AnimalNet Dec. 22/05
Four bird flu patients die despite use of tamiflu: Vietnamese victims
Feed problem killed 900 goats on Saskatchewan farm, tests suggest
DNR announces bovine TB likely in one northwestern Minnesota deer (2005-12-21)
Ban on antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed enters into effect
Workshop on advances in veterinary medicine
FDA statement
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Four bird flu patients die despite use of tamiflu: Vietnamese victims
December 22, 2005
National Post/Reuters/New York Times
Doctors in Vietnam were cited as reporting yesterday they had found more evidence that the H5N1 bird flu virus can quickly mutate into a form that resists the effect of Roche AG's frontline drug Tamiflu.
Dr. Menno de Jong of the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City and colleagues were cited as writing in the New England Journal of Medicine that four of eight patients treated in Vietnam for bird flu infections died despite the use of Tamiflu.
Tests showed that in two of the patients, the virus had become resistant to Tamiflu. And in one patient, the drug was used very early on, as is recommended.
Dr. Anne Moscona, an expert in pediatric viral diseases at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, was quoted as saying, "It is becoming clear that to treat avian flu with neuraminidase inhibitors [such as Tamiflu], we are going to need higher doses and longer course of treatment for it to work."
Feed problem killed 900 goats on Saskatchewan farm, tests suggest
December 22, 2005
CBC.CA News
On Wednesday, veterinarians from the University of Saskatchewan were cited as saying that autopsies on some of 900 goats who have dies since May showed they weren't getting enough nutrients in their feed.
Chris Clark, a veterinarian at the university's veterinary college in Saskatoon, was quoted as saying, "I suspect that what could have happened was that the hay may have been harvested a little too late and so it contained more stem than leaf. And so it just doesn't have the digestible nutrients in it that the goats need."
Dave Smith, who owns the goat farm about 100 kilometres east of Prince Albert near Choiceland and who has been breeding and selling goats for 13 years, was cited as saying he wasn't satisfied with the answer, adding, "I find some of it hard to believe. But I mean they've tested it so they could very possibly be right. But we feel there is more to it than that and they're testing for another disease right now."
The veterinary team is testing for Johne's disease, a contagious and often fatal ailment caused by bacteria that primarily affects the small intestines of ruminants.
But Clark said he has pretty much ruled it out as the cause because the chronic condition usually affects older animals. He said it wouldn't explain the deaths of all the young goats.
DNR announces bovine TB likely in one northwestern Minnesota deer (2005-12-21)
December 22, 2005
Minnesota DNR
One deer harvested this fall by a hunter in northwestern Minnesota is expected to test positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB) when final results of a culture test become available after Jan. 1, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced today.
While it is expected the final confirmation will be positive, the test is ongoing and won't be completed for several weeks. The deer, shot by a hunter near the town of Skime in Roseau County, was in an area where several cattle herds were diagnosed with bovine TB earlier this year. In November, the DNR announced that two visual and microscopic screening tests on the lymph node samples collected in that area during the firearm deer season showed no sign of the disease.
"While we're disappointed with this news, the surveillance results suggest that the infection rate will be low," said Lou Cornicelli, DNR big game program coordinator. "Today's news reinforces the need for management approaches that maintain deer populations at goal levels. This finding will not dramatically change local deer hunting."
DNR staff are collaborating with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health to address the cattle, wildlife and public health issues. Strategies will be developed for testing additional deer in the vicinity of farms where bovine TB has been discovered. Further testing of deer will take place this winter and during next fall's deer season.
"DNR recognizes the seriousness of the situation and potential implications for the Minnesota cattle industry," Cornicelli said. "We're committed to working with cattle producers as well as state and federal agencies to achieve our mutual goals of a healthy deer and cattle population and regaining Minnesota's bovine TB-free status."
With the proper food handling precautions, hunters can safely field dress deer and enjoy their venison. Meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees to kill E. coli, bovine TB, and other bacteria that might be present.
During the opening weekend of the firearms season (Nov. 5-6), researchers collected samples at nine big game registration stations in eastern Roseau and Marshall and western Lake of the Woods and Beltrami counties.
Ban on antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed enters into effect
December 22, 2005
European Commission - Press ReleaseEuropean Commission - Press Release
IP/05/1687
An EU-wide ban on the use of antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed enters into effect on January 1, 2006. The last 4 antibiotics which have been permitted as feed additives to help fatten livestock will no longer be allowed to be marketed or used from this date. The ban is the final step in the phasing out of antibiotics used for non-medicinal purposes. It is part of the Commissionís overall strategy to tackle the emergence of bacteria and other microbes resistant to antibiotics, due to their overexploitation or misuse.
Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, said: ěThis ban on antibiotics as growth promoters is of great importance, not only as part of the EUís food safety strategy, but also when considering public health. We need to greatly reduce the non-essential use of antibiotics if we are to effectively address the problem of micro-organisms becoming resistant to treatments that we have relied on for years. Animal feed is the first step in the food chain, and so a good place to take action in trying to meet this objective.î
Antibiotics have been widely used in animal production for decades worldwide. Added in low doses to the feed of farm animals, they improve their growth performance. However, due to the emergence of microbes resistant to antibiotics which are used to treat human and animal infections (ěanti-microbial resistanceî), the Commission decided to phase out, and ultimately ban, the marketing and use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed. Antibiotics will now only be allowed to be added to animal feed for veterinary purposes. This decision was based on opinions from the Scientific Steering Committee, which recommended the progressive phasing out of antibiotics used for growth stimulation, while still preserving animal health.
The EU has already banned antibiotics used in human medicine from being added to animal feed. The new Feed Additives Regulation[1] completed measure with the total ban on antibiotics as growth promoters from January 1 2006. On that date, the following 4 substances will be removed from the EU Register of permitted feed additives:
Monensin sodium used for cattle for fattening
Salinomycin sodium used for piglets and pigs fattening
Avilamycin used for piglets, pigs for fattening, chickens for fattening and turkeys
Flavophospholipol used for rabbits laying hens, chickens for fattening, turkeys, piglets, pigs, calves and cattle for fattening
This measure is in line with the Commissionís overall Strategy to combat the threat to human, animal and plant health posed by anti-microbial resistance.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph/others/antimicrob_resist/am_02_en.pdf
Workshop on advances in veterinary medicine
December 22, 2005
Chennai Online
Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS) today held a workshop aimed at developing a blueprint for strengthening the super speciality services in veterinary sciences.
Besides veterinary scientists and veterinarians, the workshop brought together a cross section of clientele representing not only pet owners from the general public but also from institutions which have stakes in rearing, welfare and social utility of varied livestock, pets and wild life.
Inaugurating the one-day workshop on 'Advances in veterinary medicine and surgery services in super speciality areas', Governor Surjit Singh Barnala underlined the need for increasing cattle wealth which was synonymous with financial wealth itself.
Pointing out that livestock played a vital role in the country's rural economy, he said animal husbandry and agriculture were two professions practised by humanity from time immemorial.
TANUVAS Vice-Chancellor Dr N Balaraman lamented that while animal experimentation had substantially provided great insights into the practice of human medicine and its advancement, economic and financial constraints had kept growth of veterinary medicine at modest levels.
"Still, TANUVAS has kept pace with the growth of modern science and technology, especially in areas of electronics, bio-engineering, biotechnology and information and communication technology," he said. (Our Correspondent)
FDA statement
December 22, 2005
U.S. FDA Press Release
The complete document of the following is available at:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2005/NEW01273.html
Statement by Acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach on the Opening of the Japanese Market to U.S. Beef , December 12, 2005
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