News

Washington - 4/8/08 - The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) wants veterinarians to pressure lawmakers to support the Senate's version of the Farm Bill.

Blacksburg, Va. - 4/7/08 - The role biofilm plays in the development of Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex (BRDC) will be studied, with the help of government funding, by a Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicince professor.

Washington - 4/4/08 - Emergency funding totalling $16.8 million has been earmarked to continue efforts to eradicate bovine tuberculosis in California, Michigan and Minnesota, announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Camden, N.J. - 4/3/08 - Another chapter in the lengthy pet-food recall saga is drawing to a close with the reported settlement of more than 100 class-action lawsuits brought on behalf of pet owners in the United States and Canada.

Madison, Wis. - 4/2/08 - The Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association (WVMA) plans to release guiding principles for large-animal welfare, pending review by the group's Animal Welfare Committee and the Executive Board's final approval in June.

4/2/08 - I found myself privileged to stay in bed, watching Matt Lauer and Meredith Viera. There was no alarm; this was my day off. Still, I had plenty to do, most of which required phone calls. I made my first call to the hospital, checking on my patients Pugsley and Elsa (the "misunderstood" dog from the previous night).

Questions regarding neonatal mortality are common in general practice.

Despite their marked efficacy in suppressing the immune system, alternatives to glucocorticoids must often be considered when treatment immune-mediated or chronic allergic diseases in dogs and cats.

The semen factors thought to be most important to fertility are the number, the morphology and the motility of the spermatozoa.

The goals of canine breeding programs are usually to optimize both pregnancy rates and litter size.

An accurate history is critical to the evaluation of a female animal suspected to be infertile.

Radiology and ultrasonography are useful for evaluating the ovaries, uterine wall, and intrauterine contents; for confirming pregnancy; and for assessing fetal viability.

Dystocia, or difficult birth, has an overall prevalence of approximately 5% to 6% of pregnancies in bitches and queens.

Although many first-aid measures have been advocated for pit viper bite victims, none has been shown to prevent morbidity or mortality.

Vaccines are such a routine part of everyday veterinary practice that we forget about potential reactions and complications until they occur.

Pit vipers are the largest group of venomous snakes in the United States and are involved in an estimated 150,000 bites annually of dogs and cats.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) estimates that 69,000 people reporting severe headaches and 105,000 people reporting respiratory problems in the workplace may be suffering from poor indoor environmental quality.

Many bites and stings inflicted by venomous arthropods (arachnids and hymenoptera) are poorly understood.

The goal of decontamination is to prevent the continued absorption of the toxicant.

Herbs have been an integral part of our diet and pharmacy since mankind began roaming the earth.

There are a number of causes of decreased platelets in dogs and cats, but whenever platelet counts fall acutely an immune-mediated disorder should be suspected.

Dietary management is a vital component of successful treatment of many gastrointestinal (GI) diseases.

Dosing regimens are comprised of a route, dose and interval and are designed to achieve a plasma drug concentration (PDC) within a targeted therapeutic range.

As a healing method, acupuncture has been used for several thousand years. However, recent interest in alternative medicines and especially in the alternative medicines in veterinary medicine have made acupuncture an evermore popular complement or alternative to western or allopathic medicine.

Gastrointestinal disease is common in pet ferrets and is frequently accompanied by weight loss and wasting.

Dosing regimens for antimicrobials should be related to MIC. However, simply achieving the MIC in the patient is not likely to be sufficient for a variety of reasons.

Gastrointestinal disease in rabbits is common, and practical experience and observation demonstrate that in the clinical setting, is commonly related to inappropriate diet.

The first step in the approach to the acutely vomiting dog is to determine that vomiting and not regurgitation is present.

In the diagnostic work up of any case, one of the most frequently used tests is the complete blood count (CBC).

Esophageal strictures may occur from gastroesophageal reflux (often during surgery), esophageal foreign bodies, neoplasia, and the ingestion of caustic substances.