AVMA, AAVLD collaborate on survey to measure impact of tainted-food cases

NATIONAL REPORT — The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is asking its members who treat companion animals to participate in an online survey to generate more information on the pet-food recall.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) will work with the AVMA on the survey.

DVMs who suspect they have treated animals affected by contaminated food will be asked about the brands and lot numbers of foods ingested, how quickly illness resulted, symptoms of sick or deceased animals and any chemical markers.

AAVLD will collect data on behalf of the FDA and use it to define what constitutes a case of food-induced kidney failure and identify any common elements among cases.

The survey is accessible at www.aavld.org.

When it is completed, pathologists will conduct additional research on the data to produce a valid estimate of the number of animals affected, their ages, breeds and species.

Members of AAVLD can access the survey in the members-only area of the Web site.

Non-members can enter case data via the public area by clicking on "News" and then on the "AAVLD Pet Food Toxicity Survey" link.

The site provides a list of accredited veterinary diagnostic laboratories under "Accreditation," for veterinarians who wish to submit samples.