Weekly companion animal news: March 30, 2020

AVMA urges conservation of personal protective equipment

The American Veterinary Medical Association is urging veterinary practices to conserve personal protective equipment, and asking them to consider postponing elective procedures, Today’s Veterinary Nurse (also published by NAVC) reports. The organization said veterinarians can help conserve disposable equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic by “safely” extending the life of this gear. This includes using expired gowns and surgical masks. “These products were designed to serve as protective barriers and thus FDA believes they may still offer some protection even when they are used beyond the manufacturer’s designated shelf life or expiration date,” the organization’s guidance said. “The user should visibly inspect the product prior to use and if there are concerns (such as degraded materials or visible tears) the product should be discarded.” NAVC recently donated a supply of PPE to the Florida Department of Public Health. The AVMA offers a flow chart to guide clinics in implementing effective social distancing measures.

Vets say drug supplies remain stable, but they’re conserving PPE

Veterinarians across the country are having to reshape their practices to make sure they have adequate supplies of personal protective equipment during the coronavirus pandemic. One piece of good news is that clinics aren’t worried at this point about running low on animal drugs, Dr. Tracy Schlicksup, co-owner of a South Carolina clinic, told The State. “A lot of the medicines being utilized have not come into concern yet because this is a viral disease; there’s not a demand on a particular antibiotic,” Schlicksup said. But “IV fluids are going to become an issue, so we are doing what we can to be as conservative as possible.” According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, as of March 27, no supply shortages have been reported by the 32 animal drug companies that make finished drugs or source active pharmaceutical ingredients in China for the United States. That said, some companies still warn there could be future shortages.

FDA loosens federal VCPR requirements to enable telemedicine during COVID-19

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has temporarily suspended enforcement of a small number of federal veterinarian-client-patient relationship requirements to facilitate veterinary telemedicine during the pandemic, Today’s Veterinary Business (also published by NAVC) reports. The guidance “applies to extralabel drug use and the issuing of veterinary feed directives (VFD),” the American Veterinary Medical Association said. As an example of how the new guidance could be used, the FDA said that if an owner of a sick dog shared a video with a veterinarian, the vet, if necessary, “could then prescribe a drug not approved for use in dogs or for that illness (extralabel use).”

Business slows at vet clinics during outbreak, data shows

Veterinary hospitals nationwide have seen business decline during the coronavirus outbreak, according to the Veterinary Industry Impact Tracker from VetSuccess. The online dashboard shows data from a survey of nearly 2,400 hospitals. The information can be broken down by state, metropolitan area, revenue type, date and practice size. Year to date, revenue nationwide was up 5.05% and invoices down 3.75% through March 24, compared to the same period last year. Over the seven days from March 18 to March 24 in metropolitan New York, both categories fell by almost 18%, according to the data, reported on by Today’s Veterinary Business.

Singapore startup says drug used to treat cats could help treat COVID-19

A drug used to treat coronaviruses in cats could be a treatment for COVID-19, the drug’s manufacturer says. Retromad1 has been proven to treat feline leukemia as well. A spokesperson for the company, Biovalence, said several scientific papers showed that a specific mutation in the novel coronavirus is similar to the pathways through which dengue, Ebola, HIV and feline coronaviruses infect their hosts. Retromad1, an oral drug, was designed to inhibit this pathway, the spokesperson said. Singapore-based Today has the story.

Texas veterinarian begins outdoor house calls while clients stay home

Anticipating new social distancing orders, a Texas veterinarian began making house calls—without entering the house. “We’ll meet you in your yard, do the full exam, nose-to-tail of your pet, kind of get an idea of what’s going on and do whatever treatments we can do at your house,” Dr. Samantha Holter told KBTX. “If your pet is very sick and we think that they need to be hospitalized, we will take your pet, as long as you would like, to the hospital so they could get the care they need.”

People turn to dogs, cats and chickens to cope with self-isolation

The coronavirus has prompted shelters to issue requests for more people to foster pets. And many people stuck at home have chosen to do so, Kim Kavin and Heather Kelly write in The Washington Post. One adoption coordinator in the Washington, D.C., area said that the adoption waiting list at the rescue went from 10 to 40. Being at home means people have time to train their pets. And one nuclear scientist in California pointed out that her new dog will help her stay on schedule. “Having a dog is going to force me to get up early in the morning, because at an absolute minimum, I have to let it out to pee.” A Florida resident said her new chicken lays eggs for the family, which is helpful when the grocery store runs out.

Company plans to be leader in CBD pet products

Canopy Animal Health, a division of Canopy Growth Corporation, plans this year to launch the most scientifically sound companion animal CBD products available. The products will initially be non-prescription, but the company is also developing a prescription line, Today’s Veterinary Practice (also published by NAVC) reports. Canopy’s current research focuses on how CBD might be used to treat pets with situational anxiety, chemotherapy side effects, epilepsy, joint pain and inflammation. Company officials expect they’ll have the first comprehensive understanding of CBD safety for pets through their ongoing acute and chronic escalating dose trials. Canopy currently has 22 studies either completed or ongoing. “We are leveraging critical research partnerships with academia and relationships with industry experts to become the most trusted source on CBD science,” said Robert Menardi, a veterinarian and Canopy’s director of veterinary educational and technical services.