Clinic News - Clinic Dispensing Guidelines

With the recent outbreaks of seasonal disease, such as Pink-eye, and Foot-rot, the clinic has experienced an inundation of clients requesting prescription medications for their cattle. So we wanted to take the opportunity to remind our clients, that we just can’t dispense these medications if we haven’t attended your property in the past 12mths. We appreciate this can be difficult for a lot of property owners, both economically and logistically. However, we wanted to try to help property owners understand the reasons behind this policy.

Veterinarians, and Veterinary clinics, are increasingly being audited for not following the prescription laws set by the Veterinary Board of NSW. And it’s not an uncommon occurrence for Veterinarian’s to be disciplined, suspended, or even de-registered for breaking these rules. Subsequently, our Vets do not want to compromise their registration they’ve worked so hard to achieve, and as a business, we obviously support our staff in relation to this.

Aside from the legal ramifications, the rules are actually there for a reason. If we have an ongoing working relationship with property owners, and regularly attend the property, this reduces the chance of mistreating and misdiagnosing conditions, and allows for better antimicrobial and prescription medicine stewardship.

From our perspective, we want to be able to provide continual Veterinary care to everyone in the community, and don’t like to decline prescription medicine requests. It often results in abuse being received by our staff, which adds to their already difficult job. Additionally, our Vets are far too busy to go out on redundant farm visits unless we can provide good value/services to the property owner.

The guidelines we have to abide by are only going to get stricter with time, so the rules are unlikely to change. We strongly recommend you plan in advance, and try to schedule an annual visit which can provide useful economic or health benefits to your operation. Good examples of these visits include annual pregnancy testing, annual bull reproductive exams, and so on.

Given these visits are often non-emergencies, we recommend you take full advantage of the discounted travel fees by booking a visit on one of our scheduled runs. We travel to our branch practice in Bulahdelah weekly. And hope to add additional runs, such as to Curricabark/Giro, once we add additional Vets in the coming months.

We appreciate this is a contentious issue for some property owners, and we hope this helps you better understand our position.

Clinic News - Tick Paralysis in Dogs, Hendra Virus in Horses & 3 Day in Cattle

Companion Animals

As we move towards Summer, we are already seeing lots of dogs and cats (and even calves) suffering from tick paralysis. Although paralysis ticks are usually big and grey, they can literally look like any other tick species. Additionally, although the classical symptoms of tick paralysis are wobbliness and vomiting, they can present with any symptom whatsoever, including something as simple as a loss of appetite! So vigilance is key!

When it comes to treatment, time is of the essence. Although we can administer anti-toxin, there is always a lag in response to treatment, and symptoms can rapidly escalate in that time, often leading to intubation or death. To prevent ticks, we recommend always using a good quality tick preventative, clipping your pet before summer, and daily tick searches.

Cattle

With the increasingly warm weather, cattle producers should be starting to think about vaccinating their cattle for 3 day sickness (BEF). Bovine Ephemeral Fever is a viral disease, transmitted to cattle by flying insects (suspected to be mosquito’s or midges). Both dairy and beef herds can be affected by BEF, with the most significant economic losses seen in certain classes of cattle, such as bulls, pregnant and lactating cattle, or large well-conditioned cattle. For these high value animals, a single death may cost 3.5-3K per beast!

Symptoms can vary, from the more obvious “down cow leading to death” presentation, to more insidious long term effects, such as drops in milk yield losses, and abortions. Although we can provide supportive therapy, treatment is challenging. So the best thing you can do is to vaccinate your cattle, prioritising the classes of cattle mentioned above.

Horses

With the recent diagnosis of a more deadly strain of Hendra virus in Newcastle earlier this month, we are becoming increasingly concerned about Hendra Virus in the region, and believe it’s only a matter of time before we see a case. Although it classically presents with respiratory or neurological signs, horses can literally present with any symptom, including lethargy or a fever. And given the fatal health risks to the horse, yourself and anyone else who handles your animal, we strongly recommend your re-consider vaccination. We are currently doing vaccination runs, and continue to offer discounted pricing to get our horses protected. For any questions on all of these topics, don’t hesitate to call the practice on 02 6558 1504.

Clinic News - Gastric Ulcers in Horses & Heat Stress in Dogs

Companion Animals

Random Fact! Did you know that dogs and cats can’t actually sweat? Instead, they have to pant to expel excessive heat from their bodies. Although ordinarily animals are able to control their temperature very well by panting alone, it doesn’t always do the job. Occasionally, particularly on hot summer days, they simply cannot pant quickly enough to bring their temperature down, and subsequently they can develop “Heat Stroke”. This condition is incredibly dangerous, and can be rapidly fatal if not detected and treated promptly.

Certain dogs are more prone to Heat Stress, including those with thick fur, short-squashed noses, or with underlying respiratory conditions. Often, the most obvious symptom is excessive panting in conjunction with noticeable signs of discomfort or lethargy, but it can present in a variety of ways.

At Gloucester Vets, we recommend you call us immediately if you think your dog is suffering heat stress, and then attempt to cool them as best you can whilst coming straight into the clinic. This may include putting on air conditioning or a fan, wetting dog down repeatedly, and encouraging them to drink.

Horses

Two of our newest additions to the practice, Dr Liam Mowbray and Dr Sammy Moxon, recently had a very busy day scoping a number of our client’s horses. “Scoping” or Gastroscoping, involves feeding a 3 METRE LONG narrow flexible camera into a horses stomach! It is a painless procedure done on sedated horses, and is very effective at diagnosing oral and gastric health issues in horses, in particular gastric ulcers.

Gastric ulcers are a surprisingly common occurrence, affecting up to 1 in 3 horses. The disease can range in severity from a mild inflamed gut lining, to potentially fatal, full thickness stomach ulcers. The trouble with this disease, is the range of symptoms is quite extensive, making diagnosis challenging at times. Horses can present with symptoms as vague as a reduced appetite, minor weight loss or recurrent colic, through to broader changes to their performance and behaviour.

Treatment includes a combination of medication and dietary changes, just as it would with people suffering a similar issue. It is often recommended to offer free, and continual access to grass or hay, reduce or control the concentrate ration in the diet, and ensure continual access to fresh water. Ultimately though, it’s a precise science getting the medication and dietary intervention measures correct, so always give us a buzz to chat to the Vets.

Clinic News - Hendra Disease in Horse

What is Hendra Virus?

Hendra Virus is an RNA virus that exists in flying fox reservoirs. This virus has the potential to infect horses through transmission from bats, and once infected it has a high mortality rate and the potential to infect humans.  

Up until June this year, all of the cases had been confined to Queensland and Northern NSW, however the positive diagnosis of a horse in the Hunter Valley shows that the virus is being carried further and wider, and will continue to do so with the increased stressors being placed on flying fox ecosystems.

Hendra Virus and horses

Unfortunately in horses, Hendra can cause a very diverse range of clinical signs, which makes it very hard for us to make clinical decisions on an unvaccinated horse without first doing a blood test to exclude Hendra. Although the disease is often characterised by a rapid onset of illness, horses may be infected and shedding the virus for up to 5 days prior to showing any clinical signs.

A lot of the symptoms displayed with Hendra are also seen with common respiratory, neurological or colic conditions also, which can mean if your horse is unvaccinated and has a simple medical condition which we can treat, treatment can be delayed whilst we are awaiting blood testing. 

Suspicious symptoms in any unvaccinated horse include:

• Rapid onset of illness and deterioration

• Fever

• Increased heart and respiratory rates

• Nasal discharges and coughing

• Discomfort and weight shifting

• Rolling and sweating with no gut sounds

• Any neurological signs including circling,

  stumbling, head tilt, loss of vision, inability to rise

• Sudden death

Hendra Virus and Humans

Hendra Virus is a zoonoses, which means that humans have been infected following contact with horses shedding the virus. Naturally, this risk is increased dramatically with exposure to nasal and oral secretions, blood and other bodily excretions without wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.

So far there has been no reported cases of Hendra transmission direct from flying foxes to humans. 

Hendra Virus in humans has a very high fatality rate and there are no specific treatments available currently. 

Hendra Vaccine 

Zoetis created and launched a vaccine in 2012 in response to the increasing number of outbreaks and loss of human life. This vaccination has been registered with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority and protects horses and consequently humans by neutralising the virus upon exposure. 

Ask Zoetis or call the clinic if you would like research, further information, or data on the number of horses vaccinated and reported incidents of reactions

Our Hendra Policy

While we have continued to attend and treat horses quite freely up until this stage, the positive case in the Hunter has really hit home with us as clinicians and members of our own families. We want to do what is best for everyone involved and ensure that we are continuing to attend horses as safely as we can, thus we have created a Hendra Protocol which we have outlined below.

We will continue to attend to most horses but please be aware that if your horse is unvaccinated and displaying any of the clinical signs outlined above we will need to take appropriate precautions and perform a Hendra exclusion test prior to doing any further invasive diagnostics or treatments, as this can greatly increase both yours and our risk of exposure to the virus. 

We will wear, and supply you with appropriate personal protective equipment to obtain the samples necessary for the testing, however please note there will be additional costs associated with this. The cost of the testing itself is covered through District Surveillance, but it can take up to 48 hours for us to get a result. 

Our Vets have undergone training from the DPI on entry and exit procedures and we will continue to work with and be guided by the DPI, Local Land Services and the Emergency Animal Disease group.   

Please also note that if after speaking with you, we feel the risk of exposure for either yourself, the horse or ourselves is too high we do reserve the right to not attend to your horse. 

Please do not hesitate to contact us on 6558 1504 to book in for vaccination or if you have any concerns regarding a horse in your care. 

Further information on Hendra is available through the DPI. 
If you cannot contact us directly and are suspicious of Hendra please call the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888

Clinic News - Equine Cushings Disease

Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction?

Cushing's Disease (Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction) is a benign tumour of the pituitary gland in the brain. It's considered a functional tumour, in that it results in excessive cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is a steroid, and as you would expect chronically excessive levels of steroids in the body causes a whole swag of side effects.  Although the condition can occur to any horse, it is commonly seen in geriatric horses, in particular ponies, Morgan's and Quarter horses.

Symptoms of Cushing's Disease

The classical symptom of Cushing's Disease, is a horse with a long curly coat that fails to shed in summer. However, horses can present with a wide array of clinical signs, including:

• Excessive hair growth

• Non-shedding winter coat

• Weight loss

• Bulging fat pads above eyes

• Weak belly muscles (Pot belly appearance)

• Laminitis (founder) – frequent/recurrent/chronic

• Lethargy

• Increased Appetite

• Increased Urination

• Increased Drinking

• Increased Sweating

• Pergolide (oral medication daily) - decreases cortisol producing hormones

 

How to diagnose Cushing's Disease?

Hormonal blood tests can be run to diagnose Cushing's Disease, and these can be performed by Vets at any stage.

How do you treat the condition?

Horses can be treated with Pergolide, which is an oral medication given daily to your horse. This medication is used to decrease the cortisol levels in the body

 

What happens if you don't treat Cushings Disease?

Without proper treatment, your horse will continue to have excessive cortisone (steroid) levels within the body. This can cause any or all of the following:

• Poor immune function

• Laminitis

• Decreased work tolerance

• Unsightly or excessive hair growth

• Vision impairment

• Increased susceptibility to infections

  o   Sinus infections

  o   Parasite burdens

  o   Skin infections

  o   Oral lesions

So if you suspect your horse may have Cushing's Disease, please give the clinic a call to discuss it further.