Weekly companion animal news: March 8, 2021
Midmark introduces new veterinary anesthesia simulation course
Midmark has introduced an in-clinic anesthesia simulation training for veterinary professionals. The RACE-approved course is designed to train a clinical team in anesthesia monitoring best practices. The full-day, in-clinic training is capped by an afternoon simulation where teams are presented with real-life scenarios involving the most common anesthetic complications. A proprietary software monitoring program provides learners with immediate feedback for their clinical decisions as vital signs change in response. A debriefing session with the instructor after each scenario allows the team to reflect and learn together, according to Midmark.
Veramaris marine microalgae oil approved for use in cat food
Veramaris has received approval for its marine microalgae oil to be used as a cat food ingredient. This comes four months after the product was granted approval for use in dog food. In both cases, the product received “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) designation from the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. The approval means the product can be used in cat food in all 50 states.
Elanco responds to the incident reports linking Seresto to hundreds of pet deaths
In light of the USA Today story about incident reports related to Seresto, linking it to hundreds of pet deaths, we reached out to Elanco for comment. Elanco spokesperson Keri McGrath responded:
First, There is no established link between death and exposure to the active ingredients contained in Seresto.
It is critically important to understand that a report is not an indication of cause.
The numbers referenced in the original article represent the number of reports received, and do not reflect causality. So, if a dog were to be wearing a collar and experience any sort of adverse event, the collar would be mentioned in the report. Drawing a causal link from individual incident reports is misleading. Since its initial approval in 2012, more than 25 million Seresto collars have protected dogs and cats in the U.S. from fleas and ticks.
And, reporting rates have actually been decreasing over the life of the product. That said, we continuously monitor the safety of our products on an on-going basis. A few important facts:
Since its initial approval in 2012, Seresto has protected more than 25 million US pets from fleas and ticks. (70m globally)
Since 2012, incident report rate for all adverse events related to Seresto is just 0.2% of users – defined by the WHO (World Health Organization) as “uncommon”.
The significant majority of these incidents relate to non-serious effects such as application site issues – reddening of the skin or hair loss below the collar. It is important for consumers to make sure they’re purchasing collars from an authorized retailer.
As a globally marketed product, more than 80 regulatory authorities around the world, including the US EPA, rigorously reviewed the safety data collected over the course of Seresto’s development prior to registration.
Further, the safety and efficacy of Seresto are continuously monitored and scrutinized by global regulatory bodies as well as via internal processes.[/quote]
Lack of regulation could put service dogs and their owners at risk, trainer says
As airlines impose stricter rules on traveling with service animals, one service dog trainer says a lack of regulation could cause problems for passengers. Without some form of universal training standards, many service dogs behave with varying degrees of discipline, said Robert Dean, veterans director for the nonprofit JAVELAN, an organization that teaches veterans and first responders how to train their service animals. The growing popularity of online service dog and emotional support animal registries has caused further complications, often allowing customers to purchase official-looking but ultimately useless paperwork claiming their untrained pet is a service dog. “When we have so many people out there taking animals that shouldn’t be in public, or not been trained to be in public, or create a hazard to other people in public, it makes the service dog industry looked at a little bit less favorably,” Dean said. Fox 42 reports.
New Orleans dog is the first to get novel skin treatment for severe burns
A New Orleans dog severely burned in a kennel fire was set to become the first dog to receive a novel skin growth treatment, WWL reports. The procedure—called “AVITA Medical RECELL”—was developed at University Medical Center New Orleans. It involves treating a small piece of the patient’s skin to form a spray-on solution of their skin cells. “I thought it was the coolest thing, because in veterinary medicine unfortunately we’re decades behind human medicine,” said Dr. Dena Lodato, a veterinary surgeon caring for the dog and a member of the surgical team. “This is a breakthrough moment for people in the animal welfare community and really around the country for people who care about pets,” said Jeff Dorson, executive director of the Humane Society of Louisiana.
Graves of nearly 600 dogs and cats in ancient Egypt may be world’s oldest pet cemetery
Researchers have unearthed nearly 600 dogs and cats at an ancient burial site in Egypt, along with the strongest evidence yet that the animals were treasured pets, Science reports. This would make the site the oldest known pet cemetery, according to the study authors, suggesting the modern concept of pets wasn’t alien to the ancient world. The animals discovered at the site, located in the early Roman port of Berenice, appear to have been laid gently in well-prepared pits. Many were covered with textiles or pieces of pottery, “which formed a kind of sarcophagus,” said archaeozoologist Marta Osypinska, who was part of the research team. More than 90% were cats, many wearing iron collars or necklaces threaded with glass and shells. Most of the animals, including cats, dogs and monkeys, appear to have died from injury or disease.
Tufts veterinary school contributes to Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine research
The new single-dose COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson was the result of collaboration among several research groups, including Tufts University’s veterinary school. Veterinary pathologists at Tufts contributed to multiple studies, including one in hamsters that was among the first to report vaccine protection against severe COVID-19-related pneumonia and death, Tufts reports. “I was thrilled to see that results in the human clinical trials mirrored the results predicted by the pre-clinical studies that we have been contributing to,” said Tufts assistant professor Amanda Martinot, a veterinary pathologist and co-author on several of the studies.
COVID-19 is more evidence of the value of ‘one health,’ veterinarians say
The COVID-19 pandemic is yet more evidence that public health threats need to be addressed through multidisciplinary approaches, including veterinary medicine, advocates say. “No one thought to look to veterinarians or draw upon our research and knowledge about coronaviruses” when COVID-19 emerged, said Dr. Laura Hungerford, a professor and head of the Department of Population Health Sciences at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Veterinarians had already dealt with porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, also a coronavirus, Hungerford said. Like other “one health” advocates, she thinks veterinarians could have added valuable perspective to meet the current challenge. That said, recognition of the value of veterinarians in public health does seem to be growing: The CDC and other agencies have endorsed the one health concept—though critics say they need to coordinate their efforts more—and legislation could bring collaboration on federal one health initiatives to fruition. The AVMA reports.
