Malaria-like parasite from ticks spreading to UK through dogs.

Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease transmitted by ticks ,it causes the immune system to destroy its own blood cells. This is very rare in humans but is quite common in mammals in some foreign countries. The symptoms include fever, weight loss, fast breathing ,lethargy ,jaundice and red colored urine.. Bites from ticks carrying babesia parasites infect red blood cells, damaging the cells directly, and also cause the dog’s immune system to attack its red blood cells. This leads to an anaemia which can be life-threatening. A tick typically needs to be attached to a dog for 24-48 hours to successfully transmit the disease. The prevention in pet travel restrictions is a major route of entry of the disease to the UK. It used to be compulsory for imported dogs to be treated for ticks before entering the UK and Ireland. This requirement was dropped in 2012 to comply with EU regulations. There are no vaccines for babesia available in the UK. Anti-tick medication can stop the spread of the ticks, also manual removal of ticks from dogs as soon as they are seen .This will prevent transmission of the parasite.

Pet-care stocks rises because of devotion of pet-owners.

Americans' attachment to their pets has fostered a $60 billion industry that is producing best-in-breed stock performance. Shares of a clutch of companies that sell pet food, develop diagnostic tests for animals and offer veterinary care have far outrun the wider market this year, delivering an average total return of nearly 35 percent versus around 8.3 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 (SPX). Shares of animal health testing company Idexx Laboratories Inc (O:IDXX), for example, have skyrocketed more than 50 percent this year, while vet clinic operator VCA Inc (O:WOOF) is up 31 percent and pet food maker Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc (O:BUFF) is up 40 percent. "What you see driving that growth is the humanization of pets and consumers' willingness to spend on their pets very heavily," said Joe Edelstein, an analyst at Stephens Inc. "Part of that is because pets are part of the family." Last year, U.S. pet-related spending totaled a record $60.3 billion, a 3.9 percent increase over the previous year, according to the American Pet Products Association. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. consumers' spending on their pets rose 5 percent in inflation-adjusted terms last year while overall consumer spending rose 3.2 percent. It was the fourth straight year that growth in spending on pet services and products exceeded growth of consumer spending overall. Blue Buffalo and Freshpet are representative of the success of pet food, the industry's leading source of revenue, and are making the most of the trend toward natural, locally sourced ingredients. "We see continued growth of 'better-for-them' pet food products in both cat and dog," said Phil Terpolilli, a Wedbush Securities analyst. "Adoptions in U.S. dogs continue to grow meaningfully."

Global Database Hosts Genetic Data Of Flu Viruses.

When a deadly influenza virus appears and threatens to become a pandemic, time is of the essence. The 1918 flu epidemic infected a large portion of the global population and killed millions of people. The next pandemic is inevitable, and surveillance of flu viruses is essential through the timely sharing of flu virus genetic data with the scientific and research communities. A collaborative database has become prominent in recent years. Some countries have been reluctant to share flu viruses in the past, over concerns about transparency and lack of return in terms of access to resulting vaccines and benefit-sharing. However, an initiative created in 2008 appeared to have won international trust, in part because it addresses basic protection of intellectual property rights. It now hosts nearly 600,000 flu virus sequences, from all over the world, freely accessible on the conditions to adhere to its sharing mechanism, according to the initiative database. The Global Initiative on the Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) was launched during the 61st World Health Assembly in May 2008. GISAID is an open collaboration comprised of experts worldwide. GISAID’s EpiFlu database, hosted by the government of Germany, is, according to the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza (VIDRL) the most comprehensive database of flu viruses genetic sequence data.

Doping in pets and the veterinary response.

The number of incidents of dogs ingesting pot, intentionally or unintentionally, is on the rise. Many veterinary hospitals have seen canine patients with marijuana or THC toxicity in the past year or two and some practices see cases much more frequently in New York. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the chemical in marijuana that is responsible for psychological or “high” effects. Veterinarians and animal hospital staff are in the business of keeping pets healthy and addressing their medical needs. So, when a dog or cat comes to the hospital after consuming or inhaling pot, the interest is not in who owned the marijuana . Veterinary staff are not police and are not in the business of sleuthing out any details other than any information about the possibility of the pet being exposed to pot and if it was in a baked good that contained chocolate. Veterinary staff don’t need to know any other details from owners about the pot and are grateful when pet owners indicate that this may be a cause of the pets’ behavior. How a pet happens to eat or inhale pot is as varied as the number of dogs that have eaten marijuana or inhaled quantities of smoke. A baggie may be an appealing chew toy, a joint or cigarette can be a curiosity and food containing pot is an immediate attraction to many dogs. Cats do not seem to be as attracted and cases of cats consuming pot in any form are much less frequent, although many of their symptoms are similar to those in dogs. Once a dog has consumed pot, symptoms may start showing within 15 minutes or can take an hour or two. Many dogs will initially begin to have some difficulty with balance when walking, tilt their heads, bark or whine and become anxious or hyperactive. They may have some twitching that can look like small seizures. For a veterinarian who is unaware of the possibility that the pet has eaten pot, these symptoms can mean many things. During a triage physical, a veterinarian will also see dilated pupils, decreased respiration, low heart rate, lethargy, nausea, hypersensitivity to stimuli and vomiting. Dogs rely so heavily on their senses of smell, sight and hearing, the effects they have from ingesting pot are much different from humans. Dogs on marijuana are seldom relaxed and euphoric-looking, as their dependable senses are altered and they have no concept of why or what is happening to them. Where pot has an anti-nausea effect on humans, the opposite is often true for dogs. The following two scenarios may help give pet owners a view of two possible care plans for a dog with marijuana poisoning: A family is settling down to an evening of television when their young, previously healthy dog suddenly becomes very wobbly on his feet, is stumbling and can’t seem to settle down. When the owners try to hold the dog, his head keeps twitching to one side. The dog does not seem to be responding to their voices. On the way to the vet practice, the dog starts to retch and falls over, unable to keep his balance in the car At the animal hospital, after an emergency assessment, the veterinarian considers a possible seizure, neuro-toxins, brain injury and epilepsy along with many other possibilities. Blood is drawn and in-house blood panels are run while an intravenous catheter is placed. The blood panel comes back normal, so fluid therapy is started after an ultrasound is performed. An ECG and blood pressure monitors are attached to follow heart activity due to depressed heart rate. Flow-by oxygen is supplied due to decreased respiration. The dog is restless and acting erratically with its head dipping, and it begins cowering and frantically trying to hide. The veterinarian speaks with the owners again about the possibility that their dog might have consumed something he should not have, and they answer “no.” Inducing vomiting is next until the dog empties his stomach contents, which reveal that there is a substance that might look like marijuana and have a distinctive odor. This is followed with anti-vomiting medication and then getting the dog to ingest a large amount of liquid charcoal that is not pleasant to eat. An enema might be ordered next. The veterinarian returns to the owners, explaining that there is a strong possibility that the dog has consumed marijuana but, if they are certain this is not the case, additional testing can be done, including hospitalization. The owners then state that their dog may have gotten into a visiting friend’s backpack that may have contained pot. In fact they become more and more convinced that this happened for certain. Their veterinary hospital trip took three to four hours and their bill was anywhere from hundreds of dollars to more than $1,000. Now look at the exact same scenario up until arriving at the veterinary hospital. As initial assessment is underway, the owners explain that a friend was visiting their home and they believe that their dog may have eaten some marijuana that was inside the friend’s backpack. The veterinarian induces vomiting in the dog and observes remnants of pot. An anti-vomiting medication is given and the owners are asked to sit with their dog in a quiet room with the lights dimmed for about an hour to help the dog, whose altered state makes it hyper-sensitive to noises and visual stimuli. Before discharging the dog to go home, respiration and heart rate are rechecked and the owners are given some home-care information. The veterinary hospital visit takes about 75 minutes and costs about $100. Recovery prognosis is usually very good, although a dog hurting itself from a fall or biting its tongue are possible complications. And, in the case of pot brownies, chocolate toxicity can be very serious. There are instances of dogs that have pre-existing heart or respiratory conditions suffering more long-term or fatal effects after consuming marijuana.continue

Japan and Africa team up to boost agriculture.

Boosting agricultural productivity and food security in Africa will require colossal collective efforts by African countries and their partners. Japan already plays a significant role in contributing to sustainable agricultural development on the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa represents the greatest food security challenge in the world today with the highest prevalence of undernourishment near 25 percent, or almost one in every four people. By 2050, the population in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to exceed two billion, and even if food production grows as projected by about 170 percent, this would still leave some 120 million people undernourished. Clearly, efforts to improve food security and malnutrition need to be stepped up. Yet, climate change effects, such as higher temperatures and extreme weather events will hamper food production in various regions. Countries acting alone cannot resolve these enormous challenges. Strong collaboration with other nations, international organisations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector will be key to finding sustainable solutions. For FAO, Japan is an essential ally in promoting rural development and food security and nutrition worldwide. Japan is not only one of FAO’s major resource partners in Africa, it also provides the expertise of skilled Japanese specialists for various agricultural projects in the region.More Japan is also supporting FAO in building resilience in African countries, where threatening levels of food insecurity result not only from climatic hazards but also from ongoing internal conflicts. Civil unrest must come to an end to achieve food security and improving food security will in turn help build sustainable peace in Africa. Japan and FAO believe that – with a predominantly young and rural population and over 11 million youth expected to enter labour markets over the next decade – Africa’s agriculture sector should be a catalyst for inclusive growth and improved livelihoods. Therefore, major effort should focus on making agriculture attractive and profitable for young people. Africa’s future depends very much on the development of its rural areas. Strengthening the capacities of poor farmers by providing them access to modern technologies and best agricultural practices will enable them to increase their agricultural output and income and contribute to rural economic growth. In 2013, Japan committed to supporting African countries with $32 billion aimed at increasing agricultural production and productivity, especially for rice, and empowering farmers including through the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD) initiative. Its aim is to double rice production in sub-Saharan Africa between 2008 and 2018 and disseminate the New Rice for Africa (NERICA) a high-yielding hybrid rice. Another example of such cooperation is a closely related five-year $2.5 million project aimed at strengthening agricultural statistics in the CARD countries.

National Dog Day: Could your rescue dog have rabies?.

While the zika virus poses worrisome human health concerns, another potential health problem is brewing that threatens both humans and domesticated animals --the importing of foreign dogs for adoption. Many people are unaware that the U.S. has become something of a favored nation for countries looking to export their rescue dogs due to several reasons. First, Americans are big-hearted, and when seeking dogs many chose animals made available through rescues. Second, there’s a readymade market here – Americans love canines and own an estimated 80 million dogs.Lastly, import rules on dogs can be easily flouted, allowing foreign exporters to send us their sick animals. The vast majority of imported rescue dogs are not tracked in the United States – either upon arrival or after they enter rescue channels. Patti Strand, founder and national director of the National Animal Interest Alliance, a non-profit that studies shelter trends and the importation of rescue dogs, estimates that close to one million rescue dogs are imported annually from regions not known for stellar canine health and safety standards. They include dogs from Puerto Rico, Turkey, several countries in the Middle East and as far away as China and Korea. That compares to about 8 million dogs annually acquired as pets in the U.S.All of this underscores that without improved oversight of pet rescue organizations, there’s no way of definitively identifying how many foreign rescue dogs are put up for adoption here. These foreign rescues may be well-intentioned, but they are courting disaster. While it is often a challenge to gather information on an abandoned dog here in the U.S., it is even harder for a dog that originated overseas. Information may be missing, poorly translated or unreliable. Challenges are especially serious when it comes to health and safety. Animals from other countries are not subject to the health and welfare laws of the U.S. and may arrive carrying serious and infectious canine diseases. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), although importation laws require all dogs to be examined by a licensed veterinarian, foreign paperwork is hard to verify and is commonly invalid or forged. Continue

One health.

Animal and human sectors work together to protecthealth and ensure foodsafety and security. This is how #veterinarians play an integral part of the OneHealth concept: see