Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health is to launch CICADA-Live, the second phase of its national initiative to monitor the awareness and regional prevalence of important diseases in cats, dogs and rabbits. 

First launched in 2007 as a quarterly survey, the ground-breaking CICADA-Live project has now been developed to offer up-to-the minute data on infectious companion animal disease reports that can be updated and accessed by vet practices around the clock. The new scheme is now able to provide a real-time overview of companion animal infectious diseases being diagnosed in UK veterinary practices.

CICADA-Live is focusing on more than a dozen key infectious diseases of dogs, cats and rabbits. They include canine parvovirus, infectious canine hepatitis, canine distemper, leptospirosis, kennel cough, angiostrongylosis. For cats, CICADA-Live will monitor feline panleucopaenia, cat flu, feline leukaemia virus infections. For rabbits the focus will be on myxomatosis, rabbit viral haemorrhagic disease, E.cuniculi, and fly strike.

The service is officially launched on 1st June to coincide with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health's National Vaccination Month 2009, and is open to all first-opinion UK companion animal veterinary practices.

The system's developer, John Helps, Veterinary Manager at Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health said: "Whereas our first edition of CICADA was useful in providing benchmarks so that seasonal and long term trends could be identified and communicated to both vets and pet owners, the further potential of a live on-line database is enormous in raising awareness of current pet disease risks to the public."

According to the company, there has been a lack of knowledge regarding the local and national incidence of small animal infectious diseases in the UK, and those sporadic reports that do occur are typically anecdotal and can prove hard to substantiate.  It is feared that the lack of co-ordinated good quality information has potentially lead to pet owners being lulled into a false sense of security by a low awareness of disease risks.

John added: "Lack of data on the incidence and prevalence of even the most common infectious diseases has been an important issue faced by small animal practices reducing their ability to highlight these risks. A staggering lack of owner awareness to infectious disease threats in turn contributes to complacency among pet owners.

"Evidence suggests that some infectious diseases, such as parvovirus, may be on the increase in some areas and there continues to be a concern regarding the number of animals that remain unvaccinated.

 "Not only will Cicada-Live provide the means for improving a gap in our collective knowledge but it will also prove invaluable in the promotion of good preventative healthcare.

"We have long believed that better epidemiological surveillance would an important tool in understanding trends in small animal infectious disease and with CICADA-Live, for the first time we have a tool to give us a better appreciation of what first opinion practices are currently seeing."

The CICADA-Live website, http://www.cicadasurvey.co.uk/, is simple to access and update. Registrations are limited to one per practice branch.  A straightforward one-page survey format minimises the time investment, with no strict requirement to review written case records. 

Once signed in, participating practices will be asked to complete the survey once every 6 months in order to grant continued access to maps and tables showing recent reports. In addition practices can set up e-mail alerts to give notification should disease reports be received in their area.

For further information about CICADA-Live from Intervet please contact Intervet /Schering-Plough Animal Health's Veterinary Support Group on 01908 685685. Or contact John.

Dechra Veterinary Products has launched a 5 ml bottle of Comfortan (methadone), its titratable analgesia for cats and dogs.

The new sized bottle of Comfortan, designed for use with animals in, or about to experience, moderate to severe pain, is now available from veterinary wholesalers.

Dechra Brand Manager Craig Sankey said: “The new 5ml bottle is a great size for practices which would like to introduce Comfortan into their practice protocols, allowing them to do so in a cost-effective way.

“The availability of a smaller bottle will also be a benefit to practices which due to different surgical needs, currently only use Comfortan in a small number of cases. They will then be able to simply and easily trade up to the 10 ml bottle once they start to use Comfortan on more cases.”

The 5 ml has also been introduced in response to demand from branch practices which had been transferring 10ml bottles between sites and for cat-focused practices which use smaller volumes of the product.

Ceva Animal Health has announced that Vectra 3D spot-on solution for dogs and Vectra Felis 423mg/42.3mg spot-on solution for cats have been recategorised from POM-V to NFA-VPS products.

The re-categorisation means veterinary practices can sell the topical parasiticides to ‘walk-in clients’ without the need of a prescription. 

Andrew Fullerton, veterinary surgeon and product manager at Ceva Animal Health, said: “The new NFA-VPS category for Vectra 3D spot-on solution for dogs and Vectra Felis 423mg/42.3mg spot-on solution for cats provides veterinary practices with greater flexibility to sell easy-to-use, fast and effective parasite prevention and treatment without a prescription."

For more information, contact your Ceva Animal Health account manager or email cevauk@ceva.com.

Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield has been joined by Dr Rodney Ayl, a double-board certified specialist in medical and radiation oncology.

Rodney (pictured right) has spent the last 26 years practising in the USA, latterly at the California-based Advanced Veterinary Specialists & Animal Specialty Group.

After growing up in Zimbabwe and graduating from the University of Pretoria in South Africa in 1985, he moved to London, where he became an MRCVS, and thence to the USA.

He undertook a small animal internship at the Animal Medical Centre in Manhattan, before moving to the Ohio State University for his residency in medical oncology in 1989. He achieved Board Certification in medical oncology in 1994 and in radiation oncology in 2000.

Rodney specialises in the application of multi-modality therapy protocols for the treatment of cancer in animals, and has conducted research on the phenomenon of multi-drug resistance, mast cell tumour and oral melanoma.

He said: "Thirty-something years on, I have come back to the UK as a specialist, where I started as a GP. Living in the UK also brings me much closer to my family, which is very important to me.

"Over the years, veterinary practice in the USA has changed significantly, where it has become more corporate and less personal. I enjoy being part of a new group where typically it is much closer, friendlier and more like a family."

Rodney now plans to oversee the development of a comprehensive oncology department to include chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, immune-therapy and molecular targeted therapy.

He said his work at Paragon will focus on educating referring vets and clients about what is possible in the oncology field.

He said: "My job will be about increasing the level of knowledge, both of owners and general practitioners, of how we treat cancer in animals.

"It can be a scary disease and the first door an owner needs to step through, is understanding that treating a pet is very different to treating a human.

"The intention in humans is usually to cure but with pets, it is more about providing a good quality of life for as long as possible.

"There can be a fear of cancer therapy but if you stick to the protocols, it is no different to treating any other chronic incurable diseases. We use the safest methods with an abundance of caution and try to make sure that the treatment is not worse than the disease.

"It’s about internal training too, from reception right up to nurses and interns, looking at what we do and how we do it, to optimize the quality of life of the pet and their owners.

"I would like to see an oncology department that considers the emotional, financial, time and patient concerns of the owners, so they feel their commitment to cancer treatment for their pet is not a commitment to putting their pet or themselves through a difficult time."

Norbrook Laboratories Ltd has issued a product recall for its anti-inflammatory product Loxicom 1.5 mg/ml oral suspension for dogs (Authorisation No. EU/2/08/090/003).

The product is marketed in a 10ml pack and has an expiry date of December 2017. The batch number is 6231-90D.

The 1ml syringe within the pack has 'Lbs' printed as the unit of measure instead of kg, which could lead to an incorrect dose being administered to dogs.

Any queries about returning this product should be addressed to:

Mr Ken Allen
Qualified Person and Quality Advisor
E-mail: ken.allen@norbrook.co.uk
Telephone: + 02830 264435

Dechra Animal Health has published the results of a study which found that antibiotic use was reduced by 43% in beef calves treated with Solacyl, its oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID).

The company says this means that using Solacyl as an alternative to antibiotics could reduce overall antibiotic use by 4.4 tonnes a year. 

The research was carried out by dairy veterinary consultant Owen Atkinson BVSc DHCP MRCVS, an RCVS recognised specialist in cattle health and production, at three English calf rearing units between November 2017 and May 2018. It involved four groups of beef calves from different dairy farms.

The 258 calves were given Solacyl (sodium salicylate) in-feed on the five days immediately upon arrival at the units (a high-risk period for animals to contract bovine respiratory disease).

According to Dechra, the use of Solacyl resulted in a reduction in antibiotic use of between 16% and 73% (based on doses), depending on the farm. Across all groups, the reduction was 43%.

Dechra says that neither the health of the calves nor the profitability of the rearing operations were compromised. 

Owen Atkinson said: "I was involved in analysing the data and the data showed that there was no significant difference in growth rates or in mortality or in days to reach a target weight in the calves that had Solacyl, compared to previous batches of calves that had followed a prophylactic antibiotic protocol.

"I think this is an ideal protocol for those farmers who are competent, who are able to spot early pneumonia symptoms and are prepared to perhaps treat a slightly higher proportion of calves than they would otherwise have treated. They can now do that with higher confidence that their results should be as good as if they had used prophylactic antibiotics."

Dechra Farm Animal Veterinary Adviser Alana McGlade BVmedsci (hons) BVM BVS MRCVS added: "Sodium salicylate has the same fever-controlling, pain-managing and inflammation-reducing benefits in livestock as aspirin can have in humans.

"It can be administered conveniently to groups of animals, which means it can be given prior to known stress points in animals’ lives. This can be continued through and after those events, providing a welfare benefit and reducing the risk of a loss of appetite and its resulting effects.

"Solacyl can be administered without the supervision of a vet and that makes it a cost-effective and practical solution for farmers that can lead to a notable reduction in routine antibiotic use whilst protecting the welfare of a herd."

Dechra has now published a white paper which you can download here: "Enhancing welfare and combating antimicrobial resistance while maintaining productivity on calf units". 

The results of the research will be presented at the BCVA Congress in October 2018.

Willows, the Solihull-based multidisciplinary referral centre, has announced that it has acquired The Veterinary Cardiorespiratory Centre, the renowned referral service run by Mike Martin MRCVS, RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology (pictured right).

Mike, together with Chris Linney and their team will shortly be moving half-an-hour up the road to join the team at Willows. 

The company says that the move will offer a number of benefits to referring practitioners. Chief amongst these is the speed with which an accurate diagnosis can be made and treatment given, both as a result of having RCVS Specialists in neurology, imaging, medicine, soft tissue surgery (and now cardiology) under one roof and because of the state-of-the-art equipment at their disposal, including CT, MRI and digital fluoroscopy.

Lynne Hill, CEO, Willows Group said: ”I’m thrilled that Mike, Chris and their team are joining us at Willows. I have always held Mike in the highest regard and this is a tremendous opportunity for the practice to provide a truly collaborative ‘one-stop-shop’ for both clients and referring veterinary practices”.

Mike said: “I’m really looking forward to working at Willows Referral Service and being part of a multidisciplinary team. It's a logical move to provide Willows with the missing discipline of cardiology and I'm delighted Lynne Hill has allowed us to fulfil that role. There has been an increasing number of referrals between the two centres due to the complexity of cases - now that will be all under one roof and we can manage these much more effectively and offer the best service to our clients and their patients.” 

For more information, visit www.willows.uk.net 

The Journal of Small Animal Practice (JSAP) has published a new study which it says supports the use of weekly proteinuria monitoring during the first month of masitinib treatment for neoplasia.

The study, titled “Development and progression of proteinuria in dogs treated with masitinib for neoplasia: 28 cases (2010 – 2019)”, also suggests that a urine protein: creatinine greater than 0.5 should prompt reassessment within one week.

For the study, the clinical records of 38 dogs referred to a single university teaching hospital between 2010 and 2019 for treatment of neoplasia with masitinib were retrospectively evaluated.

Data was collected at masitinib initiation and at various timepoints following the start of treatment.

Data gathered included the masitinib dose given and any changes to medication administration or dosing since the previous visit, presence of gross disease and the results of haematology and biochemistry profiles, urinalysis and urine cultures.

Urinalysis results were only included if they were performed at a reference laboratory.

At each timepoint, the urine was classified as non-proteinuric (UP:C ≤0.5) or proteinurinc (UP:C >0.5). Proteinuria was then categorised as likely pre-renal, post-renal, physiological renal or pathological renal.

Dogs were grouped based on the presence or absence of proteinuria at baseline. Non-proteinuric dogs were further divided, based on whether proteinuria developed following treatment during the study.

Of the 28 dogs in the study, five were being treated for epitheliotropic lymphoma, one for vulval lymphoma, one for malignant melanoma and 21 for mast cell tumours.

Twenty-two (79%) dogs were non-proteinuric and six were proteinuric at baseline.

Of the dogs that were non-proteinuric at baseline, four (18.2%) developed proteinuria within one month of treatment initiation. Median time to first detection of proteinuria was 14.5 days (range: 13 to 31).

Of the dogs with pre-treatment proteinuria (n=6), masitinib treatment was discontinued due to lack of efficacy in three dogs, and three were euthanased during treatment, two for disease progression and one for an unknown reason.

Dr Margaux Kuijlaars, corresponding author for the paper, said: “Patients developing proteinuria should be investigated to exclude non-renal causes. This should allow for more informed recommendations on the monitoring and management of proteinuria and further masitinib treatment in these patients to be made. Masitinib treatment can be considered in patients with pre-treatment proteinuria and does not inevitably cause worsening of proteinuria.

“The findings of this study add to the evidence base for the use of masitinib in treating neoplasia in small animal patients. The use of masitinib in dogs in this study was off-licence as C-KIT MCT expression was not determined, and many dogs were treated for other tumours.”

Nicola Di Girolamo, Editor of JSAP, said: “Little is known about which dogs are predisposed to becoming proteinuric following treatment with masitinib for neoplasia. Due to the small number of dogs in this study that developed proteinuria, conclusions about predisposing factors cannot be definitely drawn.

"The findings of this study add to the evidence base and demonstrate the need for larger, prospective trials including a control population and longer period of follow-up.”

The full article can be found in the August issue of the Journal of Small Animal Practice and can be read online here: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13305. It is open access and can be freely accessed by anyone.  

Reference

1. M Kuijilaars, J Helm and A McBrearty (2021) Development and progression of proteinuria in dogs treated with masitinib for neoplasia: 28 cases (2010-2019). Journal of Small Animal Practice, 62 (8). Available at: https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13305

The RCVS Disciplinary Committee has ended an enquiry against a Cambridgeshire-based veterinary surgeon who had repeatedly breached court orders relating to the control of dogs, after finding that it did not render him unfit to practise.

Amir Kashiv faced a charge of being unfit to practise veterinary surgery after twice being found guilty of letting dogs roam freely on public highways or land not owned or controlled by him in Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, once on 20 April 2016 and once on 16 November 2016, and by having repeatedly breached court orders in relation to the same.

Dr Kashiv admitted the convictions, but denied that individually or in any combination they rendered him unit to practise veterinary surgery. This was therefore left to the judgement of the Committee.

In considering whether the convictions rendered Dr Kashiv unfit for practice, the Committee first considered the facts of the convictions.

Dr Kashiv had long taken in house dogs with physical and behavioural problems, at some stages having as many as 30 on his property. In 2014 neighbours became concerned by dogs escaping and noise nuisances, and on 14 November 2014 Dr Kashiv was served by the Police with a Warning Notice, requiring him to install adequate fencing within 28 days.

Four days later he was then served with an Abatement Notice for a Noise Nuisance about the dogs, and on 10 January 2015 he was then served with a Community Protection Notice requiring him to stop his dogs roaming and ensure adequate fencing.

After multiple subsequent escapes Dr Kashiv pleaded guilty of being in breach of the Community Protection Order at the Magistrates’ Court on 20 April 2016, receiving penalties amounting to £5,000 and costs of £6,000, as well as a two year Criminal Behaviour Order requiring him to reduce the number of dogs to no more than five with 28 days, and requiring his dogs to be supervised at all times while they were outside the house. 

Two months later one of the dogs was seen outside the property, resulting in another conviction for breach of the Criminal Behaviour Order on 16 November 2016, and Dr Kashiv was fined £250 as well as £250 in costs.

The Committee then considered whether this resulted in Dr Kashiv being unfit to practise veterinary surgery. It considered it a serious matter that a veterinary surgeon should allow himself to be made subject to a Warning Notice, and that, being subject to such a Notice, he should then be found in repeated breach of the Notice and invite prosecution. While the Committee accepts that it is difficult to fence his entire grounds, ten acres in total, the Committee took it as a mark against Dr Kashiv that he failed to address the concerns of the authorities by reducing the number of dogs he housed until he was compelled to do so.

Jane Downes, who was chairing the Committee and speaking on its behalf, said: "The Committee regards this as a case close to borderline. These offences, involving the mismanagement by a veterinary surgeon of his animals and repeated offences demonstrate that Dr Kashiv had a less than adequate insight in 2014 and 2015 into the seriousness of the situation or into the understandable concerns of his neighbours and of the authorities. They are capable of bringing the profession into disrepute so as to undermine public confidence in it.

"But, in the end, The Committee has concluded that Dr Kashiv is not unfit by reason of these convictions to practise as a veterinary surgeon. 

"It is apparent from the material before the Committee that Dr Kashiv is a dedicated veterinary surgeon whose life’s work has been devoted to the welfare of small animals and who has gone to extraordinary lengths, at his own expense, to do all that he possibly could to alleviate the suffering of, and rehabilitate, unloved and abandoned and unwell dogs.

"In all the circumstances and in the light of all the evidence the Committee finds that the convictions, whether taken individually or in any combination, do not render Dr Kashiv unfit to practice veterinary surgery."

MSD Animal Health has been granted the marketing authorisation in the UK for Bravecto Triuno, a new formulation of Bravecto (fluralaner) for dogs that targets both external and internal parasites.

Bravecto Triuno is approved for the treatment of tick and flea infestations in dogs (Ctenocephalides felis, C. canis, Dermacentor reticulatus, Ixodes hexagonus, Ixodes ricinus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus).

It is also approved for the treatment of infections with roundworms (adult stages of Toxocara canis and Toxascaris leonina) and hookworms (L4, immature adult (L5), and adult stages of Ancylostoma caninum and Uncinaria stenocephala), for the prevention of heartworm disease (caused by Dirofilaria immitis), and for the prevention of angiostrongylosis (by reduction of the level of infection with immature adult (L5) and adult stages of Angiostrongylus vasorum).

Victoria Miles, UK Companion Animal Director, MSD Animal Health, said: “With this latest formulation of Bravecto, MSD Animal Health is giving veterinarians and dog owners a greater range of convenient options for protecting their dog year-round from parasites, and all from the same trusted Bravecto portfolio.”

She added: “We see Bravecto Triuno as a great option for puppies that require a monthly wormer on top of protection against fleas and ticks.

"This also gives flexibility later on for the dog to remain with the Bravecto brand but be swapped onto a longer-duration flea and tick product with a wormer administered according to a veterinarian’s risk-based assessment.” 

Bravecto Triuno is available as a flavoured chewable tablet indicated for dogs and puppies from 8 weeks of age and at least 1.27 Kg body weight and can be administered monthly to dogs at risk of infestation by multiple types of internal and external parasites.

It contains three anti-parasitic ingredients including fluralaner, which provides activity against ticks and fleas, moxidectin, which provides systemic activity against non-intestinal worms, and pyrantel, which provides activity against intestinal worms.

https://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/?id=-488423 

A research group at CVS led by Sergio Gomes has published three studies looking at discospondylitis in dogs and cats.

Discospondylitis describes the infection of an intervertebral disc and its adjacent cartilaginous end plates and vertebral bodies.

It is commonly bacterial or fungal in origin.

The disease can be challenging to diagnose as signs are variable and sometimes vague.

For the research, neurology specialists retrospectively examined cases which presented at multiple referral sites that have furthered the understanding, clinical and imaging features of discospondylitis.

To date MRI has been the imaging modality of choice, with consistent CT imaging features of discospondylitis in dogs and cats not previously reported in detail.

However with the increased availability of CT in clinical practice, the research set out to examine CT features that could support a diagnosis of discospondylitis.

Discospondylitis in cats is uncommon, and very little research had been undertaken in this area. This research group therefore reported clinical presentation and imaging data about a population of cats, to support the future diagnosis of these cases.

During the three studies*, the researchers found that:

• Presentations of discospondylitis in cats is similar to that in dogs, although there was possible evidence of a higher prevalence of neurological dysfunction in cats.
  
  Spinal hyperaesthesia was present in all cats and pyrexia was identified in a minority of cases.
  
  Accompanying nonspecific clinical signs included lethargy, reluctance to move and jump, anorexia and weight loss.
  
  Bacterial culture was unrewarding in most cases, as in dogs, but antibiotic therapy for a mean duration of three months provided a favourable prognosis, with no long-term evidence of recurrence.
  
  
• MRI is currently the imaging modality of choice for discospondylitis however with the availability of CT in clinical practice this research was warranted.
  
  CT presents some advantages over MRI in the diagnosis of discospondylitis such as excellent depiction of bone, FNA guidance and enhanced utility in preoperative planning of spinal surgery in instances of subluxation or fractures.
  
  
• CT imaging features that can support the diagnosis of discospondylitis when performed in all three planes although equivocal cases on CT might still require MRI.
  Prior to this study, CT imaging features of discospondylitis in dogs and cats had not been reported. 

The studies

• Gomes, SA, Targett, M, Lowrie, M. Computed tomography features of discospondylitis in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2022; 36( 6): 2123- 2131. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16551 
• Gomes SA, Garosi LS, Behr S, et al. Clinical features, treatment and outcome of discospondylitis in cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2022;24(4):311-321. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X211020159 
• Gomes SA, Behr S, Garosi LS, et al. Imaging features of discospondylitis in cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 2020;22(7):631-640. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098612X19869705 

Vets4Pets has produced a new film to champion the work of all vets, nurses and support teams. 

The company says it thinks the film is an industry first because it depicts veterinary professionals in a way that they have never seen themselves before: cinematically showing the highs and lows of a typical day in veterinary practice.

Vets4Pets also says it wants the film to generate greater recognition for everyone working within the industry, not just its own staff, by showcasing the passion, dedication and commitment that unites them.

Keith Leonard MRCVS, Practice Owner at Vets4Pets Leeds Birstall where some of the video was filmed, said: “While there are no words that can do justice to the sheer passion and determination demonstrated by the entire veterinary community, taking part in this campaign and seeing the result is really emotional.

“After an unimaginably turbulent few years, this campaign makes me feel incredibly proud of my whole team.

"It genuinely shows what it’s like to work in veterinary practice and I can’t thank each and every one of my team enough for their outstanding dedication to the care of our clients – both the pets we care for and their owners.

"We all live and breathe what we do, and I hope they feel a sense of pride when they see this campaign.”

Gordon Dunn, People Director at Vets4Pets, said: “The veterinary sector has experienced immense pressure following years of unprecedented challenges and as an industry we need to do our utmost to ensure that veterinary professionals are supported in their development and careers. But alongside this, we need to understand that recognition goes a long way too. 

MSD Animal Health Equine is highlighting the results of a study conducted by the company which, it says, proves that Equilis Prequenza offers highly significant protection against viral shedding and the clinical signs of equine influenza (EI).

Current World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) recommendations are to include a representative strain from each of the two sublineages of equine influenza virus (EIV) - Florida Clade 1 and Florida Clade 2, to deliver optimum protection. 

MSD's study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of Equilis Prequenza, containing whole virus Newmarket/2/93 (European strain) and South Africa/4/03 (Clade1) EIV strains, and an HA canarypox vectored vaccine containing Florida Clade 1 and Clade 2 strains. 

Two groups of seven Fjord ponies were vaccinated twice, 4 weeks apart (V1 on day 0 and V2 on day 28).  One group was vaccinated with Equilis Prequenza (MSD AH) and one group with ProteqFlu (Boehringer Ingleheim). The protective antibody response was measured and ponies were challenged, along with six unvaccinated control ponies, by experimental infection with Wexford/14 (a heterologous clade 2 strain), 1 20 days (4.5 months) after V2, and clinical signs and virus shedding monitored. EI serology was measured by single radial haemolysis (SRH) and hemagglutination inhibition (HI).  Clinical signs and virus shedding (measured by qRT-PCR and egg titration) were compared between groups and with controls.

Vicki Farr, BVetMed MRCVS, equine veterinary advisor at MSD Animal Health said: "Following challenge at 120 days after V2 with Wexford/14, this study demonstrates that both vaccines provide a highly significant degree of protection against clinical signs of EI and viral shedding compared to unvaccinated controls. Although the study was not designed to compare the efficacy of the two vaccines, because of practical limitations on the number of animals and hence low power, there was no evidence of any significant differences between these two groups. There was, however, a trend towards slightly lower clinical score on days 4-8 and reduced virus excretion on days 2-5 in the Equilis Prequenza group compared to the HA canarypox vectored vaccine.” 

MSD says Equilis Prequenza offers a broad based approach to immunogenicity by addressing and adapting key areas of an equine influenza vaccine - Matrix-C adjuvant, whole virus antigen and strain; efficacy has been proven through challenge trials and longer term protection confirmed by serology.      

Vicki added: "Equilis Prequenza addresses key factors involved in promoting effective immunogenicity. It combines the demonstrated efficacy against challenge, with a current circulating strain with an established safety profile.  Equilis Prequenza stimulates active immunity against EI providing the reassurance your clients demand. MSD Animal Health is committed to working with equine practices to improve vaccination rates in at-risk horses."

For more information about the trial results contact your MSD Animal Health account manager.