Category: Animal Welfare

Avian Influenza in Wild Birds

Posted on by Les Ellison
Avian Influenza in Wild Birds

Bird Flu Prevention Zone in England and Wales

Just a few weeks into the New Year, England’s Chief Veterinary Officer has imposed a bird flu prevention zone over the whole of England. Intended to protect the UK poultry industry, following the discovery of dead wild birds infected with an H5N6-type avian flu strain, a similar bird flu protection zone was imposed in Scotland at the end of January.

Avian influenza virus, detectable using the FASTest® AIV Ag Avian Flu Diagnostic Test Kit, is spread from bird to bird via faeces, body fluids, contaminated feed, soils and water. Although there is no evidence that the current strains of avian flu have affected people in the UK, precautions should be taken to minimise close bird-human contact.

Keepers of flocks above 500 birds are required to take more stringent bio-security measures

Keepers of all types of captive birds within the prevention zone must take all practical measures to separate their birds from wild birds. DEFRA advice includes reducing access by wild birds, removing excess feed, and screening water courses with fine netting. Reducing access by people to bird enclosures, and disinfecting footwear and foot-ways is also recommended. Keepers of flocks above 500 birds are required to take more stringent bio-security measures.

Poultry keepers with flocks of more than 50 birds are already required to register their flocks even if the flock isn’t made up of just one species. Mandatory registration covers chickens and bantams, turkeys, ducks, geese, game birds such as partridges, quail and pheasants, and pigeons reared for meat. APHA (Animal and Plant Health Agency) also requires registration of more exotic bird flocks such as guinea fowl, ostriches, emus, rheas and cassowaries.

APHA Alerts Subscription Service – FREE

Registering smaller bird flocks isn’t compulsory, but DEFRA strongly recommends voluntary registration of even the smallest bird flocks and animal herds with the ‘APHA Alerts Subscription Service’.

The APHA Alerts Subscription Service is free to use for livestock keepers, veterinary professionals, wider agricultural interests, and national and local government offices and media outlets. Disease alerts and updates can be received by email, SMS text and voice messaging. APHA alerts include a range of animal health risks including foot and mouth, bluetongue, avian influenza, Newcastle Disease, swine fever and various equine diseases.

Helping curtail the spread of bird flu

While the bird flu prevention zone remains in force, even keepers of ‘backyard’ poultry flocks are advised to watch their birds for the tell tale signs of HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) including swollen head, bluish skin discolouration, loss of appetite, stressed breathing and reducing egg production.

Suspicious symptoms should be reported to your vet without delay. Veterinary laboratory testing, with the FASTest® AIV Ag Avian Flu Diagnostic Test Kit, provides immediate clarification protecting your valuable birds and helping curtail the spread of bird flu among the UK poultry industry.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Alabama Rot – Fishy Tale Opens New Research into Link with Mystery Dog Disease

Posted on by Les Ellison
Alabama Rot – Fishy Tale Opens New Research into Link with Mystery Dog Disease

2018 opened with yet more confirmed cases of Alabama Rot in UK dogs. With a fatality rate of 80%, the kidney disease, characterised by ulcer-like skin sores, has now affected over 100 dogs countrywide since the disease first appeared in the UK in Hampshire in 2012.

Suggested link between Alabama Rot and a micro-organism 

New research, carried out at a specialist fish health laboratory, may have found a link between Alabama Rot and a micro-organism known to infect fish. Dr Fiona MacDonald, founder of Hampshire’s specialist Fish Treatment Ltd, has suggested a link between a bacterial infection of fish and the tissue-destroying disease in dogs.

Veterinary laboratories and practitioners refer to Alabama Rot as ‘Cutaneous and Renal Glomerular Vasculopathy’ or CRGV, acknowledging its twin characteristics of distressing, visible skin sores and life-threatening (renal) kidney failure, both caused by destruction of the vascular (blood supply) system.

Dr MacDonald’s linking of CRGV in dogs with the haemorrhagic condition known as ‘red sore’ disease in fish comes from the discovery that the bacteria, Aeromonas hydrophila, which causes red sore disease, has been found in the kidneys of CRGV affected dogs.

What makes Aeromonas so toxic to some humans and animals?

Aeromonas hydrophila is visualised microscopically as a Gram-negative staining rod-shaped bacterium. Like other members of the Aeromonas genus, A.hydrophila is common, widespread and able to survive and grow with or without oxygen in fresh or salt water, at temperatures down to 4 degrees Celsius and resistant to many common antibiotics.

Exactly what makes Aeromonas so toxic to some humans and animals isn’t fully clear, but it’s thought that it might exploit an existing weakness or susceptibility in its host, possibly entering via the digestive system with contaminated food or water.

The microbe invades vital tissues and organs, such as the kidneys, via the bloodstream. Secreting a range of tissue-destroying toxins including the cytolytic (meaning cell-bursting) ‘aerolysin’, the microbe causes the open sores and renal failure that characterise CRGV.

Only hygiene, care and vigilance offers protection from Alabama Rot

The proposed fish connection needs further investigation and laboratory research is continuing. In the meantime, and in the absence of a clear cause, preventative or cure, only hygiene, care and vigilance offers protection from Alabama Rot.

With most cases reported in the wetter months from October to March, some vets suspect that CRGV begins with infected mud and water. Washing mud from your dog’s legs and body may be a sensible precaution, and may also help reduce the risk of other water-borne diseases.

Inspecting your dog for sores that may indicate Alabama Rot will also forewarn of other dermatological infections, and ulcerating diseases including Leishmaniasis. Reporting changes in your dog’s behaviour such as tiredness, reduced appetite and increased or reduced urination will help your vet provide early diagnostic testing and potentially life-saving treatment for CRGV and many other infections and dog diseases.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

The Naming of The Flu – HPAI, H5N8 and What It All Means for You

Posted on by Les Ellison
The Naming of The Flu – HPAI, H5N8 and What It All Means for You

The approach of winter marks the beginning of the high-risk Avian Flu season (also known as ‘bird flu’ or ‘fowl plague’) for commercial poultry keepers. With UK chicken, duck, goose, turkey and wild bird flocks susceptible to H5N8 HPAI avian influenza now is a good time to understand what those letters and numbers mean for you.

Avian Influenza is a notifiable bird disease affecting wild and captive birds and poultry. ‘Notifiable’ means that if you suspect an outbreak in your birds, you must notify Defra Rural Services (03000 200 301). Failure to do so is an offence.

Bird Flu is caused by a virus of the Orthomyxovirdae group categorised into 4 major types labelled A, B, C and D. Type A viruses are responsible for all the major, serious outbreaks of flu in human populations and birds.

HPAI can cause severe disease and death

Avian influenza, caused by a Type A virus, can be Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or Low Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (LPAI). LPAI infections might cause only mild illness, while HPAI can cause severe disease and death, spreading very quickly through commercial flocks.

If you could see it, the influenza virus would look like a hollow sphere containing the genetic core of the virus. This core enables the virus to take over the cells of an infected animal, cause the symptoms of bird flu and reproduce many more, infective viruses.

The outside of the sphere is studded with protein molecules that protect the core and help the virus penetrate host cells. In the veterinary laboratory, two of these protein studs are known as Haemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). These proteins exist in many subtypes. The numbering of these subtypes gives each virus its unique, scientific identity.

So the bird flu virus of current concern, the “HPAI H5N8 virus”, is a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A carrying Haemagglutinin (HA) type 5 and neuraminidase (NA) type 8.

Infection increases as migrating birds come in from Asia and Eastern Europe

The UK risk of H5N8 infection increases as migrating birds come in from Asia and Eastern Europe where the bird disease is endemic. Poultry keepers will be on the lookout for clinical signs of including swollen head, skin discolouration, loss of appetite, respiratory distress and diarrhoea.

Scientists have detected 18 Haemagglutinin and 11 neuraminidase subtypes. Each combination of HA and NA proteins make up a unique, detectable identifier called an ‘antigen’. Testing for these AI antigens allows veterinary laboratories to diagnose whether flu-like symptoms in poultry, or death in a wild bird, might be due to HPAI or a less significant disease.

FASTest® AIVAg is an on-site diagnostic test kit test that detects all HPAI avian influenza virus types. Screening poultry on-site with FASTest® AIVAg enables the veterinarian to review a symptom-based diagnosis with the potential for early protection of flocks, and reduction of likely economic loss.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

 

CSI Vet –Veterinary Forensics and The Fight Against Animal Cruelty

Posted on by Les Ellison
CSI Vet –Veterinary Forensics and The Fight Against Animal Cruelty

Veterinary forensics is becoming increasingly important in the investigation of animal cruelty since it became apparent that people who do harm to animals are also more likely, than those who have no record of animal mistreatment, to do harm to people.

The RSPCA reports that more than a third of the animal cruelty prosecutions they handle fail to make a conviction through the lack of evidence linking the suspect to the criminal action.

The need to present the courts with meaningful, robust and reliable evidence against those who harm or mistreat animals has led to the emergence of the relatively new specialist discipline of veterinary forensics.

The University of Surrey have pooled their resources 

Practising veterinary professionals, forensic scientists and veterinary pathologists at the University of Surrey have pooled their knowledge, expertise and resources to create ArroGen Veterinary Forensics.

Conceived as a complete veterinary forensic service, the new enterprise brings together veterinary diagnostics, pathologists, experienced forensic scientists, and experts in the law and criminal justice system.

Vets and veterinary laboratories are expert in uncovering the physical consequences of injury, neglect and poisoning. Veterinary forensics involves the careful consideration of whether this physical evidence is more likely if the allegation against an accused person is true, compared to the likelihood of the vet’s findings given any explanation offered in defence.

Working closely with the Police, RSPCA and other agencies

The facility will work closely with the police, the RSPCA and agencies investigating the progression from animal cruelty to criminal behaviour directed against humans. Initially, the RSPCA and the police will submit most of the cases accepted for forensic investigation, though vets in local practice will have an input role too.

Local vets have always been at the forefront of uncovering incidents of cruelty against both commercial and companion animals. The new facility will enable vets to back up their ethical stance against mistreatment and misuse of commercial, companion and wild animals with practical and effective action.

Providing training, resources and online teaching materials

Responding to requests from practising vets and veterinary laboratories, the new centre will provide training, resources and online teaching materials to be made increasingly available over the next few years. Educational courses will focus on forensic awareness and interpretation, equipping vets and veterinary laboratories with continual professional development (CPD) opportunities to acquire a basic understanding and competence in the new discipline.

The veterinary forensics service will operate across two sites – ArroGen in Oxfordshire, and the University Pathology Centre in Surrey. Ultimately the success or otherwise of the venture will be proven in courts of law when the veterinary forensic evidence supporting a prosecution of animal cruelty receives the same scrutiny applied to all forensic evidence.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Online And Social Media Ads Drive ‘Impulse Buy’ Pet Purchases

Posted on by Les Ellison
Online And Social Media Ads Drive ‘Impulse Buy’ Pet Purchases

With Christmas on the way, animal charities and welfare organisations are flagging up the dangers around online and social media pet ads that can lead to impulse buying of very young, unhealthy and misrepresented kittens.

Online classified ads account for a staggering 400,000 dogs and 100,000 cats advertised for sale through online pet shops, breeders and social media. Based on a survey by Blue Cross and the EU Dog and Cat Alliance, 57% of pet purchases were made through online and social media pet ads. Of those surveyed, 95% reported problems with online pet ads ranging from fraudulent ID, banned breeds, false advertising and concerns for the animal’s health.

Lack of the most basic health and welfare information

Complaints included a lack of the most basic health and welfare information. Many of the puppies and kittens advertised were too young to be separated from their mothers and litter-mates. Many were underweight, ill-adjusted to life as a pet, un-chipped and even pregnant.

Most animal welfare experts agree that kittens and pups shouldn’t be separated from their mother and litter-mates before eight weeks old. Many professional breeders won’t allow separation until twelve weeks, permitting a naturally gradual, rather than abrupt, end to nursing. Pups and kittens taken from their litters too soon miss out on the social development vital to a well-adjusted, contented and confident pet.

First Vaccinations for kittens

Kittens should receive their first of their vaccinations against common feline infections, including cat flu, from 8-9 weeks old, preferably before joining a new household. If the new addition is to be a companion to other cats, testing cats for serious diseases such as Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV), Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) and Feline Infectious Peritonitis Virus (FIPV) and might be a really good idea.

First Vaccinations for Puppies 

With pups, vaccinations against distemper, parvovirus, kennel cough, leptospirosis and parainfluenza can begin at 4-6 weeks, with boosters 6-12 months later. Pups don’t have full disease protection until two weeks after completing the course and shouldn’t be exposed to infection risks before then.

Online pet sales in the EU remain largely unregulated. Only Malta obliges dealers to register as online pet shops. UK and Ireland websites are asked to commit the Pet Advertising Advisory Group (PAAG) code, but this is voluntary and, to date, only 6 websites are signed up.

Almost one in six pups experience illness

The Kennel Club reports that for pups purchased in twenty minutes or less, almost one in six experience illness, require ongoing veterinary treatment, or die within their first six months. A rate three times higher than pups chosen over more than an hour of thought and discussion.

The BVA have also expressed concern as to why so many online retailers are apparently ignorant or ignoring the health and welfare of pets. Tackling the issues, says their senior vice president, comes down to 3 things: working with voluntary codes, maintaining pressure to improve the effectiveness of legislation and educating buyers on the responsibilities of pet ownership.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

The Mating Game – Breeding Assistance Dogs Isn’t A Game of Chance

Posted on by Les Ellison
The Mating Game – Breeding Assistance Dogs Isn’t A Game of Chance

The breeding of assistance dogs, under the supervision of the UK Guide Dogs National Breeding Centre. Each mating is carefully planned to guarantee the health and welfare of each breeding bitch and their potential pups.

Most assistance dog pups are born in the homes of volunteer puppy carers though many are born at the UK Guide Dogs NBC in Leamington Spa. Pups born at the centre are introduced to the sights and sounds of the domestic environment – including TV, radio, washing machine and vacuum cleaner noise, by teams of volunteers. Breeding never begins before a bitch is 19 months old and the breeding career ends after seven years.

Avoiding consecutive pregnancies

Great care is taken to avoid consecutive pregnancies giving a bitch time to recover from the stresses of pregnancy and motherhood before any further mating. Breeding bitches give birth to no more than 4 litters and never more than 5. A fifth litter is only allowed under exceptional circumstances and only with veterinary approval.

Planning the breeding of assistance dogs means breeders must know when a bitch is most fertile, known as ‘in oestrus’. The oestrus cycles of bitches that live mostly outdoors is influenced by seasonal, environmental factors including changes in day length. Bitches ready to mate and conceive are referred to as ‘in season’ and show behavioural changes described as their being ‘on heat’.

Recently, researchers from the Universities of Cambridge and Nottingham, together with NBC staff, studied the oestrus cycles of breeding bitches kept mostly indoors. They found that, sheltered from seasonal variations, the number bitches ‘on heat’ at any one time was evenly spread throughout the year.

Breading centres require accurate knowledge

Breeding healthy puppies, maintaining the welfare of breeding bitches and efficiently manage the resources of a breeding centre requires accurate knowledge of when a bitch is about to come into season. In the absence of the defined ‘breeding season’ of outdoor and wild dog populations, breeders and managers must rely on other indicators of bitches breeding condition.

Monitoring changes in the bitch’s hormone levels is the most accurate way to predict ovulation and the best time for mating. TARGET Canine Ovulation Diagnostic Test Kit measures the level of the hormone progesterone, enabling breeders to predict the best time for conception – the period 5-6 days after the initial rise in Progesterone.

Following mating, pregnancy can be confirmed and monitored with the FASTest RELAXIN test; especially useful in excluding pseudopregnancy (false pregnancy) and where there are worries about any possible spontaneous abortion.

Further testing with TARGET Canine Ovulation Diagnostic Test Kit toward the completion of pregnancy will help breeders of assistance dogs prepare for the arrival of the litter, and to martial their resources quickly and efficiently.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Laboratory Animal Welfare and The Centre for the 3 Rs

Posted on by Les Ellison
Laboratory Animal Welfare and The Centre for the 3 Rs

For the UK’s millions of laboratory animals, the 3Rs aren’t about Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. Instead, they’re three letters that spell out the legal and ethical responsibilities of veterinary laboratories.

The care and welfare of UK laboratory animals are set down in the United Kingdom’s Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Amended in 2012 to align UK Act with European Directive 2010/63/EU, the Act requires facilities housing laboratory animals to appoint qualified, competent and influential ‘Named Persons’.

Replacement, Refinement and Reduction

Among the plethora of acronyms denoting the duties of ‘Named Persons’ is the NACWO – Named Animal Care and Welfare Officer. The NACWO would be expected to show a high level of knowledge and competency not only in the core skills of animal care, health management and the recognition of pain and suffering, but also of relevant UK law and animal welfare ethics.

The principles of laboratory animal welfare are laid down in the ethics code known as the 3Rs – Replacement, Refinement and Reduction.

  • Reducing the number of animals in laboratories can be achieved by better planning, so that more information is obtained from fewer animals. The sharing of information between laboratories would reduce unnecessary duplication, while advances in techniques such as imaging could enable longer study periods and so require fewer animals.
  • Refinement will be driven by advances in laboratory husbandry; both in improved veterinary laboratory equipment and in a better understanding of animal needs and behaviour. Increased levels of scrutiny by animal welfare organisations, the media and public concern will further energise the drive toward refinement in animal care.
  • Replacement might include a switch from tests using animals to using tissue cultures. As computer modelling and simulation becomes more sophisticated, it might be possible to replace live material altogether.

Although ‘Replacement’ is the ultimate goal of the 3R ethic, animal welfare organisations continue to express concern over the number of animals in UK laboratories. Over 2 million procedures were carried out in 2016; the vast majority on species such as mice, fish and birds. Less than 1% of procedures involved horses, dogs, cats and primates.

Championing the 3Rs in the UK is the NC3Rs (National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research). By focusing their resources on science-led and evidence-based research, the centre fosters collaboration between universities and industry to develop and introduce 3Rs methodologies into the academic and commercial environment.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary products visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Kennel Club’s 3 Things Not To Do When Choosing Your New Puppy

Posted on by Les Ellison
Kennel Club’s 3 Things Not To Do When Choosing Your New Puppy

Over the 2016-17 Christmas fortnight of 20 December to 2 January, Dog’s Trust received 127 unwanted dogs and puppies – a 54% increase above the figure for the same period in 2015-16.

More than 300 animals given shelter

Over the whole of the festive season, the charity gave shelter to more than 300 animals but also received an average of 70 calls a day from people wanting to give up their dogs in the weeks immediately before and after Christmas.

The Dog’s Trust launched its ‘‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ not just for Christmas’ for the 1978 festive season. Back then, the charity was known by the more formal title of The National Canine Defence League.

The slogan, created by Clarissa Baldwin OBE, chief executive of the Dogs Trust since 1986, first hit the streets of Britain as a sticker campaign for 20,000 car windows and bumpers. Since then, the charity’s strap-line has gained an entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and is now a registered trademark.

Online sales provide unscrupulous puppy dealers with the anonymity they need

In the 70s, many high street pet shops still sold puppies and kittens to casual buyers. Although this aspect of the pet trade has largely disappeared from the UK, it has been replaced by the practice of buying pups through online ads and social media contacts.

The internet can be worse for pups than a pet shop. Online sales provide unscrupulous puppy dealers with the anonymity they need. Reliable breeders will want to promote, not hide, themselves and will be more than keen to let you know who and where they are.

Reputable breeders are usually enthusiasts for the breed rather than the sale mostly specialising in one breed. They’ll be happy to provide you with pedigree and vaccination certificates – including distemper, parvovirus, kennel cough, leptospirosis and parainfluenza, respond positively to your requests to meet the pup more than once and even return your purchase if the new arrival proves unsuited to your lifestyle.

Choosing a registered breeder 

Choosing where to get your puppy is just as important as choosing what sort of puppy you want. You shouldn’t be bounced into a panic buy – especially at Christmas. If you know a highly regarded, Kennel Club Assured breeder, be prepared to on their waiting list. And always stick to the club’s 3 big don’ts: never buy a puppy from a pet shop, never pick your puppy up from a meeting in a car park or motorway service station and never buy a puppy because the seller made you feel like some sort of rescuer.

To be sure you’re doing the best for your new canine companion, for yourself and for everyone devoted to dog health and welfare. Make sure your puppy comes from a registered breeder such as a Kennel Club Assured Breeder.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

If Only They Could Talk – Animal Pain In Home and Veterinary Practice

Posted on by Les Ellison
If Only They Could Talk – Animal Pain In Home and Veterinary Practice

Whether it’s the chronic pain of illness and age or the acute pain of accident and intervention, it’s generally accepted that animals experience not just pain, but emotional distress. But how to recognise and evaluate pain in animals? The Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (GCPS) provides an objective assessment.

Assessment of an animal’s pain

For the veterinary professional, there’s a whole range of measurable indicators on which to base an assessment of an animal’s pain. Changes in an animal’s blood pressure and heart rate may be interpreted as indications of stress or a response to physical trauma related to the experience of pain.

With the resources of a veterinary laboratory, hormonal, metabolic, gastrointestinal and homeostatic changes – such as blood clotting times, provide further validation or contradiction of opinions formed in the veterinary surgery.

Evidence-based veterinary response

These ‘professional’ assessments of an animal’s pain status depend on physiological information not available to an animal’s owner or keeper. For the animal’s closest companion, the best available indicators of pain are changes in their animal’s normal patterns of behaviour, development and expression. For the veterinary clinician, behavioural signs – together with the observations of owners and keepers, contribute to a complete, evidence-based veterinary response.

Non-physiological indicators of pain might include changes in activity, the development of new activities – such as limping, vocalisation, body language, excessive scratching or licking, and even facial expressions. For example, a relaxed and comfortable cat will normally sit feet curled under the body, head up, ears up and eyes wide open. While cats suffering discomfort will often lie flat and with half-closed or squinting eyes.

Owners need to develop a high degree of familiarity with their pet

Neurological studies on rodents support the ‘pained face’ as a reliable indicator of pain, showing that there is an emotional factor in an animal’s response. Picking up these non-verbal signals requires owners to develop a high degree of familiarity with their pet’s ‘normal’ behavioural state. It also requires a consistent, validated scale of measurement.

The Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (GCPS) provides an objective assessment of pain and allows subsequent assessments to help determine if an animal’s pain is getting better or worse. Devised by Glasgow vet school, the scale helps to improve veterinary diagnosis of acute, postoperative pain and the appropriate treatment of long-term, chronic pain.

The Glasgow Scale questions behaviours including vocalisation, attention to wound, mobility, sensitivity to touch, demeanour and activity. Responses are scored as to which best describes the animal’s behaviour and scores totalled to give a maximum pain score from 0 to 24.

Animals might not be able to communicate verbally, but with the GCPS objective scale of measurement, vets can encourage owners and keepers to speak up on their behalf.

To find out more about our large range of veterinary diagnostic test kits visit our website: www.vetlabsupplies.co.uk or Telephone: 01798 874567

Welcome to The Virosphere – Keeping Watch On New Virus Threats

Posted on by Les Ellison
Welcome to The Virosphere – Keeping Watch On New Virus Threats

Five newly recognised viruses could be of serious future concern to dog and cat owners as well as to veterinary practitioners specialising in companion animal infectious diseases.

Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is a new paramyxovirus closely related to dog distemper virus. Discovered in about 12% of tested Hong Kong strays suspected of kidney disease, almost 30% of cats tested positive for antibodies against FeMV. The large number of FeMV-positive cats in the Asian survey, and the first cases in Europe and the Americas, suggests that FeMV is set to increase significantly over the next few years.

The pathogenicity of canine circovirus remains unclear

First observed in dogs in 2012, circovirus previously infected only pigs causing post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome. Canine circovirus was identified in the liver of a dog with severe haemorrhagic gastroenteritis, and in 14 other dogs that had died showing similar symptoms. However, because some studies show no difference in detection rates between healthy and diseased dogs, the pathogenicity of canine circovirus remains unclear.

Reports of dogs contracting influenza from humans and occasionally from horses have circulated for years, but only in 2004 did veterinary laboratories report a canine-specific influenza virus. Studies showed that the virus originated from the H3N8 strain of equine influenza. A second unrelated canine influenza virus, evolving from an avian-like H3N2 influenza was found in Asia, which then appeared in Chicago, US in 2015. So far, neither the H3N8 nor H3N2 canine influenza strains have been identified in the UK to date; the last reported case of H3N8 was more than a year ago.

Male to male aggression could be a key route of transmission

Because the newly discovered virus felis catus gammaherpesvirus (FcaHV1) is a retrovirus similar to that implicated in human cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, veterinary laboratories suspect its possible co-involvement in feline lymphoma. FcaHV1 has been identified in around 16% of cats in the US, Asia, Australia and Europe with up to 32% testing positive for antibodies. Comparison with FIV infection rates suggests that male to male aggression could be a key route of transmission.

The first canine astrovirus (CaAstV) reported in 1980

Named because of their star-like shape, astroviruses are thought cause up to 10% of global human childhood gastroenteritis. The first canine astrovirus (CaAstV) was reported in 1980, with current worldwide infection rates of between 2% and 27%. A UK study showed 6% of dogs diagnosed with severe diarrhoea also tested positive for CaAstV but no detection in dogs free of symptoms. Although this implicates the virus as causative of canine gastroenteritis, other studies tend to refute any link.

Clearly, evidence to connect a novel virus with apparent symptoms of the disease may often be lacking. However, vigilance and diligence remain the first line of defence against new threats to the health and welfare of companion and commercial animals.

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