Spaying and neutering your pets triggers cancer and dysplasia.

Spaying and neutering your pets triggers cancer and dysplasia according to a new study:over the last several years, a number of small, breed-focused and primarily retrospective studies have been conducted on the effects of spay/neuter in large and giant breed dogs, including the Rottweiler and Golden Retriever. The following information to illustrate what the research has uncovered about the potential benefits and adverse effects of gonadectomy: spaying or neutering large and giant breed dogs decreases or prevents most reproductive organ disease, as you would expect, since conventional desexing surgery removes some or all of those organs and the hormones they produce. The diseases for which spayed or neutered dogs are at increased risk are, as you also might expect, some of the most common disorders seen in dogs today. They include obesity, cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) ruptures, hip dysplasia, several types of cancer, urine dribbling (incontinence) and cystitis (bladder inflammation). Musculoskeletal Disorders in Desexed Large and Giant Breed Dogs,removing a dog’s ability to produce important hormones while his skeleton is still developing can result in delayed closure of the growth plates at the end of each long bone. This can cause a dog’s legs to grow longer than normal, as you can see in this example of two adult male Golden Retrievers. The big guy on the left is intact, with normal conformation for the breed. The leggier guy on the right was neutered at 5 months and has a quite noticeable longer-limbed conformation. Sadly, even though the taller Golden on the right is certainly as handsome and fit-looking as the dog on the left, his longer limbs may put him a higher risk for orthopedic disease.Labrador and Golden Retrievers neutered before 6 months of age develop one or more joint disorders at two to five times the rate of intact dogs. When it comes to problems with cranial cruciate ligaments, large breed dogs spayed or neutered at under 6 months of age have three times the risk for early life CCL injuries. Dogs desexed at any age have a two to three times higher incidence of CCL disease compared with intact dogs. A study involving several hundred Golden Retrievers, none of the intact dogs had CCL disease; however, 5 percent of neutered males and 7.7 percent of spayed females who were desexed before they were a year old developed CCL injuries. The body condition score was the same for all the dogs, which indicates that changes in the build of the desexed dogs was to blame. Male Golden Retrievers neutered at under 1 year developed hip dysplasia at double the rate of intact males, and the disease also appeared earlier in the desexed dogs. Another study of 40 years of data collected on a range of different dogs desexed at a variety of ages showed a 17 percent increased risk of hip dysplasia.continue

Study finds association between eating hot peppers and decreased mortality.

A new study has associated eating hot peppers and decreased mortality,according to researchers at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont, who found that consumption of hot red chili peppers is associated with a 13 percent reduction in total mortality, primarily in deaths due to heart disease or stroke—in a large prospective study. Going back for centuries, peppers and spices have been thought to be beneficial in the treatment of diseases, but only one other study—conducted in China and published in 2015 - has previously examined chili pepper consumption and its association with mortality. This new study corroborates the earlier study's findings. Using National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) III data collected from more than 16,000 Americans who were followed for up to 23 years, medical student Mustafa Chopan '17 and Professor of Medicine Benjamin Littenberg, M.D., examined the baseline characteristics of the participants according to hot red chili pepper consumption. They found that consumers of hot red chili peppers tended to be "younger, male, white, Mexican-American, married, and to smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, and consume more vegetables and meats . . . had lower HDL-cholesterol, lower income, and less education," in comparison to participants who did not consume red chili peppers. They examined data from a median follow-up of 18.9 years and observed the number of deaths and then analyzed specific causes of death. There are some possible explanations for red chili peppers' health benefits, state Chopan and Littenberg in the study. Among them are the fact that capsaicin - the principal component in chili peppers - is believed to play a role in cellular and molecular mechanisms that prevent obesity and modulate coronary blood flow, and also possesses antimicrobial properties that "may indirectly affect the host by altering the gut microbiota." more

US woman dies of infection resistant to all 26 available antibiotics.

A US woman has died from an infection that was resistant to all 26 available antibiotics, health officials said this week, raising new concerns about the rise of dangerous superbugs. The woman, who was in her 70s, died in Nevada in September, and had recently been hospitalized in India with fractured leg bones, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.The cause of death was sepsis, following infection from a rare bacteria known as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which is resistant to all antibiotics available in the United States. The specific strain of CRE, known as Klebsiella pneumoniae, was isolated from one of her wounds in August.Tests were negative for the mcr-1 gene—a great concern to health experts because it makes bacteria resistant to the antibiotic of last resort, colistin. It was unclear how the woman's infection acquired resistance.Experts said she had been treated repeatedly in India during the last two years for a femur fracture and hip problems, most recently in June 2016. Once the bacteria was identified in Nevada, the patient was isolated to prevent the infection from spreading in the hospital.Postmortem tests showed her infection might have responded to a treatment called fosfomycin, which is not approved in the United States. Paul Hoskisson, a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, in Scotland, said that several European countries, including Britain, license fosfomycin for intravenous use in such cases."This is important because we are seeing increasing numbers of drug-resistant infections, and this is one of the first cases for Klebsiella where no drug options were open to the medical staff." Multi-drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has been described by the World Health Organization as "an urgent threat to human health." According to Nick Thomson, leader of the bacterial genomics and evolution group at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in England, this bacteria is likely to become more and more resistant. "The report highlights international travel and treatment overseas as a feature in the introduction of this pan-resistant isolate into the USA," he said."Since we live in such an interconnected society, this is important because this isolate represents a truly untreatable infection" which leaves health-care professionals with few options but to seek to prevent further transmission.more

Climate change could kill off parasites, destabilizing ecosystems.

Climate change could kill off parasites, destabilizing ecosystems according to a new study.Photogenic animals, from polar bears to people, aren't the only creatures under threat from global climate change. A new review led by UC Berkeley suggests the phenomenon threatens parasites with extinction, which could have big consequences for ecosystems. The vast majority of research into parasites and environment change focuses on how hosts, particularly humans, will be harmed. Few studies have addressed how the loss of parasite biodiversity may affect other aspects of host health, ecosystem connectedness and health and biodiversity as a whole. Previous research suggests that parasites are up to 10 times more vulnerable to extinction than are their hosts. continue

Uganda detects bird flu.

Uganda announced Sunday it had detected bird flu among migratory birds, without specifying whether it was the particularly virulent H5 strain detected this season in countries worldwide. The agriculture ministry said bird flu had been detected in two spots, one near Entebbe, on the banks of Lake Victoria, and another in the Masaka distict about 120 kilometres (75 miles) west of Kampala. Five domestic ducks and a hen in Masaka were also infected, leading authorities to call for all poultry to be kept inside to avoid further contagion from migratory birds,continue

How to choose the perfect breeding stock.

Running a cattle ranch is rewarding and very demanding,you need to get the right breeding stock and follow required protocols to ensure health of the animals. Starting off on a good note will mean starting with the best breeding stock,having considered all the desirable traits before selection and introduction in the farm. This is how to select your stock continue

Trichomoniasis in a cattle herd.

A cowherd infected with trichomonas also called "trich" can be costly to your pocket book. Here's what you need to know about trich and the simple steps you need to take to protect your herd. Prevention of trichomoniasis may be the most important economic factor in a cattle ranch’s preventive health program. A sound program will help prevent abortions and ongoing losses at a time when every calf is vital to the bottom line. More commonly known as “trich,” this highly contagious venereal disease can wreck a herd’s reproductive efficiency. “For a cow-calf producer, there’s not another disease that comes close to the economic impact of trich,” said Dr. John M. Davidson, senior professional services veterinarian for Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI). “The economic impact of trich extends well beyond the lost pregnancies,” Davidson said. “Trich shifts the calving pattern, which reduces weaning weights and potentially shortens female longevity in the herd. It also takes a heavy toll on bull power as confirmed infected bulls should be slaughtered.” Trich is caused by a tiny protozoan parasite, Tritrichomonas foetus. In the cow, the parasite colonizes in the vagina and uterus. In bulls, it colonizes or lives in epithelial folds on the skin of the penis and prepuce. Reports from the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratories in 2014-2015 indicated that 3 percent of all sampled bulls tested positive for trich. “Trich poses a substantial threat in many areas of the United States: Gulf Coast, Mountain West, and the Central Plains,” Davidson said. “For cow-calf producers who ranch in at-risk areas, this venereal disease is a significant economic risk when introduced into their herd.” Dr. Jeff Ondrak, researcher with the University of Nebraska Great Plains Veterinary Educational Center, said even though some don’t see trich as a major problem for cow-calf producers, “it has never gone away” in Nebraska and other states. Testing remains an important part of a cow-calf operation’s breeding program,” Ondrak said. “A lot deals with how much you know about the disease. Those who have had to deal with trich are usually more cautious about testing than those who haven’t dealt with it.” Prevention starts by having close communication with a veterinarian to discuss your breeding program and how it can be improved to prevent the disease. Davidson said one step is to limit the breeding season to 2 to 3 months to help the veterinarian recognize the typical pattern of non-pregnant cows and/or fewer cows conceiving early in the breeding season. These management practices are also important; management practices to prevent trich: 1)Purchase only virgin replacements including bulls and heifers. This ensures that bulls have not been exposed to cows carrying the disease. “Purchasing non-virgin bulls increases your risk of introducing the disease into your herd,” he explained. 2)Test all bulls before and after the breeding season. Follow your state regulations for those bulls identified as infected. 3)Post breeding surveillance and excellent pasture breeding records are additional steps to limit the transmission of trich if introduced into your herd. (Test samples are taken from along the penis surface, then sent to a veterinary diagnostic lab for testing.) 4) When open range grazing cannot be avoided, vaccination and surveillance are critical to minimize the long-term effects to the herd’s efficiency. A neighbor may have a trich-infested herd and the old saying, “no fence is cattle-proof” may apply. Have a good surveillance plan to monitor pastures. 5)Vaccinate cows and heifers to aid in the reduction of shedding of the T. foetus organism. source