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Did you know that ...

* 4.7 million people in this country (the USA) are bitten by dogs every year
* children are by far the most common victims
* 800,000 Americans receive medical attention for dog bites each year
* children are far more likely to be severely injured;
* approximately 400,000 receive medical attention every year
* most dog bites affecting young children occur during everyday activities and while interacting with familiar dogs
* senior citizens are the second most common dog bite victims

There are a number of things that you can do to avoid dog bites, ranging from properly training and socializing your pet to educating your children on how, or if, they should approach a dog.

Information is one of the best cures for this public health crisis.

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By *Thomas P. Monath, MD, FACP, FASTMH
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A recent paper by Grall et al. published in Nature Genetics (2012;44:140-9) and highlighted in Science (2012;335:271), reminds us of the value of spontaneous diseases of animals, particularly dogs, to our understanding of human disease genetics and pathophysiology and to the development of therapeutic interventions. Physicians concerned principally with clinical medicine, who may have more difficulty grasping One Health principles calling for closer ties with the veterinary medical community, may be especially interested in the illustration provided by this publication.

New on the Gateway to Animal Welfare
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What are the ethical issues associated with animal welfare?

James Serpell, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the importance of human ethics and the role it plays in the decisions we make when confronted with animals in distress.

Watch the interview ...

WikiVet is an international initiative to provide a comprehensive on-line veterinary curriculum.

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Editorial Nature 482: 131 (09 February 2012) Published online 08 February 2012 doi:10.1038/482131a

The potential for mutant-flu research to improve public health any time soon has been exaggerated. Timely production of sufficient vaccine remains the biggest challenge.

Amid the scientific controversy over lab-created strains of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that can skip between mammals, it is easy to lose sight of an important public-health question: what will help the wider world to prepare for a flu pandemic? The question is crucial, because when it comes to setting priorities, the fuss over how to regulate the controversial research must not be allowed to distract from a much bigger concern. The world is ill-prepared for a severe flu pandemic of any type. In particular, it cannot yet produce enough vaccine to protect more than just a small proportion of people.

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Public consultation and safety assessment would pave the way for embryo manipulation to treat genetic diseases. Britain has set out a road map towards the first clinical tests of reproductive techniques that combine parents’ genes with DNA from a third party.

The approach raises ethical questions, but could spare children from inheriting some rare diseases, including forms of muscular dystrophy and neurodegenerative disorders that affect around 1 in 5,000 people.

These conditions are caused by defects in the mitochondria, the ‘power packs’ of the cell, which are inherited from a child’s mother through the egg. Experiments on primates, and with defective human eggs, have already shown that genetic material can be removed from an egg that has faulty mitochondria and transferred to a healthy donor ovum, leaving the flawed mitochondrial DNA behind. In principle, the resulting egg could then develop into a healthy child carrying both the parents’ nuclear genes and mitochondrial DNA from the donor.

But the work amounts to genetic modification of embryos — which is currently illegal in the United Kingdom — and also involves destroying fertilized eggs.

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The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) advises flood-hit communities in inland Queensland and northern New South Wales to be prepared not only for their own safety but for their animal’s welfare as well.

While many residents are facing the challenge of cleaning up there are still many communities under increased risk of further flooding, particularly in areas such as Roma, Charleville, Mitchell and St George in Queensland.

AVA President Dr Barry Smyth said that in addition to planning for flooding ourselves, it’s important to make arrangements for animals as well.

“Preparing ahead of time and acting quickly can be the best way to keep yourself, your family, and your animals out of harm’s way,” Dr Smyth said.

“Be prepared for possible disruption to services, including power, water and phone lines for extended periods of time. Bring pets inside and move horses and livestock to safe ground,” he said.

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Veterinary associations are highlighting consumer guidance on pet insurance following news reports that thousands of pets have been left uninsured by Lloyds TSB and Halifax pulling out of the pet insurance market.

Lloyds TSB has stopped renewing policies from 1st February and Halifax stopped on 24th September 2011 leaving more than 50,000 policy holders looking for cover, according to reports.

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) recommends that pet owners whose policies are affected should speak to their own vets as soon as possible to discuss existing treatment, alternative treatment options, and future insurance cover.

The BVA is also refuting claims by the insurance companies that rising veterinary fees are to blame. Although pet insurance claims have increased over the years this is due to improvements in technology and medicines meaning that more can be done for individual animals. Veterinary inflation has remained relatively stable.

The BVA and its division, the Society of Practising Veterinary Surgeons (SPVS), worked with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to produce a Pet Insurance Consumer Guide. The Guide explains the benefits of pet insurance, the different types of policy, and outlines a number of areas to consider.

Commenting, Carl Padgett, President of the BVA, said:
“This is a huge blow to thousands of responsible owners who have pet insurance but are having it taken away from them through no fault of their own.

“We advise owners to speak to their vet as soon as possible to discuss the treatment of ongoing conditions and, if necessary, alternative treatment options. Clients may also be eligible for support from one of the animal welfare charities.

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Millions of people in South Sudan will face hunger this year if urgent action is not taken according to a joint report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Food Programme. The report is based on the joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to South Sudan, conducted in the world’s newest nation.

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The Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) will bring together veterinarians, veterinarian nurses, animal trainers and pet industry professionals from around the nation for two days with world renowned animal behaviourist Bob Bailey, who will share his unique insights into the fundamentals of animal training this weekend.

This is Bob’s first visit to Australia. He is well known for his method of teaching animal training techniques through training chickens. He has provided chicken training seminars where trainers teach poultry to discriminate between shapes, to navigate an obstacle course and to link behaviours together.

Bob’s philosophy on animal training is “simple but not easy” and he has been applying this in the training of animals and teaching of animal trainers for more than half a century.

AVA President Dr Barry Smyth said the conference provided an exciting opportunity for animal behaviour professionals in Australia to hear first-hand from such a prominent expert in the field.

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