HEALTH - Vets Want Pet Obesity Recognized as a Disease

(Fredericton SPCA)

In an October 2016 survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP), 53.9% of dogs and 58.9% of cats were classified as overweight or obese by their veterinary healthcare professional.

“Obesity continues to be the greatest health threat to dogs and cats.” states APOP Founder, veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward on their website.

“Obesity is a disease that kills millions of pets prematurely, creates immeasurable pain and suffering, and costs pet owners tens of millions of dollars in avoidable medical costs.”

The American Medical Association officially recognized human obesity as a disease in 2013, and Ward, along with many other veterinarians, wants the same recognition for animals.

Ward is working with nutritionists, surgeons and other veterinary experts on a proposal that could be presented to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) as early as this summer.

The proposal will include a general definition of obesity, a clinical definition which includes a standardized body condition score scale, and best practices for treating obese patients and counseling pet owners.

If the AVMA declares that pet obesity is a disease, the hope is for greater awareness and acceptance of the need to diagnose and treat obesity.

More than 100 professionals from human and veterinary medicine, including Ward, attended the first Obesity Conference organized by World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s One Health Committee in November 2016.

The event addressed ways to prevent obesity in people and pets.

Ward believes obesity is a One Health issue since it is one of the most commonly diagnosed conditions in veterinary and human medicine.

If obesity is officially recognized by the AVMA as a disease, pet insurance companies may cover the condition one day.

Ontario Rabies Update

This week, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry updated the number of rabies cases in Ontario to 70 since the first case was discovered in December 2015.

This includes 51 raccoons and 19 skunks infected with the raccoon rabies strain.

Rabies (Lyssavirus) is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system in mammals. It’s transmitted through the saliva when the animal “sheds” the virus. Rabies is not transmitted through the blood, urine, or feces of an infected animal, nor is it spread airborne through the open environment. Because it affects the nervous system, most rabid animals behave abnormally.

Historically, bats, foxes and skunks are the most common carriers of rabies in Canada, with coyotes and raccoons added to this list in the United States. It is believed this rabies outbreak in Ontario was caused by a raccoon that rode into Canada on a semi-truck from the US.

Canine Parvovirus Outbreak in Alaska

An outbreak of canine parvovirus, deemed to be “severe” by animal experts has hit the Interior Alaska and claimed the lives of several dogs so far.

Because the highly contagious virus is not on the state's list of “mandatory reportable diseases” for vets, the number of casualties could be higher.

Dr. Robert Gerlach, Alaska's state veterinarian, is urging pet owners to take steps to safeguard against spread of the infection which can be fatal for puppies or older dogs with weaker immune systems. “It's severe in the symptoms,” he told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. “Several dogs have died due to infection.”

He added the strain appears to be particularly dangerous considering some dogs infected had already had vaccinations for parvovirus.

CPV-2 = Canine Parvovirus 2

The disease can spread easily and quickly, requiring as little as nose to nose touching between dogs, making it important for those suspecting their dog might be infected to isolate it from other dogs and have it tested for the virus.

It is typically spread through fecal matter, vomit and can even live on items, like dog dishes, for several days.

Gerlach suggests pet owners ensure dogs are vaccinated against the virus (although the only required vaccine in the state is for rabies,) and recommends those with dogs already vaccinated consider a booster if they are going to be in frequent contact with other dogs.

Canine parvovirus targets a dog's gastrointestinal system or the cardiac system and in worst-case scenarios can take the life of a dog within days.

Those infected will commonly suffer with diarrhoea, depression, fever, lack of appetite, vomiting or blood in their stool.

Although humans are not at risk of contracting this particular strain of virus, Gerlach recommends individuals working around dogs to change their clothes and wash hands to thwart potential of being a carrier and spreading infection to other canines.

Outbreaks of canine parvo are not uncommon globally and have proven devastating when striking at animal shelters.

Canine parvovirus was first identified in 1967 and evolved into a variety of sub-types, according to Canadian Vet, which states affected dogs are typically between 6 to 20 weeks of age and some breeds, including American pit bull terrier, Rottweiler, German shepherd and Doberman pinscher are thought to be at increased risk.

While vaccines can prevent the virus, mortality can be as high as 91 percent in cases left untreated.

According to petalk.com, cases can be mild but on the other end of the spectrum - deaths from parvovirus usually result from dehydration, bacterial infection stemming from a pet's lowered resistance, blood loss from internal bleeding or cardiac issues.

By Nadia Moharib
Nadia Moharib is an animal lover who has adopted everything from birds to hamsters, salamanders, rabbits, fish and felines. She has written about all-things-pets for years and was a long-time editor of a pet magazine in a daily newspaper which featured a Q & A column, Ask Whit, penned by her pooch (ghost written, of course.) The serial dog owner lives in Calgary, Alberta and most days can be found at a dog park picking up after her rescue pooch, Scoots.

Raccoon Rabies Found in More Ontario Skunks and Raccoons

For the first time in over a decade, a raccoon tested positive for rabies in Ontario last December.

Since 2005, Ontario had successfully kept rabid raccoons from entering the province by using bait with rabies vaccines along areas where they often crossed over from the U.S.

It’s believed the infected animal rode into the province on the back of a tractor trailer.

"I was really disappointed," Chris Davies, the province's top wildlife researcher who's been credited with keeping the virus outside of Ontario's borders for more than a decade, told CBC. "We knew if we found one, we'd find more."

More infected animals have been discovered - a total of 58 to date - and the baiting program was stepped up with hundreds of thousands of the tasty vaccines being dropped by hand, helicopter and airplane.

The government of Ontario is keeping citizens apprised of reported rabies cases and general rabies information on their website. This week reporting 12 new cases - 10 skunks and two raccoons.

All mammals are susceptible to rabies, which is usually passed through a bite and infected saliva. The best way to protect your pet is to ensure vaccinations are up to date.

AVMA Announces Guidelines for Dogs and Cats Exposed to Rabies

The 2016 edition of the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control advises that dogs and cats exposed to rabies that are overdue for their vaccine can have a booster shot followed by an observation period, rather than be subject to quarantine or euthanasia.  

The compendium is a series of best practices that jurisdictions can choose to follow and in this issue also advises reducing the quarantine period from six months to four for unvaccinated cats and dogs exposed to rabies. Euthanasia has been the primary recommendation in the past for these animals because of the high risk of developing the disease. The other option being vaccination and quarantine.

While these updates will have an impact on the care and treatment of animals with lapsed or no vaccine history, the best protection against rabies is still regular vaccinations.

Read the entire release and vaccination study here.

Have We Found the Fountain of Youth?

Researchers at the University of Washington Medical Center are searching for a way to increase canine lifespans. The dogs will ideally live 1 to 4 years longer. The drug, Rapamycin, is being tested on 32 elderly dogs in a clinical trial. Rapamycin has already been shown to extend the lifespan of worms, fruit flies, yeast, and mice with few side effects. Rapamycin interacts with a protein that is involved in cell growth. It is unknown how the drug increases lifespan. It is possible that Rapamycin slows the ageing process or that it prevents age-related diseases. It is also possible that the drug can prevent cancer.

Rapamycin is now being tested on dogs. To discover if the drug has an effect on humans would take decades whereas it would only take several years to see a difference in dogs. The dogs are monitored to determine if the progression of old age diseases is delayed.

Professor of Pathology, Dr. Matt Kaeberlein said, "We're not turning back time, what we're really trying to do is slow the aging process. Dogs also get a lot of the same diseases as people do when they get older, dogs get cancer, they get heart disease, they get dementia. What we'll learn from this study will be important in applying these discoveries to human aging, but the primary goal for me personally is to improve the quality of life for pet dogs.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

PIJAC Canada Offers Pet Care Training Program

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada (PIJAC Canada) is offering an updated Pet Care Training Program. The program is designed for people that work with and care for pets and offers five species training series. Each series covers health care, disease and illness recognition, treatment, and identification. The Pet Care Training Program was created by veterinarians and industry experts. Graduates of each series will receive a Certified Canine, Feline, Reptile, Avian or Small Mammal Specialist Designation through PIJAC Canada.

President and CEO of PIJAC Canada, Louis McCann said, “Our goal for this newly revised program was to deliver a useful tool for pet service providers, rich in information that can be accessible anywhere, anytime, for years to come. Since 1991 our purpose for offering the program has always been to make available an affordable and creditable learning tool for pet service professionals.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PET CARE TRAINING PROGRAM

Study Shows Dramatic Increase in Deadly Pet Disease

The 2010 study published by the Ontario Veterinary College's Department of Pathobiology at the University of Guelph, has revealed a 60 per cent increase in the number of pets in Ontario carrying the potentially fatal heartworm parasite. The last study that reported the prevalence of heartworm in Canada was conducted in 2002.

The 2010 report showed that 564 dogs tested positive for heartworm in Canada in 2010. Of those dogs, 431 were located in Ontario, a significant increase in cases compared to the last study conducted in 2002, when there were 268 reported cases in the province. Also of concern is that 80 per cent of the dogs that were diagnosed with heartworm had not been on heartworm preventive medication.

Ontario Veterinary Medical Association President, Dr. Ted Kilpatrick, believes the results of this study support the importance of preventive veterinary treatments, "In recent years there has been some skepticism about the need for veterinary preventive treatments, ironically, this is partly because these treatments have been so successful in preventing the spread of disease… but I think this study shows that prevention only works if we stick with it. Pet owners need to believe in the importance of periodic testing and regular preventive treatments in order to control the spread of disease in our pets."

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition cause by parasitic worms that live in the heart and blood vessels that supply blood to the lungs of infected animals. These worms can grow to a length of 15 to 30 centimeters, and in severe cases, can cause severe damage to internal organs. In Ontario, heartworm season runs from June to mid-October of each year, when mosquitoes are most active. Now is the time of year when pet owners need to be thinking about which preventive treatments to give their pets. Pets contract heartworm disease from mosquitoes that are infected with heartworm parasites. If an uninfected pet is bitten by an infected mosquito, immature worms are injected into the tissue and then travel to the heart, where they mature into adults and begin to reproduce. Although heartworm disease in cats is less common and less severe, cats are also susceptible to heartworm if exposed.

Pet owners should be preparing for heartworm season now, by speaking to their veterinarian about proper testing and protection against this serious but preventable disease.

Founded in 1980, the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association represents more than 4,400 Ontario veterinarians in private practice, government, academia, industry and public service. Its mandate is to advance and promote excellence in the veterinary profession in Ontario, and contribute to the betterment of animal health and the protection of human health.

For further information:
Media contact: Melissa Carlaw, OVMA Manager of Communications & Public Relations 905.580.6345 or mcarlaw@ovma.org