Weekly News – 06/22/2010
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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 FTC delays enforcement of Red Flags Rule Hybrid H1N1 virus found in pigs Deficiencies found in regulation of large-scale dog breeders Deadline for National Veterinary Accreditation Program this summer Molecular diagnosis … in a suitcase Deer ticks populating Wisconsin county for first time Putney Inc. adds Zimmerman as director of professional marketing |
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Products to Watch Chemaphor announces Oximunol(TM) Chewables development update Sound-Eklin to sell Xoft Veterinary Cancer Radiation therapy unit Pfizer Animal Health acquires rights to E. coli vaccine |
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Events June is Adopt-A-Cat Month KC Animal Health Forum to be held Aug. 31 |
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Sales Article highlights “How to be an Optimist” |
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Stock Watch Stock Watch |
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Top Stories |
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FTC delays enforcement of Red Flags Rule The Federal Trade Commission has delayed until 2011 the enforcement of a rule that requires companies, including veterinary practices, to develop programs to prevent identity theft, a report said. The FTC published the “Red Flags Rule” in 2007 to implement the provisions of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act that require financial institutions and creditors to create programs to detect warning signs of identity theft—red flags—and respond appropriately. The agency has delayed enforcement of the rule multiple times, however, at the request of businesses and legislators. According to an earlier FTC press release, creditors include professionals such as health care providers “who bill their clients after services are rendered.” In 2009, the House of Representatives passed a bill (H.R. 3763) to exempt certain businesses with 20 or fewer employees, including health care practices such as veterinary practices, from the Red Flags Rule. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is considering a companion bill (S. 3416). The AVMA has been lobbying the FTC and Congress to exempt veterinary practices from the Red Flags Rule. The Association also has compiled resources regarding the rule, including a guide to compliance for veterinary practices, at www.avma.org/issues/FTC_red_flags_rule.asp. |
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Hybrid H1N1 virus found in pigs According to an article in The Canadian Press, scientists from Hong Kong are calling for an increase in surveillance of pig populations after discovering a new swine flu virus that is a hybrid of the pandemic H1N1 virus and viruses previously found in pigs. The discovery of the virus, said the report, “suggests the H1N1 virus may reassort easily with other viruses in pigs.” That’s a process that could generate new flu viruses that might have the capacity to sicken humans, scientists warned, noting two viruses high on the pandemic watch list — H5N1 and H9N2 — are occasionally found in swine in Asia. Inherent in their report is a message flu experts know the world doesn’t want to hear at this point: the mild H1N1 pandemic may be the opening act of a longer play. |
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Deficiencies found in regulation of large-scale dog breeders The Agriculture Department’s Office of the Inspector General issued a report recently in which several problems with the Animal Care program administered by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service were cited. The OIG’s review said the process of enforcing compliance by problematic dealers was ineffective; inspectors failed to cite or document violations properly to support enforcement actions; moreover, minimal penalties were assessed, and APHIS was found to have misused guidelines to achieve lower fines. Some large-scale dog breeders were also found to be exploiting a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that makes them exempt from the Animal Care program’s inspection and licensing requirements. As a consequence, a growing number of these unlicensed breeders were not being monitored to ensure the animals are being treated humanely. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement that under his watch, “USDA will reinforce its efforts under its animal welfare responsibilities, including tougher penalties for repeat offenders and greater consistent action to strongly enforce the law.” |
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Deadline for National Veterinary Accreditation Program this summer The deadline to apply for the National Veterinary Accreditation Program is Aug. 2. Already, some 45,000 veterinarians have submitted applications to the program, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). Participation in the voluntary program enables practitioners to issue health certificates for animals bound for travel out of state or to other countries. The application is available online and can be submitted electronically, by fax or by mail. The 89-year-old program was revised this year to require periodic training so that accredited veterinarians keep current on emerging infectious diseases. Originally, accreditation was lifelong and required no further training. |
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Molecular diagnosis … in a suitcase According to a report by Kim Lewis of Voice of America, scientists have developed technology that can be carried to the field in a laptop suitcase to diagnose diseases in animals. The joint division of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are using molecular diagnostic methods, once only available in laboratories. “We now have three basically competing systems for molecular diagnostics in the field, which means you just pack a small suitcase, a small box in your car,” Dr. Hermann Unger, Technical Officer of the IAEA’s Animal Production and Health Section, told VOA. “You drive to the location where a case is suspected. You take a sample. In two of the cases you just take blood or a nasal swap, insert that into a cartridge, and insert the cartridge into a reader. An hour later, you have results, because the instrument will tell you if the sample was positive for avian influenza or river fever or [some other illness].” |
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Deer ticks populating Wisconsin county for first time University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists recently found evidence in Milwaukee County suggesting that ticks were not just present in the county, but were living and reproducing there, too. According to the researchers, this is the first demonstration of a tick population in the county. The count was spurred by a veterinarian, who saw a surprising number of dogs he thought had been exposed to ticks and contacted the university. The incidence of Lyme disease in humans in the county is still relatively low, with 44 out of 1,948 confirmed cases in Wisconsin in 2009 diagnosed in Milwaukee County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. |
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Putney Inc. adds Zimmerman as director of professional marketing Putney, Inc., announced that Nancy Zimmerman, DVM, DABVP, has joined the company as director of professional marketing. As the leader of communications with veterinarians and practice team members, Dr. Zimmerman will be responsible for the development and delivery of educational resources and medical support to Putney’s veterinary customers. Prior to joining Putney, Dr. Zimmerman was the director of medical support at Banfield, The Pet Hospital, where she built and led the team that supported medical care at its more than 750 hospitals across the country. Dr. Zimmerman has also held positions as a medical advisor and senior medical advisor at Banfield, and previously owned and operated a small animal veterinary practice for five years. |
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Products to Watch |
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Chemaphor announces Oximunol(TM) Chewables development update Chemaphor announced that it has completed its internal clinical development program of its Oximunol(TM) Chewables, a proprietary natural health enhancer for dogs. The results of multiple studies demonstrated that Oximunol(TM) Chewables are highly palatable and that in the first pilot clinical trial they significantly improved the coat quality and reduced shedding, according to the company. In addition, treated dogs showed increased enjoyment of walks and there were no adverse effects observed in the safety study. Chemaphor is targeting product introduction in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Oximunol(TM) Chewables are in a class of natural nutritional supplements, which is not regulated in Canada or the USA. In the USA voluntary regulation is through the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC). Chemaphor is a member of NASC and by complying with the NASC requirements and standards Oximunol(TM) Chewables will carry the NASC Quality Seal. Chemaphor will adhere to the same standards in Canada and Mexico. |
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Sound-Eklin to sell Xoft Veterinary Cancer Radiation therapy unit Sound-Eklin, a VCA Antech company, has signed with Xoft Inc., to exclusively supply the Axxent Veterinary Electronic Brachytherapy System to the veterinary industry. The intraoperative system delivers isotope-free electronic radiation therapy directly to cancer sites with minimal radiation exposure to surrounding healthy tissues and organs. This allows a higher treatment dose than is possible with traditional radiation therapy administered with a linear accelerator, the company reported. And, it means radiation therapy can be administered more easily and at far less cost than comes with a linear accelerator, the company reported. |
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Pfizer Animal Health acquires rights to E. coli vaccine Pfizer Animal Health has agreed to a global licensing deal with food animal vaccine specialist Epitopix for two new treatments, according to Zenopa. The agreement will see Pfizer’s veterinary medicines division gain worldwide rights to Epitopix’s E. coli bacterial extract vaccine, as well as a conditionally licensed salmonella Newport bacterial extract treatment. These vaccines are designed for use in the beef and dairy industries and are intended to prevent the spread of harmful infections among herds of cattle. |
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June is Adopt-A-Cat Month June is Adopt-A-Cat Month and the Catalyst Council and the American Humane Society are making resources available for cat owners and veterinarians with the goal of helping more cats find homes and receive better care during. Visit the CATalyst Council website at www.catalystcouncil.org to view these resources and learn more about cat adoption, care and behavior. |
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KC Animal Health Forum to be held Aug. 31 The KC Animal Health Corridor is now accepting applications for the second annual KC Animal Health Investment Forum on Aug. 31, 2010, in Kansas City, Mo. The forum will showcase animal health and nutrition companies from throughout the world. The selection committee will consider companies that meet the following criteria: seeking $500,000 to $20 million in funding; revenue projections of $20 million within 5 to 7 years. If your company meets these criteria and you would like to apply to present, please go to our application website at www.kcanimalhealthforum.com. Applications must be submitted by June 25, 2010.For inquiries about the application process, email Chris Walsh at cwalsh@stlrcga.org. All other inquiries can be directed to Lynn Parman at parman@thinkKC.com. |
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Article highlights “How to be an Optimist” http://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/marketing/article/how-to-be-an-optimist-without-being-an-idiot-ann-handley
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Stock Watch |
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Stock Watch
2010-06-22 10:13 |
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