VETERINARY MEDICINE: Feline morbilli virus.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Feline morbilli virus. Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) was first reported in domestic cats in Hong Kong and China in 2012, and has since has been detected in Japan, Europe and the Americas. It was named as the seventh species in the genus Morbillivirus, alongside important pathogens of humans and animals such as measles virus and canine distemper virus. Despite a widespread distribution, like FcaGHV1 it is unclear whether FeMV causes disease in cats. Of particular interest to the veterinary community, however, is a link that has been suggested in several reports between FeMV and tubulointerstitial nephritis, the pathological manifestation of feline Chronic kidney disease.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Emerging viruses in cats.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Emerging viruses in cats.Emerging infectious diseases comprise a substantial fraction of important human infections, with potentially devastating global health and economic impacts A 2008 paper in Nature described the emergence of no fewer than 335 infectious diseases in the global human population between 1940 and 2004. In the veterinary field, just as in the medical field, advanced molecular techniques and sophisticated computer-based algorithms for genetic sequence assembly and analysis have revolutionized infectious disease research. They have also raised important questions, as the potential pathogenic role of novel viruses can be difficult to determine. What is well understood is that novel viruses may contribute to diseases that are major causes of feline morbidity and mortality, including cancer and chronic kidney disease (CKD). A state-of-the-art review article published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery this month focuses on two novel viruses that have the potential to negatively impact feline health and welfare globally -- gammaherpesvirus and morbillivirus. For many years, domestic cats were identified as the natural host for just a single herpesvirus, feline herpesvirus 1, which is a common cause of ocular and upper respiratory tract disease. In 2014, a targeted virus discovery programme, prompted by the clinical observation that cats develop the types of cancer that, in humans, are caused by gammaherpesviruses, identified Felis catus gammaherpesvirus 1 (FcaGHV1). The first gammaherpesvirus known to infect domestic cats, FcaGHV1 is widely endemic; studies suggest that cats can be infected from 2 months of age, and that most adult cats are persistently infected. What is not yet known is whether FcaGHV1 has any pathogenic role in cats. Comparative evidence, however, suggests that while gammaherpesvirus infections typically remain subclinical, in certain circumstances, often after many years of infection, they can cause severe and frequently fatal disease.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Dogs can be a potential risk for future influenza pandemic.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Dogs can be a potential risk for future influenza pandemic. Dogs are a potential reservoir for a future influenza pandemic, according to a new study. The study demonstrated that influenza virus can jump from pigs into canines and that influenza is becoming increasingly diverse in canines. Influenza can jump among animal reservoirs where many different strains are located; these reservoirs serve as mixing bowls for the genetic diversity of strains. Pandemic influenza occurs when viruses jump from animal reservoirs to humans; with no prior exposure to the virus, most people do not have immunity to these viruses. The main animal hosts for influenza are wild birds, poultry and other domestic birds in a species pack; swine; and horses. Fifteen years ago, researchers documented an influenza virus in a horse jumping into a dog, and this created the first circulating canine influenza viruses. Five years ago, researchers identified an avian-origin H3N2 canine influenza virus circulating in farmed dogs in Guangdong, China.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Prototype of robot dog nose.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Prototype of robot dog nose.Every day, thousands of trained K9 dogs sniff out narcotics, explosives and missing people. These dogs are invaluable for security, but they're also expensive. Researchers have made the beginning steps toward an artificial 'robot nose' device that officers could use instead of dogs. The heart of the system would be living odor receptors grown from mouse genes that respond to target odors, including the smells of cocaine and explosives.

Researchers have generated six Zika virus antibodies.

Researchers have generated six Zika virus antibodies.Researchers have generated six Zika virus antibodies that could be used to test for and possibly treat a mosquito-borne disease that has infected more than 1.5 million people worldwide. The antibodies "may have the dual utility as diagnostics capable of recognizing Zika virus subtypes and may be further developed to treat Zika virus infection," corresponding author Ravi Durvasula, MD, and colleagues report in a study published in the journal PLOS ONE. Zika is spread mainly by mosquitos. Most infected people experience no symptoms or mild symptoms such as a rash, mild fever and red eyes. But infection during pregnancy can cause miscarriages, stillbirths and severe birth defects such as microcephaly. Zika virus is a textbook example of an emerging disease that appears quickly, often in remote areas with little or no public health infrastructure. There is no effective vaccine or drug to treat the disease.

RESEARCH :Mosquito known to transmit malaria has been detected in Ethiopia for the first time.

RESEARCH :Mosquito known to transmit malaria has been detected in Ethiopia for the first time.A type of mosquito that transmits malaria has been detected in Ethiopia for the first time, and the discovery has implications for putting more people at risk for malaria in new regions. The mosquito, Anopheles stephensi, normally is found in the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and China. Previous research shows that more than 68 percent of Ethiopia's population is at risk for malaria, with an average of 2.5 million cases reported annually, according to the World Malaria Report of 2017.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Medical detection dogs help diabetes patients regulate insulin levels.

VETERINARY MEDICINE: Medical detection dogs help diabetes patients regulate insulin levels. New research by the University of Bristol in collaboration with Medical Detection Dogs has found that the best trained alert dogs have the potential to vastly improve the quality of life of people living with Type 1 diabetes. As reported in PLOS One, on average trained dogs alerted their owners to 83 per cent of hypoglycaemic episodes in over 4,000 hypo- and hyper-glycaemic episodes that were examined. A hypoglycaemic episode is where blood sugar drops dangerously low and if left untreated, can lead to unconsciousness or even death.