better known Mount Pleasant in 1981, it was about 80 percent large animals, farm animals, and about 20 percent pets. It was mostly family dairy farms when we started, with several pig farmers. . .

The vets practice has changed over the years to reflect the greater number of pets and small animals in the area.

Now my practice is about 60 percent small animals, he said. . . . That difference doesnt matter at all to me; I treat all animals with the same concern.

I love animals; believe me, I dont remember a day of my life that I havent loved animals. My whole family has always been comfortable with all kinds of animals.

Read more: The Incredible Dr. Pol: The Scariest Thing Thats Happened In Taping the Show

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'The Incredible Dr. Pol': How Old is He and How Many Years Has He Been a Vet? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

OBIHIRO, HOKKAIDO Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, NTT Docomo Inc. and others plan to develop a system to monitor dairy cows using fifth-generation, or 5G, wireless networks, aiming for commercialization in 2022.

The system will use vast amounts of photographic data to detect early signs of illness and estrus in dairy cows. The aim is to ease the heavy burdens on dairy farmers blamed in part for the difficulties they face finding successors.

Also on the development team is Tsuchiya Manufacturing Co., a dairy farming equipment maker based in Sapporo.

The system will feed photographic data from cameras in cattle sheds to artificial intelligence for learning and analysis, informing farmers promptly via smartphone if there are signs of illness or estrus in cows.

The developers aim to create a sophisticated low-cost system by using 5G services, which will be available this spring, to process vast amounts of photographic data that cant be handled by current 4G technology.

A demonstration test, underway at the university in Obihiro, will study whether the behavior of cows, such as how often they eat feed, can be captured in detail.

If cows are not milked every day they can suffer inflammation of the udder, which can lead to death. Farmers are kept busy keeping a constant eye on cattle sheds, paying attention to the condition of cows and trying not to miss opportunities for artificial insemination.

Current management systems with each cow wearing a sensor need large investments in software and other items, preventing them from being widely adopted.

Katsuya Kida, a professor at the university, said that if farmers can readily adopt the 5G-based system, their burdens can be eased.

It will also help lower the hurdles for starting dairy farming, he said.

Continue reading here:
Docomo and Hokkaido university plan 5G-based system to monitor cows - The Japan Times

University of Minnesota researchers are looking at cardiac conditions in racehorses to point toward a solution for both horses and humans.

Researchers are examining the effects of irregular heartbeats in racehorses, which are more frequently affected than average horses. Many racehorses die suddenly on the racetrack for unexpected reasons that may be due to irregular heartbeats, known broadly as arrhythmias. Researchers said they can examine which arrhythmias cause disease and which ones are specific to horses or humans.

The prevalence in horses is not common, but in racehorses with poor performances, its about 2%, said Sian Durward-Akhurst, lead author of the study and a University graduate student. Atrial fibrillation is the most common form of irregular heartbeat in horses.

The researchers examined the genes of 534 horses and found greater variations of disease in them, she said. Researchers are analyzing the disease-causing variants identified in both horses and humans.

Its something thats really interesting because why is it causing disease in humans, but not in horses? Durward-Akhurst said.

They will test these variants in more horses this summer and aim to produce a research paper by next year. Earlier this month, the researchers presented their recent findings at the Santa Anita racetrack in Los Angeles, California.

Atrial fibrillation is the most common abnormal heart rhythm in humans, in cattle, in dogs. Its actually an interesting disease because of its impact on multiple species, including us, said Molly McCue, the principal investigator of the research and the associate dean of research in the Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine.

The irregular heartbeats of atrial fibrillation are sometimes referred to as a quivering heart due to how they affect the heartbeats pace. According to a veterinarian from the Paulick Report, the irregular heartbeat sounds like shoes in a dryer.

Racehorses are bred to have higher functioning cardiovascular systems than other horses, McCue said. Because of this, racehorses are expected to have a higher capacity for exercise.

They have this really frequent occurrence of arrhythmia, she said. The issue now is to figure out why. Then researchers can determine if arrhythmias are contributing to why racehorses are dying on the race track and if they can prevent it.

James Mickelson, a University professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, has studied the genetics of diseases in various animals for more than 20 years.

The condition of atrial fibrillation and heart arrhythmias is very likely responsible for sudden death of horses on race tracks, just like similar conditions in people, in human athletes, are responsible for sudden fatal deaths as well, he said.

If researchers can find a new mutation in horse genetics, they can use that to see if the same gene is responsible for any of the human cases, Mickelson said.

Lynn Hovda, chief commission veterinarian for the Minnesota Racing Commission, said horses dont have heart attacks like humans do because of their different cardiovascular systems.

[Horses] have cardiac rhythm disturbances, most often atrial fibrillation, that may result in sudden death. I say may as we dont really know yet, she said.

Original post:
Researchers study irregular horse heartbeats, hoping to find a cure - Minnesota Daily

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 11-20% of veterans are diagnosed with symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a given year. More and more veterans seek treatment for PTSD in order to learn how to address their symptoms, improve positive thinking, learn ways to cope when symptoms arise and treat problems related to trauma such as depression and anxiety or misuse of alcohol or drugs.

We are fortunate to be living in a time when America "supports the troops" and encourages the identification and treatment of invisible wounds. In addition to increased efforts by the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat PTSD, there are many veteran non-profit organizations who step in to help.

The treatments and opportunities are far-reaching and varied, including offering psychotherapy or meditation classes.

And then there are non-profit organizations that have learned that a little adrenaline can go a long way. Here are six of them:

Based in Colorado, Motorcycle Relief Project invites veterans on guided motorcycle adventure trips to decompress and learn some tools for managing stress. The organization creates a positive environment for veterans to connect with each other find some relief from everyday stresses by touring "some of the most scenic paved roads in the country as well as some amazing jeep trails and forest rides."

These five-day trips are structured and led by professional staff and other veterans in order to allow participants to begin to re-frame their trauma with new narrative recovery through serving others:

"We know that you might not always be able to accept it when someone thanks you for your service, or that you don't always feel worthy of someone's gratitude or admiration just because you wore the uniform. We get that. But we also recognize that serving in the military or as a first responder is hard work. In difficult circumstances. With high demands and intense pressure. And for many of you, serving came at a great personal cost. So no matter how you may feel about your motives for serving or what you did or didn't do while you were over there, the fact remains that you served. And that alone is enough for us to want to serve you back."

Go to the Motorcycle Relief Project website to check out their program and apply.

Force Blue unites the community of Special Operations veterans with the world of marine conservation for the betterment of both. By providing "mission therapy" for former combat divers, Force Blue retrains and retools veterans before "deploying" them on missions of conservation and restoration.

In the keenly unique organization founded by Marine Recon vet Rudy Reyes, Force Blue teams work alongside marine scientists to complete tasks such as surveying the health and disease of sea turtles and plant 100 yards of coral to help restore Florida's Coral Reef.

To be considered for Force Blue, or to help sponsor a veteran, check out their website.

Operation Jump 22 was founded in 2017 by a team of Marines and a licensed skydiver to create an exciting event for veterans and help combat veteran suicide. Operation Jump 22 helped raise funds for Merging Vets and Players, an organization that matches up combat veterans and former professional athletes to help both transition to civilian life by connecting with their community.

On Nov. 2, 2019, Operation Jump 22 invited participants to help raise funds and then jump 13,000 feet out of an airplane. The event Go Jump Oceanside brought together veterans, first responders and the community to bring awareness to the alarming veteran suicide rates and get a massive burst of adrenaline.

That positive surge of adrenaline, mixed with community support, can help reprogram the fight-or-flight response centers in the brain that are activated and imprinted during stressful situations like combat or sexual assault.

A recent study found that PTSD scores dropped 87 percent after just six weeks of therapeutic horsemanship sessions. Conducted by Rebecca Johnson, a professor in the University Of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine and the Millsap Professor of Gerontological Nursing in the Sinclair School of Nursing, the study introduced veterans suffering from PTSD to basic horsemanship skills.

The veterans, working under strict ethical guidelines for the welfare of the horses, learned to groom and interact with horses before riding and caring for them.

War Horses for Veterans brings combat veterans together for multi-day all-expenses-paid programs that introduce the basics of horsemanship, including grooming and riding. Veterans can return as often as they want as long as they bring another veteran with them.

You may recognize the name from America's Got Talent, where the contemporary movement company combined physics-defying acrobatics with mind-blowing sets, much like cirque-du-soleil.

In 2016, the company created The Veterans Project to give vets the Diavolo experience, from choreography to training to performing. The mission of The Veterans Project is to utilize Diavolo's unique style of movement as a tool to help restore veterans' physical and mental strengths through workshops and public performances all around the country.

From Los Angeles to Florida to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Diavolo offers its experience free of charge to veterans, helping them challenge their boundaries and tap into their own creative healing.

"I was diagnosed with PTSD when I returned from Iraq, and there was a moment early on in rehearsal with DIAVOLO when I realized it was the first time I have truly felt at peace since returning from war, and I've been back a decade." Chris Loverro, United States Army

Warrior Surf enhances the physical and mental well-being of veterans and their families through surf therapy. By combining surfing and yoga with wellness and community, Warrior Surf channels the healing energy of the ocean to help break the cycle of trauma and help the body work through residual feelings of comfort and distress.

Surf therapy helps improve emotional regulation and frustration management while creating non-battlefield bonds and community connection. They hold several 12-week programs and 5-day travel camps throughout the year. In addition to surfing, vets who participate in the program work on wellness with individual coaching sessions as well as yoga to increase mobility and improve mindfulness.

Veterans interested in participating can register on the Warrior Surf Foundation website.

Outward Bound for Veterans offers wilderness expeditions that purposefully scaffold wartime experiences (carrying heavy packs, sore shoulders, rubbery legs, sleeping out, strange noises, sweat, dirt, frustration and anger) in order to help veterans return home after wartime service.

By offering challenges that are physically and emotionally demanding without the life-threatening experience of combat Outward Bound gives veterans the opportunity to re-experience those conditions in a different context, which helps them transition back to civilian life. As a result, veterans successfully draw on the benefit of connecting with each other within the healing environment of nature.

Interested veterans can search for expeditions, which include everything from backpacking to whitewater rafting to rock climbing right here.

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7 thrilling non-profits that help veterans treat PTSD - We Are The Mighty

Veterinary Medicine Market research is an intelligence report with meticulous efforts undertaken to study the right and valuable information. The data which has been looked upon is done considering both, the existing top players and the upcoming competitors. Business strategies of the key players and the new entering market industries are studied in detail. Well explained SWOT analysis, revenue share and contact information are shared in this report analysis. It also provides market information in terms of development and its capacities.

Get Sample copy of this report @: http://www.a2zmarketresearch.com/sample?reportId=231302

Some of the most influential companies in this Market include: Bayer Animal Health, Ceva Animal Healthcare, Elanco Animal Health, Merck Ltd., Zoetis Animal Healthcare, Virbac S.A. Vetoquinol, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Merial Animal Health, Vtoquinol S.A., Novartis Global.

This study provides an evaluation of aspects that are expected to impact growth of market in an undesired or constructive method. The Veterinary Medicine market has been consistently examined with respect to the corresponding market segments. Each year within the mentioned forecast period is concisely considered in terms of produce and worth in the regional as well as the global markets respectively. Technical expansions of the Veterinary Medicine market have been examined by focusing on different technical platforms, tools, and methodologies. The notable feature of this research report is, it incorporates clients demands as well as future progress of this market across the global regions.

Global Veterinary Medicine Market Research objectives:

Get Exclusive Discount on this report @: http://www.a2zmarketresearch.com/discount?reportId=231302

The Veterinary Medicine Market has grown steadily over the last decade and is expected to improve CAGR over the forecast period (2020 2026). It will also be one of the industries influencing global revenue generation. Rapidly growing demand, abundant raw materials, population growth, financial stability, and product awareness are some of the direct and indirect developments in the market.

Market Segmentation: By Product Type

Market Segmentation: By Application

Table of Contents

Global Veterinary Medicine Market Research Report 2020 2026

Chapter 1 Veterinary Medicine Market Overview

Chapter 2 Global Economic Impact on Industry

Chapter 3 Global Market Competition by Manufacturers

Chapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by Region

Chapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions

Chapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

Chapter 7 Global Market Analysis by Application

Chapter 8 Manufacturing Cost Analysis

Chapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 11 Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 12 Global Veterinary Medicine Market Forecast

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Increasing Demand of Veterinary Medicine Market by 2026 with Top Key Players like Bayer Animal Health, Ceva Animal Healthcare, Elanco Animal Health,...

Shhh! Dont tell. We are having cake Tuesday. It seemed appropriate since we are celebrating. We even designed and ordered shirts: green shirts with a wiggly dog butt. The celebration is a tad bittersweet, but it is a celebration regardless.

Kick Cancers Butt

We put in our chemotherapy hood this fall and have taken our first two patients through their treatment.

While there are hospitals that administer chemotherapy without a chemo/fume hood, it is not safe for the employees nor in compliance with the law. I have stayed away from injectable chemotherapy because of the cost of a hood and safety concerns.

But when Roxy died of her cancer, because the owners could not travel the distance to chemo treatment, I decided I wanted to fight back. A super client (Max Duty) fighting her own medical problems, did some fundraising for us. The fundraising wasnt very successful, but I did find a lot of community support for a chemo program. Sally worked on the regulations and set us up for the install. Lindsay took the chemo care lead and we staffed Tuesdays to be able to do chemo.

Why wait? Aspirate!

I signed up for Dr. Sue Cancer Vet Ettingers lectures at the Midwest Veterinary Conference. She was a dynamic speaker and made me believe that I could make a difference. (She was right.) I attended more of her lectures at the American Veterinary Medical Association Conference.

We started paying more attention to small masses and used her rule of doing more fine needle aspirates on masses. We set up a cytology station to do aspirates more efficiently. Any mass that is present for more than a month and is as big as a pencil eraser should be aspirated and checked.

You cannot tell by palpation (feeling) that a tumor is a fatty tumor or not. (Some of the dangerous tumors, you can tell they are definite tumors that need to be removed.)

See Something, Do Something

Many times, surgery is curative. We had hoped that was the case with Rusty. He had a large intestinal mast cell tumor that before surgery was affecting his quality of life. He was not eating and was sick. We removed a five-centimeter tumor which had several intestinal blood vessels wrapped around it.

After surgery, he felt better for a few weeks, but then was sick and not eating again. His owners chose chemo treatment because they had no other option to try to save him.

Chemo for the Win

Max is finishing up his 16 weeks of Madison Wisconsin chemotherapy protocol for lymphosarcoma. He had first come as a second opinion. His cancer had been diagnosed, but not staged.

He was blind and had a large raw patch on the side of his face. I suspect they were thinking euthanasia was their only option.

Maxs parents were pleased to know that there were options and scheduled him for treatments. At every visit, he had an exam, blood work and his tumors measured. He has had a combination of IV, injection and oral medicine. His last routine visit is Tuesday.

Live Longer, Live Well

Chemo in pets is not like chemotherapy in people. We do not have to get another 10 or 20 years from our protocols. We do not make the pets sick with the medications. We have a medicine kit that we send home with drugs for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. We try to anticipate any side effects and treat them before they happen.

Between the two dogs with 16 weeks each, they had five days of diarrhea and two days of vomiting. That is not bad. Rusty and Max both improved on their chemo. They both started eating and gained some weight. Max gained a little too much weight and had to be on a diet. Rusty started to nip at us again. Maxs fine needle aspirate cytology came back negative. We seem to be winning!

Sometimes, We Dont Win

Rusty started to decline on the 15th week of treatment.

While I was at the Midwest Veterinary Conference last week, the owners called Lindsay and told her that he was not doing well.

I left my lecture and I called to personally speak with Dr. Duncan, who was covering my emergencies. Well-briefed on Rusty and his owners, Dr. Duncan was prepared to do whatever was needed.

Unfortunately, the best thing seemed to be euthanasia. We were all sad.

I have not been able to connect with the owners since he was euthanatized. I know they will be grieving. Actually, so are we. Still, his owners had an extra five to six months of good life that was important to them.

We are celebrating Max and Rusty. I made a word cloud paw print (Kick Cancers Butt; See Something Do Something; Why wait? Aspirate!; Chemo For The Win: and, Live Longer Live Well), but Lindsays wiggle butt dog with Kick Cancers Butt looked better.

We will mourn Rustys death, but realize that he had more life and better life than he would have.

We miss seeing his parents on Cancer Tuesdays.

It is too soon to tell if Max is in remission or will have to continue a maintenance therapy, but he is certainly doing well and we will pick up our shirts and then celebrate with cake from Daves Bakery.

MJ Wixsom, DVM MS is a best-selling Amazon author who practices at Guardian Animal Medical Center in Flatwoods, Ky. GuardianAnimal.com 606-928-6566

Originally posted here:
Community takes steps to kick canine cancer's butt - The Tribune - Ironton Tribune

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VCA Animal Hospitals has partnered with Lincoln Memorial University-College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) to launch a groundbreaking veterinary emergency medicine initiative that will help students enter careers in veterinary medicine.

The VCA ER Student Scholarship Program is a unique opportunity for five LMU veterinary medicine students to learn in an emergency and specialty care immersion program during their clinical year, as well as an opportunity to advance their veterinary career with VCA.

The competitive scholarship program offers up to $35,000 tuition assistance per student, and a choice of $5,000 for living expenses or a cash bonus. The application process involves an in-person interview with a team led by VCA professionals and preference will be given for students with previous emergency medicine and/or VCA hospital experience. The 4th year clinical rotations include 16 weeks at various VCA hospitals which must be completed immediately prior to graduation. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients must agree to accept an ER position at select VCA hospitals for a three-year commitment. Compensation will be on a production-salary plan.

Collaborations with great veterinary industry partners such as VCA allow LMU-CVM students to obtain excellent clinical experiences and at the same time significantly decrease their student debt load, said Jason Johnson, LMU-CVM Vice President and Dean.

For the four student awardees, this will significantly decrease their debt and at the same time prepare them for their career journey at VCA and beyond. This partnership is in alignment with LMU-CVMs goal to graduate competent, confident, career ready veterinarians.

At VCA, we have always been dedicated to advancing the veterinary profession and encouraging students to pursue studies in veterinary medicine, said Anthony Guerino, DVM, Regional Medical Director for VCA Animal Hospitals. It's a win-win opportunity for everyone. By seeking out and developing the best and brightest veterinary students, we can better serve our patients, while supporting and improving our profession."

Interested applicants should send an introductory letter and CV to Dr. Anthony Guerino at anthony.guerino@vca.com.

About Lincoln Memorial University

Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The LMU-College of Veterinary Medicine is located on LMUs main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee, with additional academic facilities in nearby Lee County, Virginia. LMU-CVM is an integral part of the Universitys medical programs and provides real-world, community-based education in a collaborative learning environment. For more information about LMU-CVM, call 1.800.325.0900, ext. 7150 or visit us online at vetmed.LMUnet.edu.

About VCA Animal Hospitals

VCA Animal Hospitals operates over 1,000 small animal veterinary hospitals in the U.S., Canada and Japan. The hospitals are staffed by more than 4,500 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians to give pets the very best in medical care, of which over 600 are board certified specialists who are experts in areas such as oncology, cardiology, emergency and critical care, and surgery for animals. VCA Animal Hospitals provides a full range of general practice services to keep pets well and specialized treatments when pets are ill. As part of the Mars, Inc. family of brands, VCA is committed to its purposeA BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.

For more information, please visit VCAhospitals.com or follow on Twitter @vcapethealth and Facebook (facebook.com/VCAAnimalHospitals/).

See the original post here:
VCA Animal Hospitals and Lincoln Memorial University Partner to Launch Groundbreaking Veterinary Emergency Medicine Initiative - Business Wire

Nationwide, the largest provider of pet health insurance in the US, has been named a Human-Animal Bond Certified Company by the North American Veterinary Association (NAVC) and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), joint founders of the Human-Animal Bond Certification program.

Nationwide has earned this meaningful recognition through its significant commitment to human-animal bond research, education, and professional development, said Steven Feldman, executive director of HABRI. Being a Human-Animal Bond Certified Company recognizes that Nationwide is strengthening the human-animal bond as a core part of its mission.

As part of the certification process, all Nationwide pet associates will complete human-animal bond training, which will educate them about the science behind human-animal bonding and how that science supports pet health and the practice of veterinary medicine.

Becoming Human-Animal Bond certified is an honor and a process that we are committed to in every interaction we have with pets and their families, said Heidi Sirota, Nationwides chief pet officer. We know the more we learn, the more we can protect them.

Nationwide has made sizeable investments in independent research on the benefits of companion animals for veterans with PTSD, people with autism, and cancer patients. The company has also conducted research on the benefits of pet-friendly workplaces.

Nationwide is committed to protecting our members pets though our direct relationships with pet owners and through our veterinary partners, said Dr. Jules Benson, Nationwide associate vice president of veterinary relations. That is why we are so proud to support human-animal bond research. Understanding and sharing the science of the human-animal bond helps all of us as individuals, families and communities.

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Nationwide receives top honor - Insurance Business

Think you need to be a master brewer or ever have brewed at all to enter the Staff Brewing Competition? Think again!

Before my first year, Id never brewed a beer, or even liked beer all that much, said Carlos Barahona, systems architect in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Seeing the process and learning what makes beers different helped me find those I like.

And, guess what? Barahona and his Beer Pressure teammates, Eri Furukawa and Joe Schneider, earned the Judges Choice award for best pale ale last year! Schneider is an admissions recruitment specialist in the School of Law. Furukawa worked at the School of Law at the time of last year's competition, but has since moved to the School of Veterinary Medicine where she is an external relations specialist. They are teaming up again this year.

Beyond the brewing, Barahona said, The competition and the event itself introduced me to a lot of staff around campus that I never would have interacted with, and has built friendships with others I knew only professionally before.

Now, as an organizer, hes recruiting teams for the 2020 competition. In addition, tickets are on sale for the tasting event to be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 24.

The competition is for UC Davis affiliates only from the Davis or Sacramento campuses or outlying locations while the tasting event is open to all (minimum age 21).

This years brewing categories are porter,hazy NEIPA (New England India pale ale) and cider. Another one of the organizers, Lina Layiktez, director of Conference and Event Services, said ciders are a tasters favorite: They are really easy to drink, and for people who dont really like beer, they are a nice option that allows them to participate in the event along with a significant other or friends who do love beer.

Read more about the 2020 brewing categories.

Admission to the tasting event will include a souvenir glass and up to 24 2-ounce samples. Tasters will be invited to vote for the Peoples Choice Award.

Teams must comprise at least two people and no more than six. Each participant can be on one or two teams (but, if youre on two teams, they must brew different styles). Each style is limited to 15 teams, and each team can submit one or two brews.

To be eligible for awards, competitors must attend the tasting event and serve their brews. Brewers are advised to plan accordingly when figuring how mush beer or cider to make.

The team fee is $10 per brewing submission. Register here by March 24.

Team fees do not include the per person entry fee for the tasting and event. Each team member must register separately at the discounted price of $10.

The tasting event will be held at the Buehler Alumni Center, and food vendors will be on site.

Admission for noncompetitors is $15 for staff, faculty and members of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association, $20 for others. (All guests are on their own for food.) All fees go toward the cost of the facility, tasting glasses and prizes for the best brews.

Register for the tasting event here; deadline April 10.

Follow Dateline UC Davis on Twitter.

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Brewers and Tasters: Are You Ready? - UC Davis

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) The worlds first cloned cat named Copy Cat or CC for short, has passed away at the age of 18 after veterinarians diagnosed her with kidney failure.

(credit: Larry Wadsworth/Permission of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences)

CC passed away on March 3 in College Station, the same place where her life began as a result of groundbreaking cloning work, according to Megan Myers, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.

She was born Dec. 22, 2001, and was adopted by Dr. Duane Kraemer, a senior professor in the colleges Reproduction Sciences Laboratory, and his wife, Shirley, six months after her birth.

We in the CVM are saddened by the passing of CC. As the first cloned cat, CC advanced science by helping all in the scientific community understand that cloning can be effective in producing a healthy animal, said Dr. Eleanor M. Green, the Carl B. King dean of veterinary medicine at Texas A&M.

While she lived a long, normal, and happy life, CC was extraordinary in what she represented to the Kraemers, the CVM, and science as a whole, Green said. The entire CVM community mourns her loss, as all at Texas A&M cared deeply about her as a member of the Aggie family, and especially for the Kraemers, for whom CC was a beloved pet for 18 years.

CCs story began with Dr. Mark Westhusin, a CVM professor and the principal investigator of the Missyplicity Project, a $3.7 million effort to clone a mixed-breed dog named Missy that was owned by John Sperling, founder of the University of Phoenix.

When the news of the project spread, people around the country became interested in saving pets tissues that could possibly be used for cloning in the future. This demand resulted in the establishment of Genetic Savings and Clone (GSC), Inc., led by Sperlings colleagues Lou Hawthorne and Dr. Charles Long.

While GSC became a bank for these tissues, Westhusin and his team at Texas A&M began to explore the cloning of other pet species, specifically cats.

CC was produced using nuclear transfer of DNA from cells that were derived from a female domestic shorthair named Rainbow.

Once it was clear the nuclear transfer was successful, Kraemer and other scientists transferred the embryos into a surrogate mother, who gave birth to a healthy kitten about two months later.

Though the cats were identical on a genetic level, developmental factors led them to have slightly different coat patterns and color distributions.

CCs passing makes me reflect on my own life as much as hers, Westhusin said. Cloning now is becoming so common, but it was incredible when it was beginning. Our work with CC was an important seed to plant to keep the science and the ideas and imagination moving forward.

CC also became one of the first cloned cats to become a mother. When CC was five years old, she gave birth to three kittens that lived with her for the rest of her life in a custom, two-story cat house in the Kraemers backyard.

CC was the biggest story out of A&M ever and still is, as far as international reach is concerned, Kraemer said. Every paper and magazine had pictures of her in it. She was one of the biggest accomplishments of my career.

While CC represented a great advancement in genetic research, to the Kraemers, she was also a beloved pet. She will be missed by them especially, but also by those at the CVM, Texas A&M and beyond who have followed her story since birth.

CC was a great cat and a real joy, Kraemer said. She was part of the family and very special to us. We will miss her every day.

Throughout her lifetime, CC regularly made news for her birth, pregnancy and each birthday. She proved to the world that cloned animals can live the same full, healthy lives as non-cloned animals, including being able to produce healthy offspring.

Before CC, no pet had ever been successfully cloned with 100% genetic identity.

The research that led to CCs birth kickstarted a global pet cloning industry led by ViaGen Pets, which today clones cats for $35,000 and dogs for $50,000.

Though CC was the first successfully cloned pet, Texas A&M has gone on to clone more species than any other institution in the world, including horses, pigs, goats, cattle and deer.

Read more:
Worlds First Cloned Cat CC Lived Long, Normal, Happy Life Before Her Death - CBS Dallas / Fort Worth

URBANA For area cat-lovers, here is an event you wont want to miss.

The Illini Cat Club will host its 28th All-Breed Cat Show on Saturday and Sunday, showcasing around 30 different breeds and some of the countrys top cats, including Maine coons, Bengals, Ragdolls, Cornish Rexes and exotics, among others.

We do it as a fundraiser and to increase awareness of pedigreed cats and to show were not all just about breeding. We are about the benefit of all cats, said local cat judge Mary Auth, who will be among those officiating at the show.

Held at the Radisson Hotel (1001 W. Killarney St., U), doors are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, with an admission donation of $6 for adults and $5 for children. Children under 3 get in free.

The two-day event will feature an agility competition, rescue groups with information booths and vendors with cat-related items for sale.

The University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine which has been working on a research project funded by the WYNN Foundation to develop surgical techniques for cats and dogs with short faces will also have a presence.

In addition to being a judge, Auth is also secretary for the Illini Cat Club. She has held many other positions during the clubs 40 years.

Im the only original member left, she said.

The club formed in 1980 when a few locals bonded over their love of cats.

Some were showing cats in Chicago and wanted to bring that experience to Champaign-Urbana. Minus a nine-year hiatus, the show has been a staple ever since.

Cats available for adoption can also compete in the show, and historically, weve adopted just about every cat weve brought, Auth said.

Auth also said the club will be collecting cat and dog food at the door that will be donated to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank.

People who need food, if they have pets, we want to make sure the pets are taken care of, too, she said.

While research shows the Cat Fanciers Association, the worlds largest registry of pedigreed cats, is growing worldwide, it is getting smaller in the United States, mainly due to high show costs, an aging population, lack of commitment to a breeding program and stricter breeding laws.

We used to have 350 cats at a show, and now were lucky if we get 150 or 160, Auth said.

But for her, nothing beats the camaraderie.

Thats one of the neatest things about cats, and animal lovers in general, Auth said. All around the world, youve got a friend.

Go here to read the rest:
Feline frenzy on tap this weekend at Illini Cat Club's 28th show - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday updated their reports on the lone dog that appears to have a low-grade infection from coronavirus, saying its likely a case of a human transmitting it to the dog.

A spokesman for the governments Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department said the dog, which has been tested several times, is still under quarantine but is not sick.

More than 3,000 people have died from the virus as it spreads around the globe.

But you should not be worried about the welfare of your pets, or other peoples pets, according to authorities.

Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the World Organisation for Animal Health have issued advisories saying there is no evidence that companion animals can spread the virus. Therefore, there is no justification in taking measures against companion animals which may compromise their welfare, the animal health organization said.

Apart from maintaining good hygiene practices, pet owners need not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets, the government of Hong Kong said. It did suggest that if members of a family were sick with the virus, they might want to consider quarantining their pets.

Heres what has happened so far. A coronavirus patient in Hong Kong had a dog, and the authorities tested the dog which showed some level of virus in its nose and mouth. Theyve tested it several times, and the test still show a weak positive. The dog will remain in quarantine, the authorities said, until its tests are negative.

What does that mean?

Raymond R.R. Rowland, a veterinarian who is a specialist in swine viruses at Kansas State University, said so-called weak positives often show up in testing pigs, where a farmers livelihood can be at stake.

Ill tell you what I tell them, he said. Wait and see.

Even if there is a low-level infection, he said, That doesnt say the animal is sufficiently infected that it can spread the virus. It may be a dead-end host, neither becoming ill nor infecting any other people or animals.

Edward Dubovi, a professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, who worked with a team that identified canine influenza in 2005, said the Hong Kong dog may indeed have a low-level infection, which would not be a big surprise. Humans do pass on infections to their pets and other animals on occasion, he said.

Usually, in those situations, he said, you have an initial infection and it doesnt go anywhere else.

Nonetheless, he said, stopping transmission to animals of any virus is always wise, so anyone who has the virus should treat their pets as they would family members, to try to prevent transmission, limiting contact, wearing a mask, washing hands often.

Of course with dogs, he said, that can be tough. Ive probably had my hands licked 19 times since lunchtime, he said, of his own dogs.

Go here to see the original:
Coronavirus and Your Dog: No Need to Panic Yet - The New York Times

Members of the Nicola Laboratory (left to right) Tri Komala Sari, Seth Schneider, Anthony Nicola, Katrina Gianopulos and Becky Lee review data outside of the lab.

By Josh Babcock, College of Veterinary Medicine

The scientific community may be one step closer to stopping the spread of the herpes virus thanks to new Washington State University research.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is the most common cause of oral herpes which causes painful blisters better known as cold sores.

WSU researchers recently published a study in the American Society for Microbiologys journal mSphere that is the first to identify how one of the virus proteins acts as a critical signaler for the virus to succeed in infecting a cell.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 invades the body through the epithelial cells that line human organs, including the skin. Once inside, the attack sequence is launched when a protein on the virus surface called glycoprotein C detects a change in the cells acidity level. A second protein called glycoprotein B then initiates the attack on the cell. We may have identified a novel target for intervention because, in theory, if you can prevent that initial infection, you can avoid the virus, said Tri Komala Sari, a WSU graduate student in the Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and the papers lead author.

Komala Sari said while the virus was able to invade the cell without glycoprotein C, it was significantly delayed in recognizing the change in acidity levels and it wasnt as effective in taking over the cell.

Understanding the function of this protein could help researchers learn how to keep the virus from invading a cell or lower its efficiency during infection.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HSV-1, the oral form of herpes, infected 47.8% of Americans ages 14 to 49 from 2015 to 2016. The World Health Organization estimates 3.7 billion people under age 50 (67%) have HSV-1 globally. There is no vaccine for the virus. To make matters worse, many people infected dont show any symptoms.

After that initial infection the virus hides. Thats why they say, herpes is forever, because once you get that latent infection there is no way back from that, said Anthony Nicola, the G. Caroline Engle Distinguished Professor of Infectious Diseases and principal investigator on the project.

Nicola said understanding how the virus infects the cell may help uncover ways to stop the virus before it goes into hiding. He noted the herpesvirus is far more complex in structure than other viruses. While the herpes virus has about a dozen proteins on its surface with various functions, HIV and influenza have just two or three proteins.

Komala Sari said theres still a long way to go in blocking the virus, but this finding could be a target of a vaccine in the future.

Now we need to know more about how that interaction between these two proteins occurs, when and where, she said.

The work was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

See original here:
WSU research could help stop herpesvirus before infection - WSU News

I believe in the power of yet. Doctors should, too, especially the one who used my daughters case as grist for a short-sighted article without her permission.

The power of yet is a concept promoted by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck as part of her research on the differences between growth and fixed mindsets. It tells us that there is always room to learn and to grow through practice, discovery, and research. There is or at least there should be a lot of yet involved in medicine, especially when it comes to diagnosing and treating tick bites.

Back in 2008, my daughter and I were apprentice bird banders. We were both bitten by ticks in the woods around Hopewell, New Jersey, despite taking precautions. I was lucky enough to get the classic bulls eye-rash, suggesting that I had Lyme disease. She pulled two ticks from her abdomen that were not engorged and had been attached for less than eight hours.

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We both took antibiotics for four weeks. I got better. She has been sick ever since: mostly bedridden for two years, she lost weight, lost hair, and developed postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome an uncomfortable rapid increase in the heart rate when standing up after sitting or reclining. Open sores periodically erupted on her legs and then mysteriously disappeared, which were dismissed as nothing by her primary doctor and two dermatologists.

I stepped away from working as a researcher and news editor to become her caregiver. I put my Ph.D. to work to find the right doctors and treatment protocols, though the well was pretty dry.

Fast forward 10 years to an appointment with Warren R. Heymann, a New Jersey dermatopathologist, to get a better understanding of, or diagnosis for, my daughters condition. After he completed his examination, he suggested that she come back for a second visit when she had a fresh sore so he could biopsy it; otherwise, he had nothing to offer.

Before we left his office, I pointed out the long white lines behind my daughters knees, lines that look like the stretch marks that women often see during and after pregnancy.

I tried to employ the growth mindset, the power of yet approach. See these marks? I asked Heymann, pointing to the white lines technically called striae that had appeared years before as angry red streaks. I told him that such lines are commonly seen in people with bartonellosis, a variety of diseases caused by infection with Bartonella, a group of bacteria transmitted by ticks, fleas, and other vectors.

I could tell almost immediately that he dismissed what I was saying.

I didnt know quite how much he dismissed what I had said until his two-year old essay, Striae Due to Bartonella is a Stretch recently landed in my email inbox. My power of yet approach had no effect.

The story he told sounded like it could be you and your daughter, a friend wrote.It was. In the article, Heymann recounted our conversation about my daughter, which had occurred just two weeks before he published his opinion piece in DW Insights and Inquiries, an online publication of the American Academy of Dermatology. (He didnt ask permission to use this example. I tried to submit a rebuttal to the American Academy of Dermatology, but its journals seem to accept submissions only from members.)

Heymann found an article published in the journal Parasites and Vectors by Ricardo Maggi, co-director of the Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory at North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine, and colleagues that addresses these striae. Heymann dismissed their work. Although he acknowledged that no one knows what causes these marks, he conjectured that they occur when excessive stretch overwhelms the dermal integrity of the skin, resulting in a woundtype response with abnormal and/or incomplete repair. Not exactly a power of yet response.

Maggi works with Ed Breitschwerdt, a doctor of veterinary medicine and the man I call the Bartonella guru. He has been studying Bartonella since the death of his father and, more recently, the death of his mother, both likely from Bartonella infections. Breitschwerdt calls Bartonella a stealth pathogen. He and others working to understand tick infections have learned that individuals infected with Bartonella exhibit red striae, now referred to as Bartonella tracks. They dont know why yet.

Heymann overlooked the work of Marna Ericson, an assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, who is also trying to determine what causes these tracks in people infected with Bartonella. Her research began when her son developed them. (Ericson happens to be the second author on the Maggi paper that Heymann targeted.)

The dermatopathologist invoked Kochs postulates, four criteria that scientists use to identify agents that cause disease, to dismiss Bartonella as a cause of the stretch marks. Even if confirmed by other studies, an association does not equate with causation this was not a fulfillment of Kochs postulates, he wrote.

Not so fast. Breitschwerdt, who has written about the limitations of Kochs postulates, says it is difficult to apply them when attempting to attribute disease causation to stealth pathogens that can induce chronic, slowly progressive disease manifestations in an animal or human patient. The postulates also dont let researchers readily address environmental, nutritional, genetic and other relevant factors that influence disease causation and do not consider the pathogenic complexities induced by sequential or simultaneous infection with more than one pathogenic microorganism.

Frustrated by Heymanns dismissal, I posted a photo of my daughters sores (with her permission, of course) to an Internet discussion group I belong to called MMI: Microbes and Mental Illness. This 20-year-old closed group, funded and moderated by Robert Bransfield, a New Jersey psychiatrist, has 750 members from 20 countries: psychiatrists and other physicians, nurses, other clinicians, and researchers interested in understanding the association between microbes and mental illnesses.

One of the MMI members, a nurse practitioner who treats a large Amish population in Pennsylvania, suggested that my daughter be tested for Francisella tularensis, a species of bacteria that causes tularemia (also known as rabbit fever), since her sores resembled those she saw in hunters who spend time in the woods. Sure enough, my daughter tested positive for it. And sure enough, tick bites are one way this pathogen can be transmitted.

What I hope readers, especially Warren R. Heymann, take away from this essay is that the power of yet is an inherent concept in the practice of medicine. Doctors must be open to new knowledge, absorb it, and synthesize it.

Physicians dismissed Joseph Lister when he came to America to talk about sterile surgeries, though he was right. They dismissed Ignaz Semmelweis when he suggested that physicians change their clothes and wash their hands before delivering babies and he, too, was right.

The fashion today is to dismiss those trying to understand illnesses for which we dont have answers, like tick-borne infections, as Heymann did. But when he wrote, it must be acknowledged that the concept of these chronic infections is controversial, he was on to something. Chronic infections caused by tick bites are controversial only because we dont completely understand them yet.

Sue Ferrara, Ph.D., a former researcher and editor for ABC News, is an elected school board member in New Jersey, where she learned about the power of yet. She is writing as a private citizen.

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Doctors need to embrace the 'power of yet' - STAT

SEATTLE, March 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Trupanion, a leading provider of medical insurance for cats and dogs, confirmed today that they have seen no unusual increase or change in the frequency of illnesses in their extensive pet health database. The Seattle-based pet company, now in its third decade, has paid out over $1 billion in veterinary invoices and is constantly reviewing data to monitor changes in veterinary medicine to understand any underlying changes related to regular illness patterns.

Vice President of Analytics, Mary Rothlisberger confirmed: We monitor our data on a very granular level; daily, weekly and monthly and by breed, country, city and even at a neighborhood level to make sure we understand and are on top of any health-related trends that might be out of the norm. As of today, we have not seen any increases or changes in the frequency of illnesses that would appear unusual.

Dr. Steve Weinrauch, BVMS, MRCVS, Trupanions Chief Veterinary Officer explained: With the recent news regarding a pet dog in Hong Kong being quarantined after testing 'weak positive' for COVID-19, we have experienced increasing concern from our members regarding the health of their pets. We want to provide them and other loving pet owners with some peace of mind. We understand that a pet is a member of the family and its natural to be worried for all of your loved ones.

The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have further confirmed that no animals in the United States have been identified with the virus and there is no evidence to suggest that dogs, or other pets can contract or spread COVID-19.

Just as it has for the last 20+ years, Trupanion wants to continue to reassure existing or new members that coverage includes any medical issues that occur after enrollment and that our team is on hand 24/7 to support any questions they may have.

Weinrauch continues: It is important to Trupanion that we make sure everyone has the latest information in terms of what we see show up in our data. If things do change, we will be letting members, pet owners and veterinarians know immediately. In the meantime, as always, if theres ever anything that youre worried about and you notice your pet acting under the weather, you should visit your trusted veterinarian.

Interviews available

Trupanion's Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr. Steve Weinrauch, BVMS, MRCVS and Vice President of Analytics, Mary Rothlisberger, ACAS are always available to share insights or to provide context regarding pet health data as it relates to the extensive Trupanion database of over half a million pets. Please contact mediarelations@trupanion.com for scheduling.

Helpful sources of informationhttps://www.avma.org/blog/what-do-you-need-know-about-coronavirushttps://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/AVMA-Human-Coronavirus-Summary.pdfhttps://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/AVMA-Coronavirus-Taxonomy-Notes.pdfhttps://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/AVMA-Detailed-Coronoavirus-Taxonomy-2020-02-03.pdf

About Trupanion

Trupanion is a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs throughout the United States and Canada with over 500,000 pets enrolled. For over two decades, Trupanion has given pet owners peace of mind so they can focus on their pet's recovery, not financial stress. Trupanion is committed to providing pet owners with the highest value in pet medical insurance with unlimited payouts for the life of their pets. Trupanion is listed on NASDAQ under the symbol "TRUP". The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Seattle, WA. Trupanion policies are issued, in the United States, by its wholly-owned insurance entity American Pet Insurance Company and, in Canada, by Omega General Insurance Company. For more information, please visit trupanion.com.

Contact:

MediaMichael Nankmichael.nank@trupanion.com206.436.9825

InvestorsLaura Bainbridge, Head of Investor RelationsInvestorRelations@trupanion.com206.607.1929

Read more from the original source:
Leading Medical Insurer for Pets Confirms Their Data Shows No Unusual Changes in Frequency of Illness over the Last 45 Days - marketscreener.com