News

The 42nd WSAVA Congress and 23rd FECAVA Eurocongress are being held jointly this year in Copenhagen, Denmark on 25th – 28th September. The Danish Small Animal Veterinary Association, promise delegates will experience an excellent scientific programme , which is split into 9 streams spanning 4 days.

Feline hair nicotine concentration could be used as a biomarker for tobacco smoke exposure to help future investigations into smoking-related diseases in the species. The study, by Victoria Smith and colleagues from the University of Glasgow, was funded by the British Small Animal Veterinary Association’s (BSAVA) charity PetSavers. It has been published in this month’s (January) Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) and is available now to read online

Avian Influenza (H5N8) has been confirmed in a flock of turkeys at a farm in East Lindsey, Lincolnshire. A 3 km Protection Zone and a 10 km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises. 

The agenda for the first Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) Research Symposium, which takes place on Friday 20 January 2017 at the University of Edinburgh’s Pollock Halls, has now been confirmed and has, as its overarching theme, ‘Understanding and supporting veterinary mental health’.

A further case of avian influenza has been confirmed in a backyard poultry flock near Settle in North Yorkshire. A 3km Protection Zone and a 10km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises to limit the risk of the disease spreading.

The Veterinary Public Health Association (VPHA) and Association of Government Veterinarians (AGV), supported by the ‘One Health Cambridge’, have organised a two-day ‘ONE HEALTH’ Conference in order to bring together all relevant stakeholders to review, improve and strengthen UK tapeworm controls with public health and economic significance.

Southern Region held their annual charity Pub Quiz at Potters Heron Hotel near Romsey recently, which was also attended by BSAVA President, Susan Dawson. The evening was organised to support two animal charities, Nowzad and PetSavers.

On 3 January 2017 the Chief Veterinary Officer for Wales confirmed a case of avian influenza H5N8 in a backyard flock of chickens and ducks on a premises in Carmarthenshire. A 3 km Protection Zone and 10 km Surveillance Zone have been put in place around the infected premises. More information is available on the Welsh Government website including the formal Declaration.

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has appointed a new Head of Congress whose first task is to lead the 60th annual event in Birmingham next April. Angharad Belcher brings her wealth of PR, marketing and event experience within the veterinary sector and promises that Congress is committed to evolving along with the industry.

For many years, the annual booster was a routine procedure. This is now being challenged. Recent scientific data show that many annual boosters are obsolete, says Karin Moestl (Austria), providing an update on the duration on vaccine-induced immunity in the latest issue of the European Journal of Companion Animal Practice.