https://phys.org/biology-news/veterinary-medicine en-us Veterinary medicine news stories about diseases, disorders and injuries in non-human animals Upon infection or immunization, all jawed vertebrate species generate proteins called antibodies that bind and neutralize pathogens. Strong and long-lasting antibody responses in warm-blooded species such as mammals are produced in secondary lymphoid microstructures (SLMs) among which germinal centers (GCs) are the centerpiece. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-scientists-uncharted-fish-immunology.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:00:01 EST news620648327 Ozone can be a powerful and safe sanitizer when infused in water for food processing. However, in a recent Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station study looking at its use in raw pet food processing, scientists found that ozonated water sanitation's effectiveness is variable depending on how it is applied, and on what foods. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-limits-ozonated-sanitizer-raw-veggie.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:30:04 EST news620641802 University of California, Davis, researchers are working with the Sacramento SPCA to alleviate a near-universal source of stress for cats and those who care for them: nail trimming. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-science-trim-cat.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Fri, 01 Dec 2023 03:11:45 EST news620622702 With winter approaching, birds are migrating south to escape the cold and take advantage of more abundant food sources. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-poultry-bird-flu.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:16:03 EST news620586961 Dog and cat owners are familiar with the age-old debate: which of the two species is smarter? However, answering this question is impossible, especially due to the difficulty of a sound comparison. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dogs-cats-skilled-human-gestures.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:39:14 EST news620570352 Dogs' food preferences are mirrored in their brain activity, particularly within their caudate nuclei -a brain region associated with reward processing, a new study combining behavioral and neuroimaging data by researchers from the Department of Ethology, Eötvös Loránd University (Hungary) and Symrise Pet Food (France) finds. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-pickier-dogs-brains.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:36:38 EST news620570195 This past summer, staff at the Louisville Zoo noticed their three-year-old African elephant, Fitz, was less active than usual. A blood test confirmed that he had elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus (EEHV), which can cause a deadly hemorrhagic disease. The staff in Louisville and at zoos around the country rushed to help, but despite antiviral medications, plasma transfusions, and other supportive therapies, Fitz died only a few days later. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-diagnostics-deadly-elephant-disease.html Veterinary medicine Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:20:01 EST news620568609 A research team led by the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences' (VMBS) Gastrointestinal Laboratory (GI Lab) has validated a new diagnostic index that will help veterinarians assess chronic GI dysfunction in dogs and may hold the key to diagnosing and treating GI disease in the future. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-method-chronic-gi-disease-dogs.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 30 Nov 2023 06:28:32 EST news620548108 Mimicking sugar structures in plants plays a crucial role in the development of effective vaccines against the stomach worm Ostertagia ostertagi. This has been demonstrated by Ruud Wilbers of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) together with researchers from Ghent University and Leiden University Medical Center with a proof-of-concept study. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-vaccine-cow-parasite-modification.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:09:04 EST news620413741 University of Helsinki researchers have collected data about the personality traits of thousands of dogs, cats and their owners to explore owner–pet attachment. The data encompass about 2,500 pet owners and 3,300 pets. The work is published in the journal iScience. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-owner-personality-mental-well-being-humanpet.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:07:45 EST news620323662 Vampire bats may soon take up residence in the United States and bring with them an ancient pathogen. "What we found was that the distribution of vampire bats has moved northward across time due to past climate change, which has corresponded with an increase in rabies cases in many Latin American countries," said Paige Van de Vuurst, a Ph.D. student in Virginia Tech's Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health Graduate Program. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-links-climate-vampire-expansion-rabies.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Mon, 27 Nov 2023 16:07:40 EST news620323657 A pair of veterinary medicine specialists at the University of Glasgow has found that the famous dancing monkeys of Pakistan have highly elevated levels of stress hormones. In their study, published in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Mishaal Akbar and Neil Price Evans, obtained and tested fur samples from tamed captive dancing monkeys in Pakistan and compared the level of stress hormones in them with similar monkeys living on a primate sanctuary in Florida. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-monkeys-pakistan-highly-elevated-stress.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:30:01 EST news619782766 A new type of bacterial infection could be the culprit behind a mysterious canine respiratory illness that has been infecting dogs from coast to coast, New Hampshire researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-clues-mysterious-sickness-affecting-dogs.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Thu, 23 Nov 2023 07:50:01 EST news619879282 If you belong to one of the 46 million American households with a cat, you already know how stressful a trip to the vet can be for your feline—and you. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-cat-vet-fda-drug.html Veterinary medicine Tue, 21 Nov 2023 13:00:01 EST news619793351 Feeding dogs raw (uncooked) meat increases their risk of excreting E. coli that cannot be killed by a widely used antibiotic—ciprofloxacin—researchers at the University of Bristol have found from a study of 600 healthy pet dogs. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dogs-raw-meat-antibiotic-resistant-coli.html Cell & Microbiology Veterinary medicine Mon, 20 Nov 2023 14:47:06 EST news619714023 When we point at an object, the toddler focuses on the object, while the dog usually takes the gesture as a directional cue. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dogs-world-salient-smarter.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Sat, 18 Nov 2023 10:00:01 EST news619432614 Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs, and encouraging people to take basic precautions to keep their pets healthy as veterinarians try to pin down what's making the animals sick. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dogs-unusual-respiratory-illness-states.html Veterinary medicine Sat, 18 Nov 2023 06:10:50 EST news619510244 Fans of the musical "Cats" will know that the naming of cats is a difficult matter, and that cats have three different names. The same is true of cats in New Zealand—there are three types: companion or pet cats that live with people and rely on them for their welfare, stray cats that may rely only partly on people for food and shelter and live around centers of human habitation, and feral cats that have minimal or no reliance on people, and that survive independently of the companion cat population. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-native-fauna-housecats.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Thu, 16 Nov 2023 15:18:04 EST news619370282 A Labrador retriever named Ava is back to running and playing with her family after her second double hip replacement, courtesy of Texas A&M University veterinarians, computerized tomography (CT)-guided planning, and 3D-printing technology. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-veterinarians-3d-technology-hip-surgery.html Veterinary medicine Thu, 16 Nov 2023 14:21:44 EST news619366901 COVID-19 in animals? The question got lost in the shuffle during the ongoing global pandemic. Research on SARS-CoV-2 has primarily focused on its implications for humans, despite the virus most likely being a zoonosis, a disease transmitted from animals to humans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-highlights-gap-sars-cov-cases-animals.html Molecular & Computational biology Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 Nov 2023 16:21:26 EST news619287680 Pigs fed a low-protein diet can show more damaging behaviors, but this can be counteracted by supplementation of essential amino acids to their diet. This has been demonstrated in research from Wageningen University & Research. The outcome is important for both pig welfare and the environment. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-amino-acid-supplementation-negative-effects.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:53:03 EST news619285981 After a long day at work, you open the door to the place you call home. A chorus of furry happiness rushes toward you, the sound of unconditional canine love. With your return, your dog's world is whole. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-boost-dog.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:08:39 EST news619283312 Recently, morning omelets and holiday dinners have gotten more expensive. One likely cause is bird flu, outbreaks of which led to the deaths of millions of chickens and turkeys from infection or culling in 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and which still demands rigorous monitoring of wild populations. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-surveying-wetlands-infectious-bird-fluand.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Wed, 15 Nov 2023 13:01:15 EST news619275672 The U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has announced that researchers have reclassified the number of African Swine Fever (ASF) virus strains from 25 to only six unique genotypes. This scientific innovation may help redefine how ASF researchers across the globe classify ASF virus (ASFV) isolates and may make it easier for scientists to develop vaccines that match the different strains circulating in ASF endemic areas across the globe. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unique-strains-african-swine-fever.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Mon, 13 Nov 2023 17:19:03 EST news619118341 Among dogs, periodontal (gum) disease affects various breeds at rates between 44% and 100%, with higher susceptibility in smaller breeds and older dogs. Veterinarians normally advise dog owners to brush their dogs' teeth on a daily basis to remove the dental plaque and oral debris whose buildup can lead to gum disease; however, compliance can be difficult, often due to issues of willingness and temperament. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-doggie-dental-health-aged-garlic.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 13 Nov 2023 13:09:08 EST news619103341 If you have ever cared for a pet dog, it is a sad truth that you are likely to outlive them. So it's no wonder that people may be asking how to increase their pet's longevity following the news that a dog in Portugal lived longer than 30 years. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-world-oldest-dog-aging.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 13 Nov 2023 12:30:01 EST news619100094 When Han Jiali's beloved cat Dabai was taken from her Shanghai home last year, she embarked on a hunt for her pet that took her deep into the bowels of China's underground feline meat trade. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-china-animal-lovers-illegal-cat.html Veterinary medicine Fri, 10 Nov 2023 02:31:45 EST news618805899 More and more people are practicing farming because they enjoy the outdoors, animals, and the fruits of their labor as opposed to seeing farming as a primary source of income. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-biosecurity-hobby-farms.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Thu, 09 Nov 2023 16:50:27 EST news618771024 Unwanted pets are often released as soon as they become a nuisance. Not just dogs and cats, but also exotic freshwater species. This contributes significantly to the spread of invasive species. Well known examples include the goldfish and pond slider terrapins, which have established non-native populations globally. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-freshwaters-pets-high-risk-invasive-species.html Ecology Veterinary medicine Wed, 08 Nov 2023 14:39:04 EST news618676741 Better education for cat owners, more communication from veterinarians, increased drug choices and cheaper, rapid diagnostic tools can help improve antimicrobial use in cats, which has important implications for rising antimicrobial resistance in animals and humans, according to two new papers by Cornell researchers. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-key-curbing-antimicrobial-resistance-cats.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Tue, 07 Nov 2023 16:52:04 EST news618598322