A timely health check for endangered eastern gorillas

While the world’s attention is currently focused on the Ebola crisis in western Africa, a virus that has been responsible for the deaths of almost one third of the region’s gorillas and many thousands of chimpanzees, as well as humans, in eastern Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo veterinarian Alisa Kubala’s interest in studying infectious diseases […]

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Vets and doctors warned of potential epidemic

  Bartonella could be responsible for a hidden epidemic of disease in animals and humans, according to a US veterinary infectious disease expert. Edward Breitschwerdt, from the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, updated doctors and veterinarians at the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Zoonoses […]

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Snag a statement to protect your flock

With ram sale season in full swing, buyers are being urged to protect their flocks from unwanted diseases by asking for a Sheep Health Statement. The SHS has been designed for use across Australia to help sheep producers in taking a risk-management approach to their farm biosecurity. It provides information on flock history, Ovine Johne’s […]

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Challenges in prognostication of FIV-positive patients

A Sydney University study published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine found that the presence of haematologic and biochemical abnormalities could not be relied upon to determine clinical progression of FIV in sick feline patients, and that FIV-positive status alone did not have a negative impact on survival. The authors set out to compare […]

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Wildlife sentinels reveal expanding distribution of rat lungworm

A study examining the role of wildlife species as sentinels for rat lungworm suggests an expanded distribution of the parasite, and the need for pet owners and wildlife carers to take precautions in order to minimise transmission of the disease to animals in care. Rat lungworm, or Angiostrongylus cantonensis, was the most common cause of […]

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