Here are a couple of quick H5N1 flu updates about which I’ve been wanting to write. Neither is very surprising, but they highlight (again) some issues of concern.
(Presumed) fatal H5N1 influenza infection in a cat
I periodically get calls from concerned veterinarians (none recently from Ontario, thankfully) along the lines of “We did surgery on a dog with a liver mass that was diagnosed as Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). What is the risk to the staff
A few months ago, there was a cluster of kittens from a dairy goat farm in the Netherlands that likely all died from H5N1 influenza (only one kitten was tested). That wasn’t too surprising since the H5N1 virus is
Whether it’s dealing with an individual patient or developing international antimicrobial use guidelines, one of the bigger challenges we face in regard to antimicrobial treatments for dogs and cats is determining how long different infections need to be treated.
Unfortunately
We call rabies “almost invariably fatal” in people. Rabies kills an estimated 50,000 people a year globally, mostly in Africa and Asia. Even with very intensive care, the prognosis is grave. Only a very small number of people have survived
Antimicrobials are often used at the time of surgery, but it’s widely accepted that there is tremendous overuse of antimicrobials in this context in both human and veterinary medicine. Antimicrobial prophylaxis is indicated in some surgical patients to reduce the
We’re in the midst of a pretty bad human flu season. That’s a problem by itself, as it also means severe flu cases and hospitalization rates are high, and likely to increase. High flu activity in people also amplifies
That headline might get some people worked up, but hopefully they’ll read the whole post before firing off an angry email.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a huge problem in humans and animals, which means we need to improve or optimize
Change is tough. Repeated changes are even tougher, especially when it takes a lot of time and effort for each one to be understood and implemented. But change is also good – and important – when it improves how we
