Global Veterinary Surgery

WSAVA Pays Tribute to Emeritus Professor Michael J. Day

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has paid tribute to its long-standing Committee and Executive Board member Emeritus Professor Michael J Day following the announcement of his death.

Emeritus Professor Michael Day began working with the WSAVA in 2003, holding a range of roles, including membership of the Gastrointestinal Standardization Group and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee. He founded the WSAVA’s One Health Committee in 2010 and was Chair of the WSAVA’s Vaccination Guidelines Group from 2009 until March 2020 when ill-health necessitated his stepping down from this and his other WSAVA roles.  Emeritus Professor Day was latterly the BSAVA Member Representative for the WSAVA and joined the WSAVA’s Executive Board in 2017. He was elected Honorary Treasurer in 2018.

The inaugural Vice-President of the WSAVA Foundation, Emeritus Professor Day also helped to develop and lead its pioneering African Small Companion Animal Network (AFSCAN) project, which is working to raise standards of companion animal veterinary care in Sub-Saharan Africa.  He had recently been awarded the WSAVA’s prestigious Award for Global Meritorious Service.

WSAVA President Shane Ryan said: “We are terribly saddened by the loss of Michael, who served the WSAVA with distinction and dedication for many years.  He was a true veterinary leader who made an immense contribution to the WSAVA and the other associations he served. Michael was not only a highly respected colleague but a much-loved friend. We are heart-broken to lose him, and our thoughts are with his wife, our WSAVA colleague Dr Mary Marcondes, his wider family, his friends and colleagues.”

Professor Michael Lappin, Chair of the WSAVA’s One Health Committee, said: “Professor Day was an icon of global veterinary medicine in many fields. His work to found the One Health Committee and the resultant One Health Certificate Course are just two of the ways in which his memory will live on.  It was an honor to be his friend and to have him as an inspiration in so many ways, both professionally and personally.”

Dr Jolle Kirpensteijn, WSAVA Past President and Chief Professional Veterinary Officer at Hill’s Pet Nutrition, US, said: “Michael was a friend to the entire global veterinary community and worked tirelessly and humbly to make the world better by championing a One Health approach.  His hallmark sense of humor and ability to explain complex concepts touched us all.”

Dr Guillermina Manigot, WSAVA Member Representative for Argentina, added: “Among his many achievements, Professor Day was passionate about the creation of the first set of WSAVA Vaccination Guidelines for Latin America and travelled throughout the region, with members of the Vaccination Guidelines Group, to explain and discuss them with veterinarians. These Guidelines were recently published in Journal of Small Animal Practice and it is now our mission, as Latin American veterinarians, to apply what he taught us for the benefit of our patients and public health.  Thank you, Professor Day.”

For further information, please contact:

Rebecca George, George PR

Tel: 01449 737281/07974 161108/ email: rebecca@georgepr.com

12 May 2020

COVID-19 – An update for WSAVA Members Week ending April 3rd, 2020   Our COVID-19 update of March 27 ended with a STOP PRESS note about reports of a cat living in Belgium that was reported to be RT-PCR positive and clinically ill.   Following the publication of a manuscript showing cats and ferrets to be theoretically susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 based on in vitro receptor binding, a naturally exposed cat in Belgium was reported (18/03).  The cat was living with a family member with COVID-19, was PCR positive for SARS-CoV-2, and had clinical signs of transient vomiting, diarrhea, and respiratory disease.  The cat recovered uneventfully and monitoring is on-going to determine whether it develops serum antibodies to the virus.  It cannot be determined with certainly that this cat was ill because of SARS-CoV-2.   Data from SARS-CoV-19 experimental infection models in cats, ferrets and other species have started to appear in the literature and a pre-print of a SARS-CoV-2 experimental model currently undergoing peer review has been widely discussed on social media.  In this work, SARS-CoV-2 infection was induced in a number of species by inoculation of a high viral dose and some of the animals with primary infection, including cats, were able to pass the virus to other animals housed in close proximity.  Clinical signs of disease were recognized in some of the animals.    This type of work helps us to understand the host range of COVID-19, the pathogenesis, and to develop further models for treatment and prevention studies.  However, the WSAVA One Health and Scientific Advisory Committees strongly emphasize that these types of studies cannot be directly correlated to what happens in the field.  Most importantly, we do not yet know whether the doses of SARS-CoV-2 used to initiate the primary infections of cats, ferrets, and dogs in the experimental studies would be achieved in a natural setting, where an infected owner is the source of infection.     It should also be remembered that public health services around the world monitoring the spread of SARS-CoV-2, have again ended this week steadfastly stating that there is no evidence of transmission from companion animals to people.  As recommended in our Advisory, however, individuals who know they have COVID-19 should minimize direct contact with their pets to avoid potential transmission.   The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released ‘interim recommendations for intake of companion animals from households where humans with COVID-19 are present’ late this week.   https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/animal-health-and-welfare/covid-19/interim-recommendations-intake-companion-animals-households-humans-COVID-19-are-present The document contains a reminder to house SARS-CoV-2 pets in the home if possible. It also says that bathing is not needed and that healthy exposed pets should be housed with minimal contact with others (pets and people) for 14 days while further information concerning the prevalence and duration of natural infections in cats is gathered.

A webinar on this topic was released on April 2, in which Prof. Mike Lappin represented the WSAVA and Colorado State University with Mr Jim Tedford the President & CEO of The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and Dr Julie Levy from the University of Florida.  Dr Levy is actively involved in the American Association of Shelter Veterinarians which worked closely with the CDC and AVMA on the recommendations. 

Watch the webinar here In the United States, more of our regulatory agencies are announcing relaxation of telemedicine restrictions to aid veterinarians in helping companion animals while maintain social distancing for more routine cases.  The announcement for Colorado veterinarians came just yesterday.  You can read it here:  We hope that other states and countries will follow suit.  

Read the full announcement here These were the key developments this week so WSAVA would like to end by reminding you that, if you haven’t checked it for a few days, please re-visit the WSAVA’s COVID-19 resource hub as we have added content in new languages this week. With this in mind, WSAVA should, of course, thank their hard-working Translation Committee for its magnificent work to translate content, sometimes overnight, to make it as accessible to as many of our members as possible.   We thank you too for all you are doing to continue to care for your patients and reassure their owners.  Please keep yourselves and your families safe in these difficult times.

Michael R. Lappin, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)The Kenneth W. Smith Professor in Small Animal Clinical Medicine, Colorado State UniversityChairman, WSAVA One Health Committee

Visit the WSAVA COVID-19 resource hub here  

On behalf of the WSAVA Secretariat,     Rebecca George PR Consultant

World Small Animal Veterinary Association:

rebecca@georgepr.comwww.wsava.org

Vision Statement: All companion animals worldwide receive veterinary care that ensures their optimal health and welfare
Mission Statement: To advance the health and welfare of companion animals worldwide through an educated, committed and collaborative global community of veterinary peers

World Small Animal Veterinary Association, 72 Melville Street, Dundas, Ontario L9H 2A1, Canada

The Brussels times is quoting a Belgian virologist who states that the University of Luik has a suspect cat with SARS-CoV2 in its stool, possibly after being infected by the owner.

Coronavirus: Belgian cat infected by owner

This was mentioned in a press conference by virologist Stephen van Gught. The cat started showing clinical signs including vomiting, diarrhea and dyspnea one week after the owner has clinical signs. And the virus was found in the stool of the cat using RT-PCR. Van Gucht stressed the fact that this is a transmission possibly from a human to a cat and not vice versa. Having genetic material present in the stool does not mean the cat has (had) an active infection.

The next Veterinary Surgery Podcast is out and now downloadable. We will be talking about great resources for COVID-19 information including the WSAVA websites: https://wsava.org/news/highlighted-news/the-new-coronavirus-and-companion-animals-advice-for-wsava-members/ and Clinician’s Brief: https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/covid-19-updates. We also share some positive news about COVID-19 at the end of the podcast.

On my last trip (for a while), I had the pleasure to do a reconstruction lab for E-Vet, located in Haderslev, Denmark. We had 2 days of immersive reconstructive surgery in dogs and cats with a wonderful group of veterinarians. I will be discussing this course in the upcoming podcasts and talk about tension relieving techniques here.

Also, we have an interview with Dr. Jonas Bylin, a Swedish surgeon currently in the UK about his passion for surgery. Did you know one of his favorite things to do is TPLO’s? I tend to call them the spays of orthopedics b ut he really enjoys doing them. Jonas gives great insights about what it is to be a general surgeon in a busy practice.

Last but nor least we are discussing this article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25827973 Third eyelid gland neoplasms of dogs and cats: a retrospective histopathologic study of 145 cases. Vet Ophthalmol. 2016 Mar;19(2):138-43. doi: 10.1111/vop.12273. Adenocarcinoma is the most common tumor of the third eyelid and although not very common in dogs and rare in cats, there is a an easy cure by taking out the third eyelid. For tips, check here: https://www.cliniciansbrief.com/column/procedures-pro/removal-third-eyelid

Last, but not least, we discuss the advantage of telemedicine in horrid times like this. It is the best solution for you and your clients and I would strongly urge you to check out a new FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/VeterinaryTelemed/

Thats is it for now. Keep on cutting, be safe and wash you hands!

Press Information

WSAVA Moves to Reassure Pet Owners

‘No evidence that COVID-19 can be contracted from pets’

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) has moved to reassure pet owners following the news that a dog in Hong Kong, quarantined after it had tested positive for SARS- CoV-2 has died. The dog had been released after two weeks of quarantine having subsequently tested negative for the virus.

The dog, a 17-year-old Pomeranian, had shown no clinical signs of COVID-19. However, it did have significant unrelated health problems including cardiac and renal issues and is believed to have passed away from these and old age, possibly exacerbated by the stress of quarantine away from familiar surroundings. The WSAVA confirms that there is no evidence that the dog contracted COVID-19, nor that it could have passed the viral cause to another human or animal.

On March 19, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) in Hong Kong announced that a second dog, a German Shepherd, had also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The dog was quarantined after its owner was confirmed with COVID-19. Although the dog has tested positive, it has no clinical signs of disease. Another dog from the same residence has tested negative for the SARS-CoV2. It also has no relevant clinical signs and has been quarantined. The dogs will continue to be tested for the remainder of the quarantine period.      

 WSAVA President Dr Shane Ryan said: “While there is still much we don’t know about COVID- 19, we do know that the Pomeranian dog did not die from the virus, and the second dog is also showing no signs, either of the disease or of being able to transmit it to other pets or people. The current evidence still strongly indicates that COVID-19 cannot be contracted from pets.” 

The WSAVA says its priority is to support its member veterinarians who care for companion animals around the world and it urges pet owners not to panic and, instead, to continue to care for their companion animals and to enjoy their company. In difficult times, such as these we face today, says the WSAVA, pets can play a very positive role, providing companionship to the isolated and lonely.

The WSAVA’s Scientific Committee and One Health Committee have worked together provide Advice to its members and pet owners, which can be found here: https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/COVID-19_WSAVA-Advisory-Document-Mar-19-2020.pdf

Dr Michael Lappin, chair of the WSAVA’s One Health Committee and Dr Mary Marcondes, Co- Chair of the WSAVA Scientific Advisory Committee, recommend that veterinarians remind owners to:

• keep their companion animals with them if they are self-quarantined
• maintain good hygiene practices, including washing hands when interacting with their pets
• arrange care for any animals left at home with family or friends should they be hospitalized
• contact their veterinarian immediately if they have questions or concerns.

On March 13, IDEXX Laboratories, an international provider of veterinary diagnostics and owning a pet which are even more important as so many of us are now having to limit contact with other people.

“We urge pet owners to listen to their veterinarian’s advice and to follow our recommendations to keep themselves and their companion animals safe.”

The WSAVA represents more than 200,000 veterinarians worldwide through its 113 member associations. Its core activities include the development of WSAVA Global Guidelines in key areas of veterinary practice, including pain management, nutrition and vaccination, and the provision of continuing education.

For further information:

Contact WSAVA PR Consultant, Rebecca George Email: rebecca@georgepr.com

Tel: +44 (0) 7974 161108/+44 (0) 1449 737281

March 20, 2020