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Highlights the international conference on exotic and wild animal medicine held in London, England. Topics covered in the event; Investigation on animal disease, diagnosis and treatment; Presentation of papers related to animal health.

Liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) infection caused weight loss, diarrhoea, decreased milk yield and occasionally death in cattle in East Anglia during the winters of 2001 to 2003. The condition had previously been limited mainly to stock imported into this part of Britain from endemically infected areas. In composite faecal samples collected by 16 farm animal veterinary practices in Norfolk. Suffolk and Essex, fluke eggs were found in 15 (28.8 per cent) of 52 previously unaffected suckler herds and 10 (16.7 per cent) of 60 dairy herds. Antibodies to F hepatica were detected by ELISA in 32 (53.3 per cent) of the bulk milk samples from these 60 dairy herds, including the 10 in which fluke eggs were found. The emergence of fasciolosis in East Anglia was attributed to recent higher summer rainfall, which favoured the intermediate snail host Lymnaea truncatula and the free-living stages of F hepotico, the increased influx of sheep from endemic fluke areas for seasonal grazing, and the wetter grazing conditions associated with the Environmentally Sensitive Area scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a meeting sponsored by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Council on the Official Veterinarian (OV) negotiations held in May 24, 2009 at Mayfair Cavendish Conference Centre in London, England is presented. Topics include the introduction of electronic system for Official Veterinarian (OV) work, and a discussion on tuberculosis (TB) testing fee proposal between BVA and Animal Health. The meeting featured BVA Council members like Bill Reilly.

The article reports that British government officials are hopeful that the latest outbreak of influenza of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza on Norfolk/Suffolk, England border has been contained only on two sites. Initial tests on samples taken from birds culled on a site that had been declared a fifth dangerous contact had not given positive results for the virus.

Eight pig breeding units previously associated with Salmonella Typhimurium were visited during a period of up to seven years. Samples from voided faeces, surfaces, fomites and wildlife were cultured. Certain serovars (Derby, Stanley, Give, Bredeney, Mbandaka and Manhattan) were isolated repeatedly on certain units, while others (Agona, Ajiobo, Heidelberg, Meleagridis, Muenchen, Montevideo, Rissen and Senftenberg) were detected only once or intermittently. Serovars Kedougou, Newport and Typhimurium were isolated consistently on some units but only intermittently on others. There was an association between the Salmonella serovar in pens and in the immediate environment of the pens. Pens holding breeding stock destined for production herds were frequently positive for Salmonella. Herds under common ownership showed similar serovar combinations. Serovars from wildlife were typical of the associated premises. Cleaning and disinfection was frequently ineffective. On one unit, a low level of Salmonella was attributed to a small herd size, good cleaning and disinfection, and good rodent control. Breeding herds are therefore susceptible to endemic infections with multiple Salmonella serovars, and cleaning, disinfection and vector control may be inadequate in many cases. The prevalence of S Typhimurium was greater in youngstock, which may have important implications for public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of 253 submissions from adult cattle 'found dead' in England and Wales were referred t! the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in 2004. Carcases accounted for 54 per cent of the submissions were of more diagnostic value than other types of sample. Whether the animals were beef or dairy, their distance from the laboratory and the number of deaths in the incident affected the likelihood of samples being submitted. The probability of reaching a diagnosis was influenced by the type of sample, the level of testing and the interval from sampling to receipt in the laboratory. Systemic disease was the most frequent cause of death in both dairy and beef cattle with hypomagnesaemia being the most frequent diagnosis (52 per cent) in beef cattle. In dairy cattle, 34 per cent of the diagnoses were for sporadic events, including haemorrhage and torsions of the digestive and reproductive tracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The records of 666 casualty collared doves examined at a wildlife hospital in south-west England over a period of five years were reviewed. Signs of metabolic bone disease were recorded in 51·2 per cent of the juvenile birds but in only 9·6 per cent of the adults. The incidence of the condition was highest between December and February and decreased almost to zero between June and August. Histological lesions in 11 of the juvenile doves were consistent with vitamin D deficiency, possibly as a result of inadequate exposure to UVB light during the short winter days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis was made that calculated the risk of disease for premises in the most heavily affected parts of the county of Cumbria during the foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in the UK in 2001. In over half the cases the occurrence of the disease was not directly attributable to a recently infected premises being located within 1.5 km. Premises more than 1.5 km from recently infected premises faced sufficiently high infection risks that culling within a 1.5 km radius of the infected premises alone could not have prevented the progress of the epidemic. A comparison of the final outcome in two areas of the county, south Penrith and north Cumbria, indicated that focusing on controlling the potential spread of the disease over short distances by culling premises contiguous to infected premises, while the disease continued to spread over longer distances, may have resulted in excessive numbers of premises being culled. Even though the contiguous cull in south Penrith appeared to have resulted in a smaller proportion of premises becoming infected, the overall proportion of premises culled was considerably greater than in north Cumbria, where, because of staff and resource limitations, a smaller proportion of premises contiguous to infected premises was culled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the developments and events related to veterinary medicine in 2011. It says that in 2011, the world was free of rinderpest as declared by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on May 25. It cites that consultation related to farm animal veterinarians (vets) was launched by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) in England in September 2011. Moreover, animal disease research has received a fillip from the British government in December 2011.

The article reports on the discussion regarding the emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a veterinary disease and its increasing prevalence in humans, during a seminar at the Royal Society of Medicine in London, England. The presentation of the discussion highlighted that MRSA was a genuine problem, and that collaboration between the medical and the veterinary profession is necessary to help identify, control and treat infections,

Information on various issues discussed at Wooldridge Memorial Lecture of professor David Heymann at the British Veterinary Association (BVA) Congress in Liverpool, England. Several issues discussed in the lecture includes role of vets in diseases, determinants of infection and animal disease management. As mentioned, professor also discussed various other issues with congress delegates including global surveillance, impact of climate change and public health career for veterinary surgeons.

The article reports on the partnership between the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) and the University of Liverpool in 2011. It says that the move was aimed to develop Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET), which would examine the companion animal diseases across Great Britain on a three-year period. The article also discusses the results from the first stage of the pilot study.

In this article, the author discusses the establishment of a new collaborative center at Cranfield University, which is dedicated to helping the Government understand natural and environmental risk in England. The author indicates that the center represents one of the first activities to be accredited under a collaborative research program with relevance to environmental issues and animal diseases. Also mentioned is the move of Defra to transfer responsibility for animal health to the industry.

The article focuses on wildlife diseases discussed in the Veterinary Laboratories Agency's (VLA) disease surveillance report for England and Wales for August 2007. They include the identification of parasitic infections as cause of liver lesions from woodmice (Apodemus sylvaticus) and the identification of Mycobacterium avium infection in buzzard (Buteo buteo).