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Showing posts from June, 2015

Hendra Virus

There has been a serious viral problem in Australia since 1994 but now there is a new problem occurring. There is an anti-vaccination movement that is causing many many problems. Heres a link to a recent article forwarded from a friend in Oz about the problem. http://m.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/gold-coast/anti-vaccine-hendra-scare-campaign-causing-horse-deaths-on-the-gold-coast/story-fnj94idh-1227397685547 The virus is a flu like disease that can also cause neurologic signs and is highly fatal. It can be spread from horse to humans as well which makes this a serious public health concern for those in the Equine industry ...including Veterinarians. There is a vaccine available but it is expensive and many think that it is unnesessary and as a consequence are putting their horses ,themselves and their Veterinarian at risk. While Hendra isnt a problem in the US it highlights the "anti-vaxer" movements here as well. While we always needs to shine the bright light of scienti

HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) H5N2 ....something you might want to keep track of

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Avian Influenza has been on the radar for quite a while as it has shown transmission from birds to humans and there have been minor outbreaks in several countries in Asia. Influenza virus is typically classified by the 2 major surface antigens H and N . There is a strain currently causing a major problem in the US bird and poultry population that may lead to problems at your grocery store. While infections in people make the news ,infections in chickens and turkeys usually dont. Here is an update on the current outbreak in the US that you should follow. Heres a link to some data on the latest outbreak  http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/avian_influenza/ " 7 additional cases of the highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza virus have been confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Health Inspection Service (APHIS).  Outbreaks occurred in Iowa at turkey farms in Hamilton County (19,600 birds) and Sac County (42,200 birds).  In Minnesota, out