How playing fetch hurts the forelimbs of dogs.

Did you know retrieval strains the forelimbs of dogs? you can play fetch,but within bounds.A new study published in the journal BMC Veterinary Research has shown that this simple retrieval exercise hurts the dog. Hunting dogs such as the popular breed retriever are ideally suited for retrieving birds or small game. However, the weight the dogs carry strains their locomotor system. A motion study has shown that the dogs tilt forwards like a seesaw when they carry the prey in their mouths. T This can make already existing joint and tendon damage worse. Therefore, adjusted weights should be used for the training of puppies and adult dogs. Furthermore, the joints should be checked regularly by specialists. Originally, retrievers were not bred as family dogs but as dogs for work and hunt. They are so-called gun dogs which can be used to retrieve birds and small game such as rabbits. This ability is meanwhile also used in competitions in which the dogs only retrieve the dummies they are trained with from their puppy age. The same artificial weights are also used for hunting training. An adult animal can carry loads of several kilos in its mouth,but even if gun dogs have the required attributes, the additional weight is physically burdensome for them.The scientists found out that the load in the dog's mouth causes the forces to increase, but particularly affects the forelimbs. In any case and with rising weight, the dogs became lighter on their hindlimbs. Carrying the prey had an effect similar to a seesaw. continue

The “Stop Lyme One Health Campaign” is Fighting Lyme in Dogs and in People.

Lyme disease, and tick diseases in general, are an epidemic for dogs according to many veterinary parasitologists. What’s more? Dogs are sentinels – so in places where dogs are sickened with tick disease, it’s a safe bet that people will be too. In many ways, when it comes to tick disease, pet medicine is actually well ahead of human medicine. In fact, while the human medical community, at times, struggles to diagnose tick disease, it’s simple to detect the presence of antibodies (for Lyme and various other tick diseases) in dogs. Arguably, tick disease is also more on “top of mind” in veterinary medicine than it is in human health. Stop Lyme One Health is a public awareness campaign that includes support from the American Veterinary Medical Association and the non-profit Global Lyme Alliance. Dr. Ron DeHaven, AVMA CEO agreed that, “More today than ever, we live in the same environment as our pets, and this can be especially true for our children. If Lyme disease is diagnosed in a person, it’s very possible that the family dog has also been exposed, and visa versa.” DeHaven says, “By focusing on disease in animals, we can impact human health as well. This is the basic concept of One Health – that the health of people, animals and the environment are inextricably linked. This is also consistent with the mission statement at AVMA: The mission of the Association is to lead the profession by advocating for its members and advancing the science and practice of veterinary medicine to improve human and animal health. It’s important to work alongside physicians to enhance the understanding of diseases affecting human and animal patients. continue

Yellow fever outbreak reported in Brazil.

WHO warned that a large epidemic of yellow fever is possible in Brazil after dozens of suspected deaths from the disease were reported in an area with low vaccination coverage.As of Jan. 13, the Brazil Ministry of Health (MOH) said 133 suspected cases and 38 suspected deaths from yellow fever had been reported since Dec. 18 in Minas Gerais — the first yellow fever outbreak in the inland state since 2002-2003, according to WHO. In response, the MOH sent 735,000 doses of vaccine to Mina Gerais last week, increasing the total number in the state to more than 1 million doses. The ministry recommended that people living in rural areas of the 24 affected municipalities in Minas Gerais get vaccinated. According to WHO, one dose of yellow fever vaccine offers lifetime protection. However, the MOH recommends two doses for people in Brazil: one at age 9 months and another at age 4 years. Travelers wishing to protect themselves from yellow fever should be vaccinated at least 10 days before their trip. The rapid spread of yellow fever could be due to low vaccine coverage in Minas Gerais, and there is concern that the outbreak will cross the border to neighboring states that also have low vaccine coverage but favorable ecosystems for the transmission of the virus, such as Espirito Santo and Bahia, WHO said. These areas were previously considered to be at low risk of transmission and, consequently, yellow fever vaccination was not recommended,” WHO said in a report about the outbreak. “The introduction of the virus in these areas could potentially trigger large epidemics of yellow fever.” The outbreak response includes a house-to-house immunization campaign in rural areas of the affected municipalities of Minas Gerais and preparedness activities in bordering states, according to WHO.source

Diabetes and connected devices.

The world marks January 11 as the 95th anniversary of the date that insulin was first used in humans to treat diabetes. Since then it would seem that barely a week passes without another device or treatment in the works. According to the Centre for Disease Control, more than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes, and 86 million are living with prediabetes, a serious health condition that increases a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. Health monitoring is a critical part of daily diabetes management. A range of apps, connected devices, more recently wearables can assist people to monitor, treat and manage their health. As tech companies compete, let’s take a look at what on the market and what’s in the future: One of the most notable diabetes devices of recent years is the MyDario all in one glucose meter. It enables people living with diabetes to test their blood glucose levels in seconds, directly onto their smartphone. A corresponding app can share this information with medical professionals and family members and also helps track carbohydrate intake and exercise. continue

Rare Light Pillars In Canada Captured In Photos.

Photographer and Youtuber Timothy Joseph Elzinga from Ontario Canada was woken by his 2 year old son last Friday at 1.30AM. When he went to comfort him, he saw from the window an extremely rare meteorological phenomenon: something resembling the Northen Lights, finding out later that they were in fact light pillars. This phenomenon occurs when there are very low temperatures. The artificial light that we emit from earth, such as street lights reflect in a vertical formation against the ice particles suspended in the cold air. The movement of these lights is always towards the sky, like solid pillars. The white pillars are in fact photometeors like rainbows and can be caused either naturally by the sun, or artificially like here. Although baring some similarities, this phenomenon is not like the Northern Lights. source

Dog bites Gambia’s President-elect, Barrow’s son to death.

Dog bites Gambia’s President-elect, Barrow’s son to death.The eight-year-old son of Gambian President-elect, Adama Barrow is dead. Adama died after being bitten by a dog. According to reports, the boy died on the way to the hospital on Sunday in Manjai near the Gambian capital, Banjul. Meanwhile, Barrow has fled to neighbouring Senegal ahead of his inauguration. He is expected to remain there at the request of West African leaders until his planned inauguration, Gambia national newspaper said Sunday. Barrow is currently in Dakar following consultations with the leaders of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) at a Bamako summit.source

The role of cattle in malaria elimination in India.

The goal of eliminating malaria in countries like India could be more achievable if mosquito-control efforts take into account the relationship between mosquitoes and cattle, according to an international team of researchers. In many parts of the world, the mosquitoes responsible for transmitting malaria are specialist feeders on humans and often rest within human houses," said Matthew Thomas, professor of entomology, Penn State. "We found that in an area of India that has a high burden of malaria, most of the mosquitoes that are known to transmit malaria rest in cattle sheds and feed on both cows and humans." According to Jessica Waite, postdoctoral scholar in entomology, Penn State, cattle sheds are often next to, and sometimes even connected by, a shared wall to human houses, yet current control efforts are restricted to domestic dwellings only. "Given this cattle-shed 'refuge' for mosquitoes, focusing only on humans with regard to malaria control is a bit like treating the tip of an iceberg," said Waite. The researchers determined the importance of cows in the malaria-control problem by capturing adult mosquitoes in different habitats within six villages in Odisha state—which has the highest number of malaria cases in the country—and noting where the mosquitoes had been resting. The team then used molecular techniques to determine which species they were and which hosts they had been feeding on. The scientists collected a total of 1,774 Anopheles culicifacies and 169 Anopheles fluviatilis mosquitoes across all study sites. They found that both species were denser in cattle sheds than in human dwellings, and both were feeding on humans and cattle. Next, the researchers used their field-collected data to help build a computer model that simulated the life of an adult mosquito. They used the model to explore how best to control the mosquitoes to have maximum impact on malaria transmission in these villages. The model analysis suggests that conventional control tools—such as insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor insecticide sprays—are less effective when mosquitoes exhibit 'zoophilic' behaviors (having an attraction to nonhuman animals)," said Thomas. "However, extending controls to better target the zoophilic mosquitoes—for example, by broadening coverage of non-repellant insecticide sprays to include cattle sheds—could help reduce transmission dramatically." Understanding the relationship between humans, cattle and mosquitoes could have major implications for malaria control policy and practice, not only in India, but in other areas where transmission is sustained by zoophilic vectors .source