Elanco Animal Health has announced the launch of Osurnia, a new treatment which it says will drive compliance when treating canine otitis externa infections.

According to the company, compliance with daily ear drops has been shown to be poor, with up to 80% of owners administering the incorrect dose to their pet. The most common reason for a lack of compliance is the difficultly in applying the drops¹. 

Elanco says that Osurnia has the potential to improve compliance in treating otitis externa significantly, because unlike other medications which require 5-28 doses during the course of treatment², Osurnia only needs two-doses given a week apart.

Osurnia contains a gel formulation of three active ingredients including the antibiotic florfenicol, which is new to companion animal treatment in the UK, terbinafine, which inhibits the growth of yeast as demonstrated for Malassezia spp., and the glucocorticosteroid, betamethasone acetate, to help relieve discomfort.

Osurnia is administered in a pre-measured, single-dose tube designed to ensure the right dose every time. It has a flexible, soft tip designed to make treatment with Osurnia a comfortable experience for the dog. The gel formulation squeezes out of the tube and spreads through the ear, adhering inside the ear canal for long-lasting action. The dose is the same for any dog, regardless of size and weight.

Alice Laurens, DVM MRCVS, dermatology marketing manager at Elanco Animal Health said: “Otitis externa is a common challenge for both vets and clients, with ear infections among the ten most frequent reasons for dogs to be presented with vets, affecting up to 20% of dogs³.

“Osurnia is an innovative, effective treatment that is administered in just two doses ensuring it is much more convenient for pet owners thereby increasing the likelihood that they will complete the entire treatment schedule leading to more comfortable dogs and peace of mind for owners.”

Elanco has produced a client leaflet on treating otitis externa with Osurnia.  For further information, or to order client leaflets, please contact your local Elanco Animal Health Territory Manager or email elancoCAH.uk@elanco.com.

References

1. Intern J Appl Res Vet Med, Vol 9, No2, 2011
2. SPCs of other otitis externa treatments
3. Angus J C: Otic cytology in health and disease. Vet Clin. Small Animal      2004, 34, 411-424

Boehringer Ingelheim is offering free creative colouring books and the chance to win an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to veterinary surgeons and nurses who sign up at The Boehringer Academy, the company’s free online CPD resource.

The Boehringer Academy (www.boehringer-academy.co.uk) contains hundreds of hours of CPD material on equine, companion and production animals. It comprises a mixture of webinars, podcasts, short videos and downloadable documents, which can be viewed at any time. The site keeps a CPD log for each user and provides downloadable certificates.

Boehringer’s Small Animal Marketing Team Leader, Jemima Mead said: "We already have just over 15,000 vets and nurses in the UK and Ireland currently registered with the Academy.

"New and existing members are eligible to receive the Boehringer Academy colouring book. They simply have to visit www.boehringer-academy.co.uk and complete their profile. In addition, everyone completing their profile will be entered into a draw to win an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil."

Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in Solihull has launched a parenteral nutrition referral service.

The service is being led by Isuru Gajanayake, a board-certified specialist in veterinary nutrition. He said: “Since launching our clinical nutrition service last year, we have seen a number of cases in which patients have been either dehydrated or malnourished, sometimes both. 

“Working alongside our other services in a truly multidisciplinary approach, we have been able to offer suitable treatment to support a significant number of dogs and cats. 

“With the launch of the parenteral nutrition service, we can now expand this offering and, in doing so, become one of only a very few referral centres across the UK to provide this as a specialist service. 

“Patients who are given parenteral nutrition will be hospitalised in our advanced intensive care unit to ensure they can be monitored closely by our specialist emergency and critical care (ECC) team, who provide exceptional expertise in critical care and treatment for every patient when they need it most. 

Isuru added that the addition of the clinical nutrition and parenteral nutrition services at Willows ensures that there is a much greater emphasis on nutrition and hydration for all patients at the centre, whatever their underlying illness.

For more information, visit www.willows.uk.net or search for Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service on Facebook. 

Virbac Animal Health has announced that registrations on BackHome BioTec, the company's microchip identification service, were moved to the Petlog Database with effect from Monday 12 September 2011.

Virbac says it moved to the UK's largest independent microchip registration database in order to offer an enhanced level of service and support, both to veterinary staff and pet owners. 

Practices using the BackHome BioTec system are being asked to log onto www.virbacbackhome.co.uk to create a new account.

Gillian Brown, Product Manager for BackHome at Virbac, said: "BackHome has established itself as a popular, cost-effective and easy to use microchipping system. We believe that in appointing Petlog to manage our registrations we will now be offering a 'best of breed' service for veterinary staff and pet owners.  

"We're extremely grateful to Celia Walsom, Petlog Executive, and her team. They have demonstrated unfailing energy, expertise and total dedication to ensuring this move has run smoothly and effectively for all our customers. I am confident that they will benefit from Petlog's commitment to provide a comprehensive identification service which is easy, convenient and secure to use.

"All our existing customers need to do is go to the new website (www.virbacbackhome.co.uk/) and set up an account - it's a simple and quick process. We'll also be providing a range of promotional materials to help them communicate the change to their own clients."

Petlog is owned and managed by the Kennel Club. Virbac says it is fully data compliant and defers income to ensure it can honour its lifetime promise to pet owners. Its Lost and Found helpline is available 24/7, 365 days a year and it is also a founder member of the European Pet Network.

Further information on BackHome BioTec is available on the new website, which also contains a direct link to Petlog.

For further information about BackHome BioTec, please contact your Virbac Territory Manager or call the company on 01359 243243.

Hallmarq Veterinary Imaging has launched the world's first veterinary MRI that doesn't rely on helium to cool its magnet coils. 

The coils need to be cooled to -460 °F in order to get good quality images. 

To achieve the same result without helium, Hallmarq’s new MRI uses a conduction-based cooling system in a strong vacuum, which eliminates the need for helium, a quench pipe, oxygen monitor, or any additional power.

This, Hallmarq says, makes the new system more environmentally friendly than its helium-based counterparts and reduces the upfront and ongoing costs of offering a veterinary MRI service to patients.

The new technology comes in response to growing concerns over helium supply.

Extraction and usage of helium is quickly outpacing its natural synthesis, as a result of which, Hallmarq says helium prices have soared from £12.75 per litre in December of 2017 to between £50 and £55 per litre in June 2022.

For veterinary hospitals already using high-field MRI machines, or for those considering them in the future, reliance on the 1,500-2,200 litres of helium required to keep a standard MRI functioning may not be sustainable.

Hallmarq’s Chief Technology Officer Dr. Steve Roberts said: “Hallmarq’s Zero-Helium Small Animal 1.5T MRI system increases access to diagnostic care for small animal patients, while lessening the financial, environmental and supply chain risks associated with traditional helium-based MRI systems."

www.hallmarq.net.

Veterinary Prescriber has published its latest module, which asks whether endoparasite infections in cats and dogs can be prevented without the use of prophylactic medicines.

The module, which was produced with Ian Wright, head of the specialist parasitology organisation, ESCCAP, aims to help veterinary professionals with their discussions with pet owners about parasite management.

Andrea Tarr, Veterinary Prescriber’s founder and director said: "Surveys across Europe have shown that the public have poor understanding about the need for endoparasite control in their pets, including the risks endoparasites pose, such as zoonosis, and about routine preventative treatment."

Ceva Animal Health is urging vets to encourage their farming clients to test for enzootic abortion of ewes (EAE) if they have experienced an abortion rate of over 2% in their flock or if two or more have aborted over two to three days irrespective of the size of flock.

The company has published data from its 2021 Assure Ewe subsidised testing scheme, which found that 48% of farms that submitted samples after last year’s lambing season tested positive for EAE¹ caused by Chlamydia abortus.

This, Ceva says, mirrors the results from the 2020 testing initiative, demonstrating that EAE remains a significant issue on UK farms.

Katherine Timms BVetMed (Hons) MRCVS, ruminant veterinary advisor at Ceva Animal Health said: “EAE is a significant problem on UK farms, and it can be exceptionally expensive and frustrating to deal with, as infected sheep aborting and shedding have the potential to cause an abortion storm the following year.

“Any abortion outbreak should therefore be identified and managed as quickly and effectively as possible to help prevent the rest of the ewes in the flock from becoming infected.

"Vaccination and strict biosecurity provide the best protection against EAE and farmers can vaccinate their ewes from five months of age until four weeks prior to tupping, as long as the ewe is not in lamb.”

For further information, contact your local Ceva Animal Health account manager or visit www.enzooticabortion.co.uk.

Reference

1. Ceva Animal Health’s Assure Ewe initiative tested 600 sheep in 2021

The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons is seeking feedback on a new draft Code of Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses.

The new draft Code, which would replace the existing RCVS Guide to Professional Conduct for Veterinary Nurses, has been produced by a Working Party set up by the RCVS Advisory Committee to review the Guides for both veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses.

It is the benchmark for professional conduct against which registered veterinary nurses will be measured in any hearings on serious professional misconduct held by the recently-introduced VN Disciplinary Committee.

The purpose of the review is to ensure that guidance to the profession, and the public, is clear, for example, using consistent language to distinguish between what must be done and what is advised.

The new Code is a short, principles-based document, using the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe's Code of Conduct as the starting point. It will be supported by additional advice on specific areas of veterinary practice or issues, for example, clinical governance.

The consultation follows an earlier one for a new draft Code for veterinary surgeons that closed at the end of June: the new Code for veterinary nurses follows the format and style of that for veterinary surgeons. Comments made during the veterinary surgeon consultation will be taken account of alongside comments made during this new consultation.

For the first time, the draft proposes that veterinary nurses make a declaration on joining the VN Register, which underlines the primary importance of animal health and welfare: "I PROMISE AND SOLEMNLY DECLARE that my constant endeavour will be to ensure the welfare of animals committed to my care and that I will pursue the work of my profession with integrity and accept my responsibilities to my clients, the public, the profession and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons."

Comments on the proposed draft are invited from the veterinary nursing profession, the veterinary profession and the public, particularly on the issue of whether the Codes for veterinary nurses and veterinary surgeons ought to be combined.

Andrea Jeffery, the RCVS Veterinary Nurses Council member who led the group tasked with developing the new Code, said: "It is 50 years since the start of the veterinary nursing profession and the changes proposed in the Code reflect the development of our professional role over this time.

"This new Code is a simplified document that focuses on key principles and which will be supported by more detailed guidance. Although it follows the format of the draft Code for veterinary surgeons, it is important that we recognise our unique position as veterinary nurses."

The new Code, together with the consultation paper, can be downloaded at www.rcvs.org.uk/VNcodeconsultation.

Comments should be sent by email to Christopher Murdoch, Secretary to the Guides Review Working Party, at c.murdoch@rcvs.org.uk by Friday, 21 October 2011.

Braemar Finance has published the results of research it commissioned in July to canvass the thoughts of senior members in veterinary practice about the impact of coronavirus.

Two hundred members of the profession took part. The main results were:

• 68% said it will be up to six months before they are fully operational again
• 65% said they expected their business to stay the same overall, over the next 12 months. Of the remainder, 22% thought their business will contract.
• 85% expect revenue over the next 12 months to decrease (29.5% by 21-40%, 26% by 41-60% and 24.5% by 1-20%).
• 80% made use of the furlough scheme
• 63% believe that once things return to normal staffing levels will return to normal too. 
• 58.5% had made use of the government Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme.
• When asked how supported you feel by your professional body, 18.5% said 'very' and 78.5% 'Somewhat'.
• 27% felt the worst is behind us, but the economy could decline again, 24% said the worst is behind but it will be a slow recovery, 22% said there is worse to come and 21.5% said the worst is behind and there will now be a quick recovery.  

Zoetis has been granted a Wholesale Dealer Import Certificate (WDIC) to supply practices with an alternative rotavirus vaccine after being hit by manufacturing delays with this year’s season of Equip Rotavirus.

Practices which want to buy the alternative imported vaccine will need to apply to the VMD for a Special Import Certificate (SIC).

Wholesalers have agreed to stock the alternative vaccine.

Zoetis says it acknowledges the concern and frustration this causes its customers and wants to reassure the equine community that it is working hard to resume Equip Rotavirus supply as soon as possible.

For further information, contact your Zoetis account manager or ring Zoetis HQ on 0345 300 8034.

The British Equine Veterinary Association has announced that colic will be a key topic on the scientific programme at Congress this year, which runs from 11th to 14th September at the Birmingham ICC.

Global names in gastroenterology will be sharing the latest knowledge to help veterinary surgeons and nurses support the work of the BHS and Nottingham University’s REACT to colic campaign, which is designed to help vets and horse owners work together for colic patients.

On Friday 13th September there'll be a two-hour session chaired by Harry Carslake, a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary internal medicine (ACVIM). The session will involve five experts speaking about aspects of colic, followed by discussion and the opportunity for questions from delegates.

• Natasha Jocelyn, Internal Medicine Specialist, Sussex Equine Hospital, will speak about managing the acute colic in the field: what to do when flunixin doesn’t work.

• Prof. Dr. Gunther Van Loon European Veterinary Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine, Ghent University, Belgium, will discuss managing acute colic in the equine hospital.

• Dr Nathan Slovis member of the American College of Internal Veterinary Medicine, Director of the McGee Medicine Department and a partner at Haygard Equine Medical Institute in Lexington, Ky will explain colic guidelines – can ‘algorithms’ help?

• Prof. Dr Lutz Goehring European Veterinary Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich, will explore the question ‘is there an evidence-based approach to managing enteritis?’

• David Rendle European Veterinary Specialist in Equine Internal Medicine, Rainbow Equine Hospital, North Yorkshire, will look at parasitic disease as a cause of colic and methods of management.

All BEVA Congress delegates get a certificate of attendance worth seven hours of CPD.

If you're struggling for time or torn between several lectures you can use the BEVA Congress Encore Room to play back missed lectures at your convenience. BEVA Congress is also providing day crèche for children between the ages of 0-8 years. Find out more here.

Anyone who registers for Congress before 8 May 2019 will receive significantly reduced booking fees, and BEVA members save up to £379 on their Congress passes.

Linnaeus has appointed Tim Richardson as its Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Prior to becoming COO, Tim was Managing Director of three referral hospitals owned by Linnaeus – Davies Veterinary Specialists, London Veterinary Specialists and Southfields Veterinary Specialists – and a number of its primary care sites.

Prior to joining Linnaeus, Tim worked in Iceland, where he was a vet for the Icelandic Government.

On his return from Iceland in 2016, he joined Village Vet and then progressed into a range of regional management and practice leadership positions across the industry.

Tim said: "I am proud to be part of our wonderful, unique industry that, although currently facing a number of challenges, continues to make such a difference to the lives of our patients and their owners every day.

“In my first vet role in mixed practice, I was fortunate to receive brilliant support, guidance and encouragement from my team.

"Since then, I have always wanted to do the same for my colleagues, particularly those who are just starting their careers.

“I have used my experience within the veterinary profession to support some fantastic teams at Linnaeus.

"Becoming COO is an honour and opportunity that will enable me to help even more people across the business.”

A new study¹ published in Scientific Research has concluded that Vetoquinol's Phovia fluorescent light energy (FLE) therapy system can improve the quality of life for dogs with skin conditions, and their owners.

Phovia, which was launched in the UK last year, is a two-part FLE system consisting of a chromophore gel that is applied to the affected skin and a blue light LED lamp.

Vetoquinol says that when used together they produce light of varying wavelengths that penetrates the skin to different depths, helping to control bacteria and reduce inflammation on the surface of the skin and stimulating regeneration in the epidermal and dermal layers.

The unit is portable, and applications take four minutes once a week.

The authors of the Vetoquinol-funded study say that FLE has already been shown to support and accelerate natural skin healing, but this latest research shows that the benefits go beyond improvement in clinical signs.

The study looked at 35 dogs with a diverse range of skin conditions: 13 had interdigital furunculosis, 10 had deep pyoderma, 6 had wounds, 4 had pyotraumatic dermatitis, and 2 had perianal fistula on presentation.

Eight of 35 dogs were new cases, whereas the remaining 27 were undergoing recrudescence of a prior episode, including pyotraumatic dermatitis, wounds, deep pyoderma, interdigital furunculosis and perianal fistulae.

Thirty dogs (86%) achieved a clinical resolution: 18 with the Fluorescent Light Energy alone and 12 with the concomitant use of FLE and topical antiseptic shampoo.

Five dogs (14%) had a partial response and needed other therapies.

92% percent of owners attested to their pet’s enhanced quality of life, with 74% of dogs displaying at least a 50% improvement in owner-reported behaviour, mood, sleep and playing activities. 

The study also reported a 46% reduction in caregiver burden.

Felicity Caddick, Technical Services Manager at Vetoquinol said: “Managing skin conditions often requires the long-term use of shampoos or topical therapies.

"Many owners find this aspect of pet ownership challenging, especially with larger dogs, or less cooperative animals.

"FLE can reduce or in some cases eliminate the need for topical therapies at home, not only simplifying the treatment process but also enhancing convenience and compliance.

"Sharing responsibility for administering ongoing treatment with their vet practice also removes some of the worry associated with their pet’s health.”

Vetoquinol also highlights that Phovia can offer vets a drug-free management option for skin disorders that aligns with the principles of antibiotic stewardship. 

Reference

1. Mosca, M. , Briand, A. , Carrasco, I. , Luciani, L. and Fantini, O. (2023) Impact of Fluorescent Light Energy on the Quality of Life of Dogs with Dermatologic Disease and Their Owners. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 13, 122-135. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2023.137011.