MSD Animal Health (Merck in the US and Canada), has launched Finadyne (flunixin), the NSAID for cattle, as a pour on.

According to the company, Finadyne Transdermal is the world's first non-parasiticide cattle product to be made available as a pour-on.

Dr. Martin Behr, technical manager at MSD Animal Health said: “Finadyne Transdermal is uniquely designed for rapid absorption into the bloodstream and its antipyretic effect has been demonstrated as early as two hours after treatment. This is because innovative penetration enhancers are included in the formulation to improve the absorption of the active ingredient flunixin through the skin.”

The new product comes in pre-calibrated packaging and uses a bottle designed for easy application along an animal’s back.

Dr. Behr added: “It’s much simpler for farmers to treat cattle in this way – as opposed to administering an injection, which can also mean needle-site lesions that can reduce the value of a carcass or compromise hide quality.

“The time taken to handle and treat animals will be much reduced with a transdermal NSAID. There will also be a saving on syringes and needles.”

Finadyne Transdermal (POM-V) is available now from veterinary wholesalers. Further information is available from the MSD Animal Health veterinary support group on 01908 685685.

Norbrook Laboratories has announced the launch of Cefimam LC intramammary ointment for the management of mastitis.

Norbrook's large animal vet adviser Stephanie Small MRCVS said: "With such a broad range of treatments to choose from, vets are able to choose the product which best fits the situation. Cefimam® LC brings a powerful antimicrobial to the mix with high penetration for more difficult mastitis cases. Only three applications are required, which means fast resolution and rapid return of affected animals to production.

"This company firmly supports the large animal sector: as well as our commitment to making effective treatments affordable, we are investing in the future of the industry. We have worked closely with leading dairy vets to produce best practice materials for farming clients, and there are more educational tools in development."

Amongst these is a new guide called The Best Practice Guide for On-Farm Mastitis Control which you can now get from your Norbrook Territory Manager.

Cefimam LC is now available at all veterinary wholesalers in packs of 24 x 8g intramammary tubes.  

For further information on Cefimam® LC, contact Senior Product Manager Chris Geddes MRCVS on 01536 741147

Elanco has announced that Baycox Iron, the injectable treatment used to prevent clinical coccidiosis and iron deficiency in piglets, is now available again, following the company’s acquisition of Bayer Animal Health in 2020.

Elanco says Baycox Iron offers a time-saving flexible dosing treatment which complements the company’s existing piglet gut health portfolio.

Louise Radford, marketing manager at Elanco, said: "By treating piglets at two or three days old, it’s possible to allow enough exposure to the coccidiosis parasite to enable them to develop natural immunity, while preventing any damage to the gut caused by subclinical and clinical coccidiosis which leads to poor growth and low weaning weights.

"By combining treatments, it's possible to limit the number of times they are handled, which in turn reduces stress and enhances growth”.

Elanco also makes the Coliprotec vaccine against post weaning diarrhoea (PWD).

Louise added: “As farmers and vets prepare for the removal of zinc oxide as a treatment option next year, focusing on gut health throughout all stages of development has never been more crucial.

For more information, contact your Elanco pig team specialist or visit https://www.myelanco.co.uk/cpd/swine/hub.

Vetoquinol has just launched its Marbocyl 10% online case study competition in which veterinary surgeons are being invited to provide information about how they treat E.coli mastitis. Two winners (one in the UK and one in Ireland) will win a BCF EASI-SCAN cattle ultrasound scanner with goggles worth over £6000. 

Vetoquinol's large animal product manager, Susan Mitchell said: "We hope that this case study competition will help us gather further information on how E.coli mastitis is treated by veterinary surgeons in the UK and Ireland.  I would encourage large animal veterinary surgeons to be part of this UK and Irish survey to highlight the severity of the disease and share their success stories." 

The competition will run until the end of October 2011.

For your chance to win a BCF EASI-SCAN and goggles visit http://www.vetoquinol.co.uk/.

A new study, led by the Royal Veterinary College, has determined that low-cost thermal imaging devices show minimal difference in effectiveness of detecting lameness in dairy cattle when compared to more expensive devices.

The researchers say the effectiveness of cheaper devices could result in wider use amongst farmers, vets and hoof trimmers helping to identify lameness earlier. 

The study, led by RVC undergraduate veterinary student, Aidan Coe, alongside Dr Nicola Blackie, a senior lecturer in Production Animal Science at the RVC, compared the thermal images of 83 cows’ hind feet, captured with both high and low cost thermal imaging devices.

Very little difference was identified in the performance and quality of the devices despite the low-cost device being 2% the cost of the high cost device.

Images captured suggested that low-cost thermal imaging devices would be the most cost-effective choice to aid in the identification of lameness.

This study highlights the effectiveness of cheaper infrared thermal imaging devices in identifying the condition which has the potential to lead to the wider use of the devices by farmers, vets and hoof trimmers, in turn allowing the condition to be identified earlier.

Whilst high-cost devices have sometimes been used to detect lameness in cattle, the price point of up to £20,000 and fragility has previously limited their usefulness in a farm setting. 

Aidan Coe, Undergraduate Veterinary Student at the RVC, and lead researcher on this paper, said: “There is a possibility that low-cost infrared thermal imaging devices could be used as an objective, cost-effective method of assessing the lameness of the national herd, which may prove a useful adjunct to the current lameness detection methods.”

The full paper can be accessed at: https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/9/8/414 

Reference

1. Coe A, & Blackie, N, Comparison of Low- and High-Cost Infrared Thermal Imaging Devices for the Detection of Lameness in Dairy Cattle. Veterinary Sciences. 2022’ 9(8):414. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9080414 

A new study published in Scientific Reports has found that machine learning has the potential to improve veterinary surgeons’ ability to diagnose herd mastitis origins accurately and reduce mastitis levels on dairy farms.

The study, which was led by Robert Hyde MRCVS from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham, aims to create an automated diagnostic support tool for the diagnosis of herd level mastitis origin, an essential first step of the AHDB mastitis control plan. 

Mastitis data from 1,000 herds’ was inputted for several three-month periods. Machine learning algorithms were used to classify herd mastitis origin and compared with expert diagnosis by a specialist vet. 

The machine learning algorithms were able to achieve a classification accuracy of 98% for environmental vs contagious mastitis, and 78% accuracy was achieved for the classification of lactation vs dry period environmental mastitis when compared with expert veterinary diagnosis. 

Robert said: “Mastitis is a huge problem for dairy farmers, both economically and in welfare terms. In our study we have shown that machine learning algorithms can accurately diagnose the origin of this condition on dairy farms. A diagnostic tool of this kind has great potential in the industry to tackle this condition and to assist veterinary clinicians in making a rapid diagnosis of mastitis origin at herd level in order to promptly implement control measures for an extremely damaging disease in terms of animal health, productivity, welfare and antimicrobial use."

Reference

1. Hyde, R.M., Down, P.M., Bradley, A.J. et al. Automated prediction of mastitis infection patterns in dairy herds using machine learning. Sci Rep 10, 4289 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61126-8

Defra has announced plans to form a new Animal Health and Welfare Board for England which will bring experts including farmers, veterinary surgeons, welfare experts and others from outside Government together with the Chief Veterinary Officer and civil servants to make direct policy recommendations on policy affecting the health and welfare of all kept animals such as farm animals, horses and pets.

According to Agriculture Minister Jim Paice, it is the first time that people affected by Government policy on animal health and welfare will make recommendations on those policies directly to Ministers.

Mr Paice said: "This is a completely new way of working.  It replaces the old ways, where the people most affected by decisions were kept at arm's length from policy making on those subjects.

"This is about the Big Society not just existing in our communities, but in the heart of Government - helping to put the decisions in the hands of those who are doing the work on the ground.

"We've already seen the success of a partnership between farmers and the Government with the work that's been done on bluetongue - which has seen the disease virtually eradicated in this country."

Final decisions on animal health and welfare policy will remain in the hands of Government Ministers. 

The Board will be made up of around 12 members, 5 senior Defra officials including the Chief Veterinary Officer, and 7-8 external members including the chair. The external members will have experience and knowledge of kept and farmed animals, animal and veterinary science, and animal welfare, and could be farmers, veterinarians, animal welfare experts. 

The Board and its members will have to represent the views of all stakeholders so will be expected to communicate with them regularly.

The Board's responsibilities will include:

• setting the strategic policy priorities;
• development of key policies and how they should be funded;
• assessing the risk of threats from animal disease and how to manage them;
• determining the surveillance and research priorities;
• reviewing and developing contingency plans for dealing with new disease outbreaks; and
• considering, what if any, charging mechanisms should be introduced.

The Board will not be set up as a non departmental public body or arms length body.  It will form part of the internal structure of Defra.

Commenting on the announcement, Harvey Locke, President of the British Veterinary Association, said: "The BVA is delighted that both the Advisory Group and Ministers have taken note of the veterinary profession's views in drawing up these plans.

"We said from the outset that genuine responsibility sharing has to be achieved before cost sharing can be discussed and we warned against earlier plans to separate animal health policy from animal welfare policy, as the two are intrinsically linked.

"Animal health and welfare policy issues require expert, scientific input and it will be essential that the new Board includes veterinary representation. We believe that the Board will provide the right mechanism for ensuring decisions are based on sound science.

"The new Board will also have to work closely with the three devolved administrations to ensure that animal health and welfare policies across the UK are joined up and complementary."

The RSPB has reported the results of two studies which revealed that a greater diversity of birds of prey, including some eagles, are killed eating carrion contaminated with diclofenac.

The RSPB says that these findings strengthen the case of banning the use of veterinary diclofenac in livestock across Europe, including Spain and Italy where the drug has already been approved.

In the first paper¹, published in the journal Bird Conservation International, scientists present results of tests carried out on two steppe eagles found dead at a cattle carcass dump in Rajasthan, India. Both birds had diclofenac residue in their tissues and exhibited the same clinical signs of kidney failure as seen in Gyps vultures experimentally given diclofenac. 

Steppe eagles are closely related to the golden eagles found in the UK, the vulnerable Spanish imperial eagle and other globally vulnerable or declining Eurasian eagles. Scientists now fear that all species in this genus, known as Aquila, are susceptible to diclofenac. With fourteen species of Aquila eagle distributed across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, this means that diclofenac poisoning should now be considered largely a global problem.

Dr Toby Galligan, RSPB conservation scientist and one of the authors of the paper, said: "We have known for some time that diclofenac is toxic to Gyps vultures, including the Eurasian griffon vulture, but we now know it is toxic to an Aquila eagle too. This suggests that the drug is fatal to a greater number of birds of prey in Asia, Europe and around the world. We had suspected as much from observed declines in non-Gyps vultures in Asia, but this study confirms our worst fears."

In another paper², published in Bird Conservation International, Dr Galligan led an examination of recent population trends in Egyptian and red-headed vultures in India. That study shows population declines of similar timing and scale as the declines observed in Gyps vultures, providing indirect evidence that these species have been impacted by diclofenac as well. 

After years of campaigning by conservationists, the governments of Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan banned veterinary formulations of diclofenac between 2006 and 2010. Recently, experts have recorded a slowing of Gyps vulture declines as a result of the bans. However, formulations of diclofenac intended for use in humans are still widely available and illegally used to treat livestock, the carcasses of which are the main food source for vultures in South Asia.
 
It was announced in March that veterinary diclofenac had been authorised for manufacture and use in Italy and Spain and had been distributed to other European countries. Since then, a coalition of organisations including the Vulture Conservation Foundation, the RSPB and BirdLife International have been campaigning for this decision to be reversed.

Dr Galligan continued: "In light of recent developments in Europe, our findings take on an even more worrying meaning. All of Europe's charismatic Aquila eagles, like the Spanish imperial eagle and, closer to home, the golden eagle, are opportunistic scavengers and therefore could be at risk of diclofenac poisoning.  As we have seen in South Asia, wherever free-ranging livestock are treated with diclofenac, population declines in vultures and eagles can occur. The European Commission needs to recognise this problem and impose a continent-wide ban on veterinary diclofenac before it can impact on our birds."

Last week, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) announced measures against the drug. 

In a statement the VMD said: "The UK's Veterinary Medicines Directorate is taking the issue of diclofenac's risks to vulture populations seriously. As a precautionary measure the VMD will not approve any requests from vets to import products containing diclofenac. Furthermore, the VMD has agreed not to issue any export certificates which name diclofenac-containing products in the list of products to be exported."

Sacha Cleminson, Head of International Biodiversity Policy at the RSPB, said: "The announcement from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate is a welcome signal to Europe that the UK is taking the issue seriously. This new evidence underlines the need for a ban across Europe, and ultimately beyond." 

References

1. Diclofenac is toxic to the Steppe Eagle Aquila nipalensis: widening the diversity of raptors threatened by NSAID misuse in South Asia. Anil K. Sharma et al Bird Conservation International Online. 26th May 2014.

2. Have population declines in Egyptian Vulture and Red-headed Vulture in India slowed since the 2006 ban on veterinary diclofenac? Toby H. Galligan et al. Bird Conservation International Online. 1st April 2014.
   

The RCVS has published details about its plans for a comprehensive review of its guidance to the veterinary profession on ‘under care’ and out-of-hours emergency cover, including a broad timetable for evidence gathering, policy drafting, and public consultation.

The review, announced earlier this year, was recommended to RCVS Council by its Standards Committee following its exploration of the implications of new technologies for both animal health and welfare and veterinary regulation.

The main areas under consideration include the provision of 24-hour emergency cover and the interpretation and application of an animal being under the care of a veterinary surgeon.

The initial stages of this review had been drafted for Standards Committee to consider at its meeting on 9 September, where the outline timetable was also discussed.

Standards Committee Chair Melissa Donald, said: "This is set to become one of our most fundamental reviews of RCVS guidance in recent years.

"Considering the complexity of the issues in question, and their importance to animal owners and the professions alike, it is vital that we allow ourselves enough time to ensure this review is as thorough and comprehensive as possible.

"We have a clear responsibility to seek, understand and, where we can, accommodate the opinions and experiences of as many different people from within and around the professions and the public as possible. I would urge my fellow vets and vet nurses to please find some time to consider these issues very carefully over the coming weeks and months, and to send us their views."

The review will comprise several stages and is expected to take around 12 months to complete. The outline timetable, which may be subject to change, is as follows:

• October 2019 – January 2020: six-week Call for Evidence, followed by independent qualitative analysis of all evidence received 

• February – March: Select Committee-style meetings and independent qualitative analysis of additional evidence gathered [NB this stage is subject to Standards Committee requirements, depending on the evidence gathered.]

• April – June: Consider all evidence and draft any new policy 

• July – August: six-week public consultation on draft policy

• September – October: independent review of consultation responses, and production of any proposals for change

• November 2020: Finalise any proposals for change and publish any new guidance

To support and promote the various stages of the review the College is also planning a programme of stakeholder engagement, and will also provide regular updates on progress to both Council and the wider profession.

Members of the professions and the public will be able to follow the progress of the review via the RCVS website at: www.rcvs.org.uk/undercare

Zoetis has relaunched a broad spectrum intramammary treatment for clinical mastitis, as Lincocin Forte S.

For vets seeking to prescribe an alternative first-choice tube, independent mastitis authority Dr Andrew Bradley suggests it could be a logical, efficacious option, offering the combination of two active ingredients (lincomycin and neomycin) not available in other intramammary tubes.¹

Zoetis points to studies which show that In combination, these have been found to have much higher efficacy than the sum of the two parts against Staphylococci aureus.^2&3

The company says Lincocin Forte is effective against Gram positive and Gram negative pathogens, in particular staphylococcus, streptococcus and coliform bacteria.

In trials, the treatment produced clinical cure rates 21% higher than an ampicillin-cloxacillin comparison in undifferentiated mastitis cases. As first choice treatment for S uberis clinical mastitis, bacteriological cure rates were similar to a penicillin-streptomycin comparison.⁴ Against S aureus, aesculin-positive streptococci, and E coli, combined clinical-bacteriological cure rates were 175%, 32% and 21% higher respectively with Lincocin Forte S than ampicillin-cloxacillin treatment.

Zoetis vet Jude Roberts said these findings underpin the treatment's relaunch and its suitability as a first choice therapy for new clinical mastitis cases.

Lincocin Forte S is a water-based formulation, which Jude says helps achieve good distribution in the udder and can be easier to infuse that oil-based tubes, particularly into hardened quarters associated with E coli infections.

Dr Bradley adds that water-based formulation is likely to be less irritant to udder tissues than oil-based tubes, and may improve distribution. He also suggests that "not being a fluoroquinolone or 3rd/4th generation cephalosporin may also help vets fulfil their 'appropriate and justified' prescribing responsibilities."

The recommended treatment is one 10ml syringe per infected quarter at each of three consecutive milkings. Milk from treated cows can be sold for human consumption 84-hours after the last treatment.

References:

1. Dr Andrew Bradley, 15 April 2013. Personal communication.
2. Deluyker et al (1997). Technical Report 804-9690-97-002.
3. De Oliveira et al (2000). J Dairy Sci, pp855-862.
4. McDougall (2003). New Zealand Veterinary Journal, pp 111-116.

MSD Animal Health has launched a new checklist-based tool to help veterinary surgeons engage productively with farmers over calf rearing issues.

The interactive checklist is designed to help practitioner and farmer to work closely together to draw up a workable action plan to improve youngstock health.

MSD Animal Health ruminant veterinary adviser Kat Baxter said: "This new checklist-based tool explores, records and scores calf health performance across five core areas to identify the strengths and weaknesses of any rearing unit’s environment and processes.

"Working through a series of 10 questions within each core area – designed to tease out where a rearing unit is in terms of accepted best management practice – allows vet and farmer to quickly pinpoint any areas needing attention. What’s more, repeating the checklist every six or 12 months is a great way to keep things on track, allowing both parties to monitor progress against agreed targets. Vets can also use the scores to benchmark their clients’ farms against each other."

Vets interested in using the new checklist-based tool on farm should contact their local MSD Animal Health account manager for further information.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued new guidelines concerning the use of medically-important antimicrobials in food-producing animals, which have been welcomed by the British Veterinary Association.

The new guidelines strongly recommend an overall reduction in the use of all classes of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals, including complete restriction of these antibiotics for growth promotion and disease prevention without diagnosis. Healthy animals should only receive antibiotics to prevent disease if it has been diagnosed in other animals in the same flock, herd, or fish population.

WHO says that where possible, sick animals should be tested to determine the most effective and prudent antibiotic to treat their specific infection. Antibiotics used in animals should be selected from those WHO has listed as being "least important" to human health, and not from those classified as "highest priority critically important", as they are often the last line, or one of a limited number of treatments available to treat serious bacterial infections in humans.

The new guidelines were informed by a systematic review published in The Lancet Planetary Health which found that interventions that restrict antibiotic use in food-producing animals reduced antibiotic-resistant bacteria in these animals by up to 39%¹.

Dr Kazuaki Miyagishima, Director of the Department of Food Safety and Zoonoses at WHO said: "Scientific evidence demonstrates that overuse of antibiotics in animals can contribute to the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The volume of antibiotics used in animals is continuing to increase worldwide, driven by a growing demand for foods of animal origin, often produced through intensive animal husbandry."

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO said: "A lack of effective antibiotics is as serious a security threat as a sudden and deadly disease outbreak. Strong, sustained action across all sectors is vital if we are to turn back the tide of antimicrobial resistance and keep the world safe."

Responding to the announcement, BVA Senior Vice President Gudrun Ravetz said: "We welcome the WHO continuing to tackle this serious global health issue. Their guidelines echo the guidance BVA has long been issuing on the responsible use of antimicrobials. 

"We agree that the prophylactic use of antimicrobials in healthy animals to prevent disease is never a substitute for good animal husbandry and management.

"Through cross-sector working, the UK is leading the way in significantly reducing antimicrobial usage, having already achieved the UK Government usage targets set for 2020. 

"Critically Important Antimicrobials use is at a very low level in the UK, and, as recent Government data shows, is continuing to decrease. It is encouraging that WHO recognises that these vital medicines are sometimes needed, under veterinary judgment and prescription, as a last resort, to prevent the further spread of disease and to protect animal and human health."

The new guidelines can be downloaded here: http://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/antimicrobial-resistance/cia_guidelines/en/ 

Reference

1. Restricting the use of antibiotics in food-producing animals and its associations with antibiotic resistance in food-producing animals and human beings: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Tang, Karen L et al. The Lancet Planetary Health. Accessed 06 November 2017.

Pfizer has repeated it's call for veterinary practice staff to take part in its Vet Support+ independent, industry-wide survey of employee engagement.

The survey gives practice team members, who are not partners or owners, the chance to have their say about their role and career and the future of the profession. Participants are asked to consider how they feel towards their practice and delve into issues on teamwork and communication, management techniques, personal development opportunities and working environment.

More than 3,000 vet practice staff have already completed the survey, a phenomenal early response which suggests practice employees are keen to have their voices heard. However, the closing date for the survey isn't till Friday 29th July, so if you haven't yet had a chance to do the survey, there is still time.

Pfizer Business Consultant, Vanessa Wilson, has more than 20 years experience helping businesses, teams and individuals achieve their goals. She is not surprised at the significant early response: "Questions on the level of employee engagement and satisfaction come up all the time in the work we do with practices. I'm not surprised that staff are using this opportunity to have their voice heard.

"Once completed, this survey will provide some very useful data and direction for the industry as a whole and I'd like to think it will identify opportunities for both individual career development and practice growth."

All members of staff employed within a practice who have not received a mailing and wish to participate are welcome to respond online. http://www.noesis-mi.com/surveys/employeesurvey/.

Pfizer says the findings, which are expected to be released in the autumn, will deliver a national and regional view of the current employee engagement landscape.

For further information about Vet Support+ Business Services from Pfizer visit www.vetsupportplus.co.uk.