Livestock News – March 12, 2019
Large-animal veterinarians and their crews risk accidental needle injection when administering vaccines and other medications, John Maday writes in Pork Business. According to a Minnesota survey, 83 percent of veterinarians and 78 percent of veterinary technicians have experienced needlestick injuries. This article references a 2016 webinar that offered recommendations for veterinarians and managers, including ensuring proper animal restraint before injection, and using coworker help when restraining and injecting animals.
Pigs may transmit FMD before showing symptoms
Foot and mouth disease virus may spread much more aggressively in pigs than previous research suggests, according to a new USDA study. Feedstuffs reportsthat the study shows pigs infected with the FMD virus were highly contagious to other pigs 24 hours after injection, long before they showed clinical signs like fever and blisters. “Prior to this research, it was believed that transmission of FMD did not occur during the pre-clinical phase, i.e., before visible signs of sickness, [the USDA Agricultural Research Service] said.”
Segmenting meat eaters
Midan Marketing recently released the results of its second Meat Consumer Segmentation Study, Meat + Poultry reports. The survey of 1,200 U.S. adults showed that meat consumers break down into five segments, based on their attitudes and purchasing behaviors. Groups include the “Rising Flexitarians,” which make up 16 percent of survey participants; this group “is replacing red meat and poultry in their diets with plant-based proteins and are busy and budget-conscious consumers.” Other groups include the “Family-First Food Lovers” (21 percent) who enjoy red meat; the “Aging Traditionalists” (21 percent) who also value red meat; the “Wellness Divas” (12 percent) who are trying to eliminate red meat from their diets; and the “Convenience Chasers” (30 percent) who are “looking for convenience first and [have] little interest in product claims or the health and wellness aspect of their consumption.”
California expands quarantine area around Newcastle outbreak
California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones expanded the quarantine boundaries around the outbreak of virulent Newcastle disease in Southern California, the state Department of Food and Agriculture announced. “The goal is to further restrict bird movement as the state and the industry work to eradicate the outbreak in the region,” Lisa M. Keefe reports in Meatingplace. The quarantine requires poultry owners to report sick birds and prohibits owners from moving birds in all of Los Angeles County, as well as San Bernardino and Riverside counties. Additionally, bird owners must allow diagnostic testing and isolate poultry, among other required actions.
Camera in a capsule: A new way to view horses’ GI tracts
A Canada-based veterinarian released findings on a new way of examining horses’ gastrointestinal tracts. The technology, called “capsule endoscopy,” allows the horse to swallow a small capsule with a camera, which the horse eventually passes with its other food. Renaud Leguillette, the University of Calgary veterinary professor who researched the technique, “wanted to be able to see ‘intraluminal’ lesions within the small and large intestines,” Alexandra Beckstett writes in The Horse. These lesions “are likely quite common but challenging to diagnose with current imaging techniques” like traditional endoscopy. Capsule endoscopy has been used in human gastroenterology for more than a decade, but it’s only recently become available for veterinary use in dogs. Leguillette says it shows promise for horses.
