The Chinese veterinary medicine(TCVM) and sport horses.

Chinese herbal medicine is a relatively new treatment among equine veterinarians in the western world, but Palm Beach Equine Clinic veterinarian Dr Janet Greenfield-Davis has incorporated the use of herbs and herbal treatments as an integral part of her alternative therapy options for patients. Greenfield-Davis specialises in both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. As humans adapt to using all-natural methods to treat illness, herbal medicine for animals also uses ancient Chinese formulas aimed at treating the underlying causes of a disease or illness to help the body heal itself, rather than only temporarily treating the presented symptoms. “There is a herbal product for anything,” said Dr Greenfield-Davis, who found herbal medicine six years ago when she started specialising in acupuncture, which joins Chinese herbal medicine as two of the most common forms of TCVM therapies. “Herbals treat a variety of ailments from sore muscles to problems affecting the liver, heart, kidneys, joints, and more. I pair the herbals with my acupuncture, which is traditionally the ancient Chinese way.” In TCVM, once a symptom of disharmony in the body or disease is identified, treatment proceeds through four possible branches, including acupuncture, food therapy, a form of Chinese medical massage called Tui-na, and Chinese herbal medicine. From topical treatments, including salves and powders, to edible treatments; Chinese herbal medicine not only draws on natural products, but also on the natural tendencies of the horse itself. Being herbivores, horses ingest herbs found in the wild while they are grazing. continue

The impact of veterinary medicine on the health of man and animals.

The impact of veterinary medicine on the health of man and animals cannot be underestimated as its known that 65% of infectious diseases in man stem from animals. The increased interaction between man and and animals has presented a platform for cross infection as in zoonotic diseases. The good-news about this is that since they share common causative agents ,research into prevention and treatment are often carried out using animal models which will eventually translate to use in man after clinical trials. e.g Dogs develop cancers with many similar characteristics to human cancers hence animal studies/trials are advancing management protocols.see The one health approach to diagnosis and treatment is borne out of the understanding that animal health is human health as such the National Institutes of Health just awarded a $1.5 million grant—to a veterinary lab. to find a cure for a bacterial infection that kills 30,000 Americans annually. Scientists at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will use that funding to study how the Clostridium difficile bacteria affects animals, with the hope that what they discover will apply to humans, too. That's the nature of medical progress—where insights gleaned from research in one species apply to others, including humans. Holistic approaches to health—ones that take into account human, animal and ecosystem health—could be the key to understanding and eventually defeating the diseases of the our modern age. Many diseases are transmitted from animals to humans. Mosquitoes carry Zika, malaria and West Nile virus. The Ebola outbreak that reached U.S. shores in 2014 was traced back to a diseased bat. Up to 60,000 Americans get rabies vaccinations each year after coming in contact with potentially rabid animals. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 75 percent of infectious diseases originate in animals. Studying and treating diseases in animals often leads to advances in human medicine. One gene therapy for blindness in dogs proved so promising that researchers are now testing it on people. Veterinarians have discovered a protein that helps animals' broken bones heal quicker—and it works for humans, too. By studying the animals that transmit these diseases, health professionals can prevent epidemics. Consider the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school's "geographic information system," which monitors chicken populations for avian flu. The system helped identify and contain an avian flu outbreak in Pennsylvania before it could spread to other flocks—or humans. Losses totaled just $400,000. By contrast, an outbreak in Virginia led to $100 million in damages—and risked giving the disease time to mutate and infect people—because such surveillance technology wasn't employed.Mammals and humans also suffer from some of the same non-communicable diseases. Horses, for example, can develop cardiovascular disease. Dogs develop cancers with many similar characteristics to human cancers.Studying and treating diseases in animals often leads to advances in human medicine. Studying animals can even help us diagnose disease in humans. For example, dogs can smell cancerous masses. Doctors and engineers are now exploring whether it's feasible to develop an electronic system that can mimic dogs' sense of smell in order to accurately and efficiently diagnose cancer in patients. Given the links between human and animal health, it makes sense to tear down the walls between human and veterinary medicine. Some universities are doing just that.Tufts University offers a joint doctor of veterinary medicine/master of public health degree. During their first summer, students spend eight weeks in the field volunteering with a health organization, where they put both their veterinary and human health training to work.continue

Airselfie drone takes snapshots in mid-air.

Forget Selfie Sticks this Drone Captures Photos and Videos in Midair,Instead of extending your arm or using a selfie stick to snap shots of you and your crew, you could use a new pocket-size drone — dubbed the "AirSelfie" — to help you remotely capture aerial photos and videos. This AirSelfie drone takes snapshots in mid-air. The AirSelfie is the brainchild of Italian entrepreneur Edoardo Stroppiana, who came up with the idea in 2014. "AirSelfie is specifically designed and produced for people who used to think drone cameras are extremely complicated to use — too expensive and bulky," Stroppiana said. The AirSelfie is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera that can shoot full high-definition (HD) 1080p video, as well as a 4GB microSD card. Using the AirSelfie, people, groups and companies can take pictures of themselves, their backgrounds and their projects from distances, heights and angles that they never could using their arms or a stick, Stroppiana said. The drone's four rotors help it fly up to 65 feet (20 meters) in the air. The flying camera measures only about 3.72 by 2.65 by 0.42 inches (9.45 by 6.73 by 1.07 centimeters) — "smaller than a smartphone," Stroppiana said — and weighs 1.83 ounces (52 grams).continue

Person-to-person (MDR) multidrug-resistantTB transmission drives epidemic in China.

Person-to-person MDR-TB transmission drives epidemic in China.Recent data from a population-based, observational study in China revealed that patients were more likely to contract multidrug-resistant tuberculosis from person-to-person transmission than inadequate treatment. “Inadequate treatment was considered to be the most common way of developing MDR [tuberculosis (TB)]; however, our data show that most of the patients in our study population who had [MDR-TB] had been infected with MDR strains,” Chongguang Yang, PhD, postdoctoral associate of epidemiology of microbial diseases at Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote in the Lancet Infectious Diseases. “We also found that a majority of transmission events occurred in settings such as residential communities or complexes and related public facilities.” Yang and colleagues performed variable-number-of-tandem-repeat (VNTR) genotyping and whole-genome sequencing on MDR-TB isolates collected from patients in Shanghai, China to establish transmission patterns and risk factors of MDR-TB in the area. Their analysis included data from 324 patients aged 15 years and older who were diagnosed with MDR-TB between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2012. The researchers used a standardized questionnaire to determine patients’ social characteristics, history of TB exposure and locations where transmission may have occurred. According to the data, 59% of patients with MDR-TB were treatment-naive. Overall, 32% of the 324 MDR-TB strains were in 38 genomic clusters that differed by 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms or fewer, indicating recent transmission. The researchers combined treatment-naive cases (n = 191) with cases included in genomic clusters (n = 93) and estimated that up to 73% (95% CI, 67.3-77.3) of all MDR-TB cases were likely caused by transmission of MDR strains. Epidemiological links were identified in 69% of the genomically clustered cases, only four of which were traced to household contacts. The majority (n = 45) of cases were either linked to other cases from the same residential community or neighborhood street, or cases using the same public health facilities such as food markets.

Apps and calving seasons.

Farmers have found a much easier and faster way to register calves to help them through the forthcoming busy caving season – they have found the Herdwatch app.They have said that the app is easy to use and it has saved them valuable time and hassle, particularly when registering calves. Farmers are extra strapped for time during the busy calving season that is approaching, so now is the time to do something about it. Herdwatch will have your calves registered in 30 seconds, there and then, straight to the Department of Agriculture’s system. Herdwatch is now used by over 4,000 farmers and Declan Buttle, a suckler farmer in Blackwater, Co. Wexford, said he tags the calves and then registers them on his phone while the cow is in front of him.“There can be no mistakes that way. I would be lost without it.” Farmers are using Herdwatch every day to manage their herds and eliminate farm compliance paperwork. see

The veterinary practice.

A compilation of veterinary news, innovation,pet-care tips and disease update.Here read the current edition

New gene test to save dogs.

Veterinarians have struggled for years to understand why a common heartworm medicine causes some dogs to fall into a coma and die,though they knew it primarily affects herding dogs, such as collies and Australian shepherds – breeds known for their furry white feet. A Washington State University(WSU) professor, Dr. Katrina Mealey, solved that puzzle in 2001 by pinpointing a mutation that makes the drug react differently in some dogs and cats. She also invented a simple genetic test to detect the mutation, likely preventing thousands of pet owners from poisoning their furry friends. Mealey grew up with pet collies and went on to earn doctorates in pharmacology and veterinary medicine. The mutation has been observed in about a dozen dog breeds. A certain gene produces a protein that pumps drugs and other toxins out of the brain. With the mutation, however, the gene doesn’t produce enough of the protein, allowing certain drugs to accumulate in the brain. The results can be devastating. Mealey pointed to one case in 2009 involving a miniature Australian shepherd named Cash. When Cash was a puppy, his owner took him to visit some horse stables in Montana. It’s there, veterinarians suspect, that Cash ate some of the heartworm medicine ivermectin. Soon Cash began staggering and lapsed into a coma. After visiting a veterinary emergency room in Bozeman, he was flown by chartered plane to WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Cash was hospitalized for 26 days, eight of which he was comatose and needed a ventilator to breathe. Nursed back to health, he walked out of the hospital two days before Thanksgiving. Pet owners can submit for testing a vial of a pet’s blood or a swab of its mouth as owners are advised that unless it’s a pedigreed purebred testing is necessary.more