Weekly News - 03/23/2010
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| Veterinary Advantage would like to thank its sponsors in promoting excellence in animal health sales including Abbott Animal Health, Bovie, IDEXX, Intervet/Schering Plough, Merial, Midmark, Ethicon/Novartis, Sempermed, and UltiCare. |
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Top Stories EPA to increase restrictions on tick-and-flea products AVMA provides guide for pharmaceutical waste disposal Future of veterinary medicine discussed at national meetings Catalyst Council offers vet visit tips for cats Dog aspirin debated in VIN online discussion Amino acid may help calm pigs Eco Animal Health forms North America Distribution JV |
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Products to Watch Bovie receives FDA clearance for Boss soft tissue coagulation device |
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Events Intervet/Schering-Plough website to provide virtual presence at conference |
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Top Stories |
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EPA to increase restrictions on tick-and-flea products According to a report in Business Week, the Obama administration announced it will increase restrictions on tick-and-flea “spot-on” pesticides for pets, “because of a rise in adverse reactions in cats and dogs, including seizures and death.” The EPA will start reviewing product labels to determine which require more information and will develop more stringent testing and evaluation requirements, the agency said in a statement. Names must be different for products to treat cats and dogs to avoid confusion. The report said that the announcement comes following a jump in cases involving adverse reactions in dogs and cats, to 44,000 in 2008 from 28,000 a year earlier. The agency said it plans to meet with companies individually and expects new labels to begin showing up on products over the next several months. |
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AVMA provides guide for pharmaceutical waste disposal The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has created a guide for veterinarians to help them establish pharmaceutical disposal practices in their facilities and avoid water pollution. The AVMA created the policy “Best Management Practices for Pharmaceutical Disposal” and the related poster in the latest issue of JAVMA in response to a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency to survey health care facilities on disposal of pharmaceutical waste that has since been shelved. The agency had proposed the survey to determine the extent of water pollution coming from health care industries and the risks this pollution posed. “The survey would be an effective but potentially time-consuming tool for gathering facility-specific data on the management of unused pharmaceuticals,” An EPA notice stated. “EPA estimates that it has gathered sufficient data from its site visits and outreach to begin the development of best practices for unused pharmaceutical management at health care facilities. The AVMA policy “Best Management Practices for Pharmaceutical Disposal” was approved by the AVMA Executive Board in July 2009. To read the policy, go to www.avma.org. |
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Future of veterinary medicine discussed at national meetings Stakeholders have discussed and will continue to discuss plans for the future of veterinary medicine in the United States during three national meetings that the North American Veterinary Medical Education Consortium is hosting this year. NAVMEC wants to reshape veterinary education into a flexible system that will graduate veterinarians who can satisfy the changing needs of society, whether that involves extending the longevity of pets through the use of cutting-edge biotechnology or alleviating world hunger by maximizing production of animal protein, according to a report in JAVMA News. “This is probably the largest and most comprehensive effort ever undertaken on the part of academic veterinary medicine,” said NAVMEC Chair Bennie I., dean of the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. He spoke Feb. 11 in Las Vegas at the first of three national meetings the consortium is hosting this year for stakeholders of the veterinary education system. More than a hundred representatives from across every sector of veterinary medicine participated in the three-day meeting, which focused on future societal needs and competencies that veterinary institutions should develop in their graduates. |
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Catalyst Council offers vet visit tips for cats The CATalyst Council offered new guidelines to help tackle a tough issue in veterinary care-scared cats. The tips will help calm cats at the veterinary office and, as a result, improve the frequency and quality of veterinary care. The CATalyst Council offered cat owners five guidelines, including: Make your cat travel-savvy; make the carrier your cat’s “home away from home”; let them play “peek-a-boo”; Mix in some fun car trips; and travel light. For more information about the CATalyst Council, visit http://www.catalystcouncil.org/. For more information about cat behavioral wellness, visit www.indoorcat.org. |
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Dog aspirin debated in VIN online discussion Over-the-counter aspirin was discussed in a recent online discussion from members of the Veterinary Information Network and highlighted in a VIN News Service article. Some members “expressed surprise to learn that aspirin comes in packages labeled for dogs and available on store shelves,” the report said. Aspirin has long been packaged and marketed for dogs. While the use of aspirin to treat animals has waned in the face of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and other medications, owners and veterinarians have administered aspirin to alleviate pain in animals for at least a century. “That doesn’t make it a good drug for dogs,” said Steven C. Budsberg, DVM, a professor of surgery at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. Yet reviews from dog owners about their experiences with giving dogs aspirin posted on 1-800-PetMeds, billed as “America’s largest pet pharmacy,” were positive, according to the same article. Dr. Michael Dym, a New Jersey-based homeopathic veterinarian, wrote on the site that he finds aspirin as effective and cheaper than other, newer drugs. He noted that he often directs owners to give it at a much lower dose than the 10 mg per pound that is often recommended. |
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Amino acid may help calm pigs Researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have discovered that adding the amino acid tryptophan to the diet of female pigs can decrease their aggression, making them more manageable, according to a report in DVM Newsmagazine. Tryptophan is the precursor for serotonin, a calming cerebral neurotransmitter. The researchers gave 3-month-old grower pigs and 6-month-old finisher pigs 2.5 times the normal amount of tryptophan in their diets for one week. The pigs that received the diet supplemented with tryptophan showed less aggression than did the control group that didn’t receive the extra tryptophan. The introduction of new pigs into a group can throw off the hierarchy that pigs naturally establish, resulting in aggression. Thus, the use of tryptophan may help prevent some of this stress and its adverse effects, including poorer welfare, increased disease susceptibility and reduced growth and efficiency. |
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Eco Animal Health forms North America Distribution JV Eco Animal Health Group PLC said Eco Animal Health Ltd has formed a joint venture with Pharmgate LLC of Ramsey, New Jersey, aimed at distributing the partners’ veterinary products in the North American livestock and poultry markets, according to a report in AllAboutFeed.net. Pharmgate is the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Jinhe Biotechnology Ltd of China. The venture is called Pharmgate Animal Health LLC and will benefit from the manufacturing and product development experience of its owners to bring to market their ranges of extensively used medicated feed additives and new therapeutic compounds for livestock and poultry, backed by a specialist sales and technical team. |
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Products to Watch |
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Bovie receives FDA clearance for Boss soft tissue coagulation device Bovie Medical Corp received FDA approval to market its proprietary BOSSTM bipolar sintered steel coagulation device. The device delivers RF energy simultaneously with saline to perform coagulation of soft tissue and bone, resulting in reduced blood loss while minimizing charring and sticking of tissue. Saline enhanced surgeries reduce operating time while improving post-operative outcomes leading to shortened recovery time. |
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Events |
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Intervet/Schering-Plough website to provide virtual presence at conference Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health recently launched the website Studio Recharge (www.studiorecharge.com), broadcasting to the global dairy community from the 5th International Dairy Federation (IDF) Mastitis Conference 2010, which will take place from March 21-24 in Christchurch, New Zealand. It will allow those who are not able to make it to Christchurch to benefit from the insights, findings and best practices of some of the key thinkers and do-ers in the dairy industry. New videos will be released each day of the four-day conference. The website will be online until the end of April. Studio Recharge is part of the company’s commitment to fighting mastitis and helping the global diary industry consistently achieve a healthy and productive next lactation. |
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