Noble Desk

Premier Veterinary Group branch Premier Vet Alliance (US) Ltd has endorsed a major agreement with Atlanta-based Veterinary Products Inc (VPI), a significant veterinary distributor base.
The contract is to provide the Company's preventative healthcare program for pets, stamped in the US as Premier Pet Care Plan (PPCP), to VPI's member hospitals adding up to or over 600 across 15 States, situated especially in the South East of the US.
Moreover, the early 5-year agreement is to officially present PPCP to VPI's member hospitals and the aim over the contract period is to reach more than 200,000 pets on plan. The first pets on plan are expected during the second half of the calendar year.

Dr. Christopher Vulpe, a professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of Florida, is a semifinalist in a toxicology testing competition sponsored by some federal agencies.
The National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other groups arranged the three-part competition, which will grant up to $1 million to improve the relevance and predictability of information produced from chemical screening technology utilized for toxicology testing. Only a small number of chemicals in use today have sufficient toxicity information to fully assess their potential health risks, and better approaches to evaluate the safety of chemicals are required, according to the EPA.
Known as the Transform Chemical Testing Challenge, the competition called on advanced thinkers to find new ways of enhancing current toxicity testing methods. Definitely, candidates were charged with developing procedures of including metabolic processes into the type of testing now widely used
Vulpe, a fellow of the college’s Center for Human and Environmental Toxicology, joined UF’s faculty in 2015 as part of the university’s excellence initiative. He was selected as a semifinalist in the competition’s first stage, which tried to obtain theoretical solutions that could be experimentally implemented and awarded $10,000 prizes to the winners, along with an encouragement to continue on to the next level.
“Our team from UF, working collaboratively with Michael Fasullo, an associate professor from the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, is studying the response of immortalized human cells developed in vitro, or in a dish, to chemicals of interest,” Vulpe said.
Immortalized human cells are a group of cells from a multicellular organism which have changed and are able of reproducing indefinitely, hence are able to be developed in vitro for extended periods of time.
Vulpe added that a major problem with most immortalized human cells is reduced or absent metabolic enzymes associated with chemical metabolism and it means that toxicology tests utilizing them may not correctly reflect what could be anticipated in a person.
The proposed procedure makes use of a DNA-editing technology called clustered frequently interspaced short palindromic repeats, to energize one or more genetic codes for the metabolic enzymes that the cultured cells does not produce any more. By so doing, it permits the cultured cells to start metabolizing chemicals as they usually would in the body and so enhancing the accuracy of the toxicity tests.
Vulpe said that more in vitro tests which can be predicted could also decrease the requirement for animals in chemical testing.
He will compete in the next level of the competition to establish a prototype system that demonstrates evidence of concept.

The United Nations has turned down for now, pressure from China to enact what could amount to a worldwide ban on ketamine, as many in the medical profession such as veterinarians and physicians work to maintain use of the drug.
The Chinese government for some years has attempted to bring ketamine under more absolute global control due to recreational abuse in the country. How such limitations might impact U.S. ketamine supplies is unknown, though many presume that any international regulatory action would reduce its availability.
Ketamine currently isn’t regulated under the Convention of Psychotropic Substances, a treaty set in 1971 as an international control system for the manufacture, distribution, transportation and utilization of medicines. The World Health Organization considers ketamine to be an “essential medicine," a category of drugs that WHO officials consider to be relatively cheap, safe, effective and necessary to satisfy the health-care requirements of large populations. The job of checking and monitoring ketamine is left to individual nations.
But China wants to change that.
Ketamine has been utilized as an anesthetic in human and veterinary medicine for at least 50 years. For decades, it was manufactured by drug firms, but that’s changed with innovative ketamine laboratories proliferating in China, feeding what many consider to be widespread. Ketamine reportedly has come to be the most abused drug in Asia, known for its powerful dissociative and hallucinogenic end results.
Medical doctors say that recreational abuse of ketamine doesn’t dilute the medicine’s relevance to health care. Medicinal ketamine is greatly depended upon in many lower and middle income countries since it does not depress a patient’s circulation or respiration throughout surgical procedures. That means it can be administered without an electricity supply, oxygen and other support systems that are required when administering other anesthetics.
Globally,veterinary doctors  utilize ketamine as an anesthetic and adjunct to pain control, and it remains a important drug used to sedate horses.
Some time around December, World Health Organization officials refused China’s fourth appeal since 2006 to organize ketamine under the Convention. The medical advantages of ketamine is greater than potential harm from recreational use as reported by Marie-Paule Kieny, assistant-administrator General for Health Systems and Innovation at WHO. The assistant-administrator also said that controlling ketamine internationally could reduce access to essential and emergency surgery, which would add up to a public health catastrophe in countries where no affordable alternatives exist.
The World Health Organization took its recommendation within the month of March to the UN, which has the last comment on Convention issues, where it met by yet another appeal from the Chinese government to force ketamine limitations.

The American Veterinary Medical Association was among many professional factions that campaigned against China's proposal for international scheduling.
“Ketamine is a key component of veterinary medical sedative and pain management procedures globally, and any regulatory action that limits its availability to the veterinary profession would seriously affect animal health and welfare,” AVMA CEO Dr. Ron Dehaven wrote in a March 10 note to U.S.A Embassy executives in Vienna, where the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs was gathered.
The UN commission absolutely refused China's appeal based on the advice that it could deprive millions of a much needed anesthetic medication. WHO executives pointed out that ketamine already is regulated in most countries. In the United States, for instance, its distribution is totally controlled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
The UN's decision doesn't mean China won't keep pressing forward. If it does, the World Small Animal Veterinary Association wants to be prepared. The organization has created an appeal to make sure that ketamine remains viewed as an “essential medicine.”
At least 7,700 people have signed since the appeal went live in month of March. WSAVA President-elect Dr. Walt Ingwersen hopes to collect 10,000 signatures.
He said that they are hoping to keep it alive, active and dynamic. He also mentioned that this will eventually come back … and when they are asked about ketamine’s global veterinary relevance and importance, they are able to say that 10,000 people think this is a relevant medicine. This is vital medicine.

The Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory Amarillo hosted a group of 45 field service technical agents from Bayer Animal Health on May 23, 2016. The aim of the visit was to provide an educational overview of PCR diagnostics, bacteriological testing assays, antimicrobial sensitivity testing for agents involved in the bovine respiratory disease complex.

TVMDL-Amarillo is greatly involved in educational episodes for our region’s stakeholders in the cattle industry. We provide interactive programs for practicing veterinary surgeons, veterinary biopharma, professional veterinary, commercial cattle feeding operations, high school students and animal science students concerned in pursuing a career in animal health as reported by R. Gayman Helman, DVM, PhD, MA, TVMDL. He is currently Amarillo resident director.

The Bayer attendees were from across the United States. The seminar incorporated educational sessions as well as a tour/exhibition in bacteriology and molecular diagnostics.

Typhoid fever is a stern disease spread by contaminated food and water. Symptoms of typhoid include lasting high body temperature, depression, unthriftiness, weakness, stomach pains, headache, and anorexia. Some patients have rash and constipation. Inner bleeding and death can take place but are rare.
Who is at risk?

Typhoid fever is prevalent in most parts of the world excluding industrialized regions like the Canada, United States, Australia, western Europe, and Japan, so visitors to the developing world should consider taking precautions. Travelers to Latin America, Asia and Africa are primarily at risk, and the maximum risk for typhoid is in south Asia.

Approximately 300 humans get typhoid fever in the United States annually, and most of these people have recently traveled. Around 22 million cases of typhoid fever and 200,000 associated deaths take place worldwide every year.
What can visitors or travelers do to prevent typhoid fever?
Obtain typhoid vaccination

    Ask your nurse or physician about a typhoid vaccine. This could be a shot or pills, and your physician will assist you decide which one is most suitable for you. Typhoid vaccine is 50%-80% effective, so you should still be cautious about what you eat and drink.

Eat foods that are healthy
Eat

    Cooked food which is served hot
    Dairy products that is pasteurized
    Hard-cooked eggs
    Fruits and vegetables you have washed in clean water


Don't Eat

    Uncooked or undercooked fish or meat
    Food from street vendors
    Unwashed vegetables and fruits
    Raw or soft-cooked (runny) eggs
    Unpasteurized dairy products
    Condiments made with fresh ingredients

Drink healthy beverages:
Drink

    Hot tea
    Bottled and sealed carbonated drinks
    Ice made with clean bottled water
    Boiled and filtered water
    Pasteurized milk

Don't Drink

    Unpasteurized milk
    Flavored ice
    Well water
    Drinks produced with well water
    Ice made with tap or well water

Practice personal  hygiene and cleanliness:

    Frequently wash your hands.
    Clean your hands with hand sanitizer (containing more than 60% alcohol) if soap and water are not available
    Ensure that your hands are clean before you touch your eyes, mouth or nose.
    Avoid close contact like hugging, kissing, or sharing cups or any other eating utensils with people who are unhealthy.

Multiple sclerosis will not prevent you from having your own family. It doesn’t keep you from getting pregnant or injure your prospective baby. Possibilities are your pregnancy and delivery will be just like women without MS.

Meanwhile, potential mothers with MS face serious challenges. It is better you plan ahead and learn what to do before, during, and after pregnancy to make your ensuing 9 months a little easier.
Before Pregnancy

Have a dialogue with your doctor. You should let her know you want to have a baby. If your MS is kept in check, you’ll likely get a green light.

There are some MS drugs like interferons, teriflunomide (Aubagio) and glatiramer acetate (Copaxone). They are not safe during pregnancy. You’ll require to stop taking them for more than 1 month before you start trying.

Do it at the right time. You may not get pregnant immediately. To reduce the time you’re off your medicine, try to learn your fertility window. That’s the month period when you’re most likely to become pregnant.  You can buy an ovulation kit at the medicine store to aid you figure it out. Your physician can suggest other ways to help your timing, too.

Establish a back up team. MS can wear you out, and pregnancy can, too. Don’t be scared to ask family and friends to fix meals or help around the house so you can save your energy. Ensure your team is set to pitch in after the baby comes, too.
While Pregnant

You should anticipate some solace. You may get a recess from your MS symptoms. That’s because pregnancy naturally protects many women from new bursts, primarily after the first 3 months.  So enjoy it! Focus on getting the right foods, exercise, and plenty of rest.

You should be careful of urinary tract infections (UTIs).  They are more common for pregnant women with MS. Drink lots of water, and tell your physician if you feel burning sensation when you go to the bathroom or if your urine is cloudy or smelly. You may get monthly urinalysis to check for UTIs.

You also may have trouble with constipation. A stool softener can get things moving.

You should maintain balance. As you get larger, you may loose balance.  Use a walking aid so you don’t fall.

You should be prepared for unique delivery. Possibilities are you’ll be able to deliver just like any other lady.

If you can’t push because of muscle weakness or tiredness, your doctor may use special tools to help you deliver naturally. Or you might require a C-section.

You might not be aware when labor starts if you have lost sensation in your pelvis. In that case, your physician will watch you more closely throughout the last month. She may want to use medicines or other procedures to put you in labor.

Medicines to block pain, as well as epidural injections, are safe for humans with MS. If you need one, tell your physician.
What to do after Baby’s arrival

You should be mindful of flares.  In the first 9 months after birth, likely 40% of women with MS will have a relapse. But a flare doesn’t increase your likelihood of a continuing defect.

If you had many flares before pregnancy, you may be more likely to have one now. It may be a good plan to start taking your MS medicine immediately to aid stop one.

Be conscious of breastfeeding. If you go back on your medications, you may not be able to do it. The drugs could hurt your baby through your milk. But if your doctor says it’s alright to hold back to take your medicine, breastfeed your baby if you want to. Absolutely, it’s safe for you and better for your little one.

Keep the milk you pump in the fridge so your spouse can tackle middle-of-the night feedings. You need your rest now more than ever.

Don’t feel ashamed or depressed if you choose medication over breastfeeding. In the course of time, your new addition requires a mom who can stay healthy.

Be mindful of your state of mind. Most times, women with MS have a higher risk of depression throughout pregnancy and primarily right after they give birth. Call your doctor if you start to notice any symptoms, like feeling depressed or despondent. Your gynaecologist(doctor) may also examine you for depression during a routine prenatal or postpartum visit. Your physician can aid treat your depression symptoms. 

Some may ask, will the baby grow up to have MS? This is a common worry for many future parents. MS does have some genetic links, but the adult children of parents with the disorder have a 96% likelihood they won’t have it.