News

Public Health England has issued advice on test and trace in recognition of the potential impact on veterinary practices, following lobbying by the British Veterinary Association (BVA).

Following the diagnosis of babesiosis in a human patient for the first time in the UK, the BSAVA have put together a Q&A about ticks and babesiosis. The information, which has been written for vets to pass on to their clients easily, explains what ticks are, how to spot and safely remove them, and what babesiosis is. In addition, the BSAVA has a scientific information sheet focussing on Babesia canis for veterinary professionals, freely available in the BSAVA Library.

BSAVA have issued a reminder to primary care small animal practice staff to ensure they know how to work safely with bats. The reminder comes following the recent publication of statistics on rabies in UK bats by Defra. The most recent case of rabies in a bat in Great Britain was in July 2020 in Wimbourne, Dorset and there were four cases in 2019.

BSAVA President, Professor Ian Ramsey has commented on the Defra announcement of the first confirmed case of a pet cat infected with COVID-19 in the UK.

The UK’s CVO has confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in the UK. The infection was confirmed following tests at the APHA laboratory in Weybridge on 22 July.

Whilst rabbit haemorrhagic disease has been extensively investigated in a laboratory setting, research pertaining to naturally occurring outbreaks is sparse. A new study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP), reported the clinical features, gross post mortem and histopathological findings of sudden or unexpected death in rabbits during an outbreak of RHD.

In partnership with the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA), Vet2Vet has launched VETbytes, a mobile point-of-care clinical support tool that gives small animal veterinary professionals critical access to the latest evidence-based information.

The BSAVA has launched an exciting series of science webinars, to take a closer look at some of the papers published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP). In each webinar the authors of featured papers will discuss the results and application of their papers with a panel and answer questions submitted by the audience in advance.

International Cat Day takes place every 8th of August and this year custodianship has been passed to International Cat Care (iCatCare) – a not-for profit organisation which since 1958 has sought to improve the health and wellbeing of cats everywhere, working towards a world where each cat’s life experience is as good as it can be.

Courageous Conversations is the first dedicated veterinary diversity conference held in the UK, occurring at a critical moment in time where conversations around diversity, inclusivity and equality are sorely needed.