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1. Antibiotic resistance takes center stage at D.C. forum
By Krissa Welshans
Feedstuffs
March 16, 2016
The National Pork Board joined with Atlantic LIVE today to bring together experts to discuss the challenge of responsible antibiotic use in the 21st century. At the event, leading stakeholders - from farmers to physicians - shared what is being done to address concerns of antibiotic resistance.
"Antibiotics are a critically important tool for pig farmers in this country; however we are very concerned about the issue of antibiotic resistance. It is a very real challenge for both human and livestock medicine, and it's something that we all must address," said John Johnson, chief operating officer of the National Pork Board. "We are sincere and authentic in our effort to do our part to meet this challenge."
However, Johnson said there are voices claiming that nothing is changing on the farm.
"There are also those who claim that agriculture is simply changing the names - the nomenclature that what used to be called 'growth promotion' is now going to be called 'prevention.' That is simply not the case," he said. "There is real, substantial change happening on the farm today with antibiotic stewardship. Not only is growth promotion rapidly going away for medically important antibiotics, but new requirements for increased veterinarian oversight - requiring what's called a Veterinary Feed Directive, or prescriptions for water-based antibiotics - are going to be required, and they have to be written for a specific group of animals for a specific period of time according to the label to address a specific health threat."
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2. Rabies - in cattle? Veterinarian discusses how common viral disease can be in cow herd
By Connor Orrock Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service
Farm and Ranch Guide
March 15, 2016
MANHATTAN, Kan. - When rabies is mentioned, it often conjures classic images from movies of an infected animal running rabid. While this viral disease seems far from concern, particularly in domestic animals, recent events suggest it is a bigger problem than traditionally thought.
The most commonly diagnosed domestic carrier of rabies in the Midwest is cats; however, in Kansas, there has been a recent increase in cattle confirmed with rabies.
"In Kansas the past two years, cattle have been the most common domestic species we've diagnosed with rabies," said Gregg Hanzlicek, director of production animal field investigations for the veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Kansas State University. "This year, we have 13 confirmed bovine cases. Last year there were nine."
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3. Sampling results provide current snapshot of CWD in state [WI]
The Leader-Telegram
March 16, 2016
MADISON - The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sampled more than 3,100 deer for chronic wasting disease statewide in 2015. In all, 290 positive detections were made, primarily within the endemic area in southern Wisconsin.
"Once again, hunter cooperation has been outstanding. This year was our first sampling year under the new electronic deer registration system, and we used this opportunity to try new collection methods," said Tim Marien, DNR wildlife health biologist. "Although the total number of deer tested decreased from 2014, that was not unexpected this first year. We learned from the experience and will continue to work closely with hunters to make sample submission convenient and gather more samples."
The department has monitored trends in chronic wasting disease distribution and prevalence within Wisconsin since its discovery in 2002.
According to Marien, prevalence continues to increase within the department's long-term monitoring area in southwest Wisconsin, and remains higher in males than females and higher in adults than yearlings.
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4. Idaho veterinary teaching center closing
By Malinda Larkin
JAVMA News, April 1, 2016
Posted March 16, 2016
A long-standing Idaho-based food animal referral hospital and teaching center for veterinary students is slated for closure by the end of the year.
The University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences announced Jan. 27 that it will shutter the Caine Veterinary Teaching Center, about 30 miles west of Boise. In doing so, it will "adopt a new approach for educating veterinary students that relies on veterinary faculty placed throughout the state to work more directly with livestock producers and university facilities," according to a university press release.
"We believe this change is necessary to reflect changes in the regional veterinary education program and to better prepare students to work with Idaho's livestock producers," said John Foltz, PhD, the college's dean, in a university press release. "In addition, this change aligns with the university's ongoing process of refining and redirecting resources in line with guidance from our State Board of Education as we meet changing needs."
But not everyone agrees the closure is for the best. A former faculty member at the center says local livestock producers and veterinarians will be the ones to suffer, as they depended on it for laboratory work and necropsies and will have to find alternatives for those services now.
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5. FDA Announces Grant Award Opportunity for Antimicrobial Use and Resistance Data Collection
FDA/CVM News Release
March 16, 2016
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support the collection of data on antimicrobial use in animal agriculture. The funded data collection efforts are intended to provide part of the baseline information on antimicrobial use practices in the four major food-producing animal groups (cattle, swine, chickens, and turkeys) needed to assess the impact of the agency's judicious use strategy. The data collection efforts are also expected to provide important information on data collection methodologies to help optimize long-term strategies for collecting and reporting such data.
Beginning on March 11, 2016, FDA will accept applications for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Cooperative Agreement Program for Antimicrobial Use & Resistance Data Collection, which will fund up to two awards with a maximum of $300,000 provided to any individual awardee.
Although not required, Letters of Intent are strongly suggested and will be due on May 9, 2016. Applications are due by no later than June 24, 2016. To apply for this funding opportunity, visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-FD-16-046.html. FDA encourages applicants to visit www.grants.gov as early as possible to obtain the registration information needed to complete the application process. The agency is unable to accept late applications.
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6. U of S Researchers Adapt "Camera Pill" to Examine Horses [Canada]
Source Newsroom: University of Saskatchewan
Newswise.com
March 16, 2016
SASKATOON - Veterinary and engineering researchers at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) have teamed up to harness imaging technology to fill in a blank area in animal health-what goes on in a horse's gut?
"Whenever I talk to students about the horse abdomen, I put up a picture of a horse and put a big question mark in the middle," said veterinary researcher Dr. Julia Montgomery in the U of S Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
Montgomery worked with equine surgeon Dr. Joe Bracamonte and Khan Wahid, a specialist in health informatics and imaging in the College of Engineering. The team used an endoscopy capsule about the size and shape of a vitamin pill-a sort of "mini submarine" with a camera-to have a look inside a horse.
"This is really a cool way to look at the entire small intestine," Montgomery said, explaining the only other ways are exploratory surgery or laparoscopy, which uses a thin, lighted tube inserted through an incision. Neither allows a view from inside. Veterinarians also can use an endoscope-basically a camera on the end of a thin cable-to look as far as the horse's stomach, and a rectal exam to have a look from the other end.
Montgomery explained that capsule endoscopy offers a powerful new tool to diagnose diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and cancer, or to check surgical sites. Researchers could use it to see how well drugs to stimulate bowel action are working, or to answer basic questions such as determining what "normal" small intestine function looks like.
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