Weekly companion animal news for January 6: drug recall, declawing, telemedicine

Aurobindo recalls drug used to stimulate appetite in cats

Aurobindo Pharma USA is voluntarily recalling one lot of its Mirtazapine tablets, due to a labeling error on bottles: Those labeled as Mirtazapine 7.5 milligrams may contain 15 mg tablets. The medication is typically used to treat depression in humans, but it’s also commonly used to stimulate appetite in cats experiencing illnesses. Aurobindo is notifying its distributors by letter and is arranging for return of all of the recalled product. Distributors and retailers that have the product should return the bottles to the place of purchase.

AVMA may toughen cat declawing policy

Cat declawing would be discouraged as an elective procedure but not outright opposed under a policy revision scheduled for consideration by the American Veterinary Medical Association’s House of Delegates, Today’s Veterinary Business (also published by NAVC) reports. The policy up for consideration “discourages the declawing of cats as an elective procedure and supports non-surgical alternatives to the procedure,” according to the AVMA board of directors. Current policy “strongly encourages” veterinarians to educate clients about the potential risks of the procedure and why scratching is a normal feline behavior. It leaves the decision with pet owners to make “in consultation with their veterinarian.” While the new policy, on which delegates will vote January 11, stops short of opposing onychectomies, organizations like the American Animal Hospital Association and the American Association of Feline Practitioners oppose declawing.

Oregon regulators propose easing veterinary telemedicine requirements

Oregon regulators have drafted telemedicine standards that allow practitioners to offer care online without having to first physically examine a patient, as long as the animal has been examined by any veterinarian within the past year and has medical records to show for it, VIN News reports. The proposed change (which was open for public comment through December 31) would relax regulatory requirements for establishing a veterinary-client-patient relationship to provide telemedicine services. Most states require veterinarians to physically examine patients before that relationship can be established. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Examining Board supports easing these restrictions, following human medicine, in which physicians can often establish online relationships with patients without needing an initial face-to-face visit. The Oregon Veterinary Medical Association, however, opposes the change, arguing that the lack of physical examination is “problematic” for patient and consumer welfare.

Illinois city bans sale of cats and dogs

The city of Rock Island, Illinois, has banned the sale of dogs and cats following public concern over inhumane treatment of animals in breeding mills, WQAD news station reports. “Animals in these facilities are often kept in enclosures that are too small, denied adequate care, and bred excessively causing physical injury,” according to a memorandum from the city. The new regulations require cats and dogs for sale to be in need of adoption from animal care or rescue facilities.

Vets continue to see canine heart problems linked to grain-free foods

It’s still unclear how some pet foods, like those labeled grain-free, may affect pets’ hearts, but experts say the number of cases of dilated cardiomyopathy is expected to rise, NBC reports. “It’s not going away,” said Dr. Lisa Freeman, a veterinary nutritionist and professor at the Tufts University veterinary school. She and other experts are looking beyond grain-free dog foods at the broader class of “BEG” foods: foods made by boutique companies, foods that contain exotic ingredients and foods that are grain-free. While taurine deficiency is a well-known cause of DCM, most of Freeman’s patients experiencing the condition have normal taurine levels. This means there are likely other causes of heart damage in dogs consuming BEG diets, she said. One Virginia cardiologist said it’s possible something in these foods inhibits how the body uses or absorbs amino acids. The doctor, William Tyrrell, said dogs in his practice that have been treated for DCM and switched from BEG diets to traditional dog food have improved. He believes researchers will find dogs that develop food-related DCM have a genetic predisposition for the disease that doesn’t become apparent unless they’re fed a certain type of food.

Canine cancer treatments increase as research grows

Dogs can serve as useful research models for scientists to develop effective human cancer treatment—and that means good news for the pets, for which cancer is a big concern. Clinical cancer trials for dogs have become more popular over the past decade, Amy Sutherland writes in Scientific American. For example, the National Cancer Institute in 2017 awarded $11.5 million in grants to six veterinary schools to study immunotherapy treatments for four types of cancer in dogs. “Dogs are helping us understand a very complex puzzle,” said Amy LeBlanc, a veterinary oncologist and the director of the NCI’s Comparative Oncology Program. “Not only do we have more research, but the sophistication of that research has exploded.” These trials have produced several promising cancer drugs for dogs, Sutherland notes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 conditionally approved Tanovea-CA1 to fight canine lymphoma, while an osteosarcoma vaccine developed by Aratana Therapeutics has been conditionally approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The abundance of new research has led to even more ambitious ideas: The largest veterinary clinical study ever, which began this past spring, will test a vaccine meant to stop any type of cancer before it becomes a tumor.

Mars shares 5 key trends for the year ahead

New technology like artificial intelligence, automation and machine learning will be crucial for business going forward, but it’s only as effective as the people operating it, Mars says in its outlook for the new year. Looking forward, the company, whose Mars Petcare branches include Banfield, VCA and Iams, among others, plans to use its “digital engine,” a team of 20,000 associates, to identify problems and solutions through technology. For example, after the team identified a shortage of highly skilled radiologists to examine pet X-rays, they implemented automated X-ray analysis for pets, allowing the company to assess an additional 12,000 images per year, the company says. This push to ensure effective technology is one of the company’s five key trends for the new year; the others include food production transparency, supply chain transparency and sustainability, the need for brands to demonstrate measurable impacts, and “personalized nutrition.”

NAVC Retriever platform adds Google search function

The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC, publisher of the Fountain Report) and guavaVet announced the launch of an enhanced version of NAVC’s Retriever job seeking app. The new platform uses Google’s search engine so veterinary professionals can browse hiring organizations and job opportunities in the industry before using the app to apply for a job. The Retriever app uses criteria like location, skills and experience to match job applicants with ideal openings. It’s meant to help doctors, technicians and nurses, students, and practice managers find full-time, part-time and relief positions. According to NAVC, the app has reached 2,000 employers and registered more than 3,300 job seekers in the industry since officially launching last January.