New NAFTA could be good for agriculture in Mexico.

Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could be an opportunity to extricate Mexican agriculture from rules that have harmed farming in Mexico. Sergio Barrales Domínguez, president of the Autonomous University of Chapingo (UACh) in Puebla, said threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to reopen NAFTA represent an opportunity to “make do without North American food” and fuel the domestic market and national food production. The university president referred to 56 programs the school has already created, which include rainwater collection systems for farming and human consumption, and its biofertilizer and gasoline saving programs. Pedro Ponce Javana, deputy director of the institution, backed the president’s stance and issued the admonishment that the government vision that agriculture is “only a business” should shift to one in which it is considered a strategic sector for the country instead. The statement pointed out that Mexico imports 30% of the beans it consumes, 50% of the wheat, 80% of the rice and over 17 million tonnes of yellow corn, as well as other vegetables, fruits, oilseeds and processed foods. continue

From Farm to Fork – Developing New Technologies to Analyze Veterinary Medicines in the Agri-Food Supply Chain.

Stuart Adams, Ph.D, a Senior Analytical Chemist at Fera Science Limited, UK, gave an informative presentation on targeted and non-targeted analyses of residues of veterinary medicines at the 130th AOAC meeting, 2016, Dallas, Texas. He discussed the development of a new LC-MS/MS multi-residue method based on high resolution accurate mass (HRAM) mass spectrometry (MS). Dr Adams began by noting that the EU guidelines for validation of methods for the analysis of veterinary medicines in food of animal origin and animal products were currently under review to include high resolution mass spectrometry. He is part of a team evaluating the Thermo Scientific™ Q Exactive™ Focus Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap™ Mass Spectrometer for the screening of 167 veterinary medicines in a single multi-residue method. - continue

The veterinary medicine daily .

The veterinary medicine daily is a compilation of veterinary and medical news from around the world. Pet health and safety is top priority,learn how to deal with emergency situations and how to prevent occurrence. The one health initiative is an important learning curve that demonstrates the relationship between animals and man and how to deal with emerging diseases. The war against abuse of antimicrobial s in food animals is on and steps and control measures are outlined to stop this practice to ensure food safety. continue.

Why you should never kiss your cat.

Cats constantly groom their fur,licking and cleaning their anal region thus making their mouth a haven of bacteria. Kissing a cat ? think again

How to feed a cat.

The number of times you feed your cat and the way you present the meal could be one reason your pet is obese. According to a new research feeding your cat once or twice a day is contributing to the overweight issues common in most cats nowadays. The researchers advice that actually feeding your cat small meals five times a day, including at night is a better nutrition protocol. These smaller meals mimics how your cat would eat if he were hunting and catching prey, such as mice. When cats are given a large amount of food in one sitting, they ignore their natural inclination to stop eating when they are full. Additionally, they are more sedentary, since they don’t need to hunt for their food, all of which can lead to obesity. When you want to feed your cat, try to give him small portions of food at a time,or you can make feeding time resemble a hunt hiding bits of food throughout the house, or using a toy which requires your cat to play with it in order to dispense the food. You can also play with your cat before feeding time to simulate how he would eat when hunting in the wild.If your cat is overweight, simply changing the way that you food him may help him to lose weight. You won’t notice an immediate change, but with a bit of time your cat’s weight should decrease. source

Reduce, replace and re-think the use of antimicrobials in animals.

 

 Reducing the use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals, replacing them where possible and re-thinking the livestock production system is essential for the future of animal and public health.

 Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the world’s most pressing public health issues and the use of antimicrobials in animals contributes to this problem, so limiting their use to the minimum necessary to treat infectious diseases in animals is crucial. 

 Control strategies that have been important drivers for change include setting of national targets to reduce antimicrobial use. The use of antimicrobials in animals should be reduced to the minimum that is necessary to treat infectious diseases. Other than in exceptional cases, their use to prevent such diseases should be phased out in favour of alternative measures. 

 Critically important antimicrobials for human medicine should only be used in animals as a last resort. Alternatives to antimicrobials that have been shown to improve animal health and thereby reduce the need to use antimicrobials include vaccines, probiotics, prebiotics, bacteriophages and organic acids. 

 However, reducing the use of antimicrobials and finding alternatives is not enough. There is a need to re-think the livestock system by implementing farming practices that prevent the introduction and spread of the disease into farms and by considering alternative farming systems which are viable with reduced use of antimicrobials. 

Education and awareness of AMR should be addressed to all levels of society but in particular to veterinarians and farmers. 

 Experts concluded that it is reasonable to assume that reducing antimicrobial use in food-producing animals would result in a general decrease in antimicrobial resistance in the bacteria that they carry and the food products derived from them. 

However, they could not quantify the impact of single reduction measures or alternatives to antimicrobials on levels of antimicrobial resistance in food-producing animals and food due to lack of data. continue

Blood bank for cats.

A blood bank for cats is run in Australia ,giving hope to cats who need blood transfusions to recover from trauma and anemia and to survive major surgery or cancer.The Animal Hospital at Murdoch University treats and saves many critically ill cats at its emergency clinic, the demand for blood has continued to rise and the hospital is calling on donors to keep the blood bank functioning. Donor cats get a free vet examination with every donation and the pool of donors is made up with felines owned by veterinary staff and students. In the past and in a lot of smaller clinics, if a vet had a patient that needed a blood transfusion, they would often pop home and get their dog or cat, bring it in and collect a blood donation. The blood bank has changed all that,where blood is pooled from donors and used when needed. Harry almost died from blood poisoning but was saved by transfusion from the community blood bank ,now Harry donates blood to the center to help other cats. The recovery is fine and the cat doesn’t suffer in any way. The procedure for donation is simple, it involves dropping your cat off at the clinic in the morning and pickup your cat at the end of the day. Cats who give blood are given anesthesia during the procedure. source