Microsoft word - news letter nov 2009 final2.doc

IMPORTANT - Information for
November 2009
small animal clients
The Increase of Diabetes Mellitus in Pets
The insulin deficience disorder known as Diabetes Mellitus is occuring more To enable us to provide a more effective frequently in household companions. 1 in 200 dogs and 1 in 200 cats are diagnosed service please give us 24-48 hours notice if with hyperglycemia (high blood sugar) The commonly noticed symptoms include you require a repeat prescription wherever weakness, increased thirst, frequent urination, rapid weight loss, depression, increased appetite or eye problems such as cataracts which may lead to blindness. In the interest of your pets health we are This is caused by a damaged pancreas. It is commonly seen in pets that have been fed required to re-examine your pet at 3 monthly on a poor diet, suffer with obesity, stress or if it is genetically predisposed. Diabetes intervals for a heart condition or at 6 monthly is often seen is the Samoyed dog, Cairn terrier, Tibetan terriers, Schnauzers and intervals for any other chronic condition. Birman cats. There is no cure for diabetes but is easily diagnosed and confirmed with The cost of this repeat consultation is £12.74 a urinalysis and blood test. With controlled exercise, diet and painless insulin & VAT, the drug cost is in addition to this. injections your pet can lead a happy comfortable life. Contact the surgery for more Wern News
Liver Fluke in cattle
The time for housing cattle is nearly upon us (maybe for some it has already started!!). Some of you may already be treating your cattle for fluke, for others it might be Vets: James Mount who is from Lincolnshire The clinical signs of fluke that can affect your cattle include sudden death, weight loss, diarrhoea, bottle jaw/oedema. Fluke in cattle is often a sub-clinical disease. Although back to Lowri Frost after her maternity leave. you may not be able to visibly see fluke affecting your cattle, it can have serious *Reduced Liveweight Gain (by up to 1.2kg/week depending on liver fluke burden) will be working in Ruthin and Denbigh and *Poor carcase formation (costs 10-15% per finished animal in abattoir) *Reduced Fertility (leading to an extra 0.5 service per conception) Congratulations to Gwenan on the birth of *Increased Calving Intervals (of up to 20days) her daughter Annie Rose and to Elin who is *Increased incidence of metabolic disease post calving The life-cycle of fluke takes 17-19 weeks and relies on mud snails. Warm and wet summer weather and mild winters are optimum conditions for the mud snail to survive. Thus, due to the warm and wet summer in 2009, livestock producers should be “on the lookout” for liver fluke. The Veterinary Laboratory Agency (VLA) report that the incidence of liver fluke is at its highest for 10 years. Diagnosis of fluke in cattle can be done in a number of ways- *Liver fluke eggs in faeces *Blood sample (to show exposure to liver fluke and raised liver enzymes) *Post mortem (liver fluke lesions visible in liver) *Bulk milk samples (shows percentage of cows affected in herd by liver fluke) Once liver fluke has been identified in your herd, or you may be suspicious of liver fluke affecting your cattle, then there are numerous treatment options to consider (see table below) including Immature
Milk withdrawal (dairy cows for human
Ingredient
administration
Withdrawal
consumption)
Not to be used in cattle producing milk for Treatment choice should be based on farm risk of liver fluke, timing of cattle housing, ease of administration and the likely need to repeat treatment, as well as milk withdrawal periods for milking cows. You should ideally discuss this with a vet based on your farm situation and disease risk. Gethin

Source: http://wernvets.co.uk/pdf/news%20letter%20nov%202009%20final2.pdf