Pulse - August 2024 - 17

UPDATES
report from Harvard Law School and
New York University maintains that
not enough is being done to prevent
another animal-borne virus from
becoming the next pandemic.
The study looked at common forms
of animal-human interactions in 15
countries, including the United States.
It found dozens of examples where
viruses could make the leap. Researchers
argued that simple policy
changes could dramatically reduce the
risk of such disease crossover.
Too much of the focus so far has been
limiting the damage after a pathogen has
already made the jump from animals
and begun to spread among people, like
Ebola did in 2014, SARS-CoV-2 in late
2019 and bird flu is threatening to do,
said Ann Linder, the report's lead author.
But pathogens are incredibly tiny and can
be highly contagious. " By the time you
realize that there's something going on,
that outbreak may have metastasized past
the point where it can be contained. "
Instead, said Linder, associate director
of policy and research at the Animal
Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law
School, " We really need to shift our
mindset and our focus on preventive
policy. We can't be chasing down these
outbreaks after the fact. "
Colorado Mountain Lion 1st U.S.
Case of European Cat Disease
A sick mountain lion that was euthanized
after it was found in Douglas
County, Colorado, had staggering disease,
a fatal neurologic disease caused
by rustrela virus that hasn't previously
been documented in the U.S., the
Denver Post reported.
The virus affects domesticated cats in
Europe and has been found in rodents,
marsupials, a donkey and zoo animals.
" With continued collaboration, we
plan to learn what we can from our
colleagues in Europe while we continue
to look for new cases of staggering
disease here in Colorado, " said
research scientist Karen Fox, formerly
a wildlife pathologist with Colorado
Parks and Wildlife.
PULSE
AUGUST 2024
Surveys Find Lack of Support
For Midlevel Practitioner Role
An American Association of Veterinary
State Boards survey found most North
American veterinarians and veterinary
technicians support better utilization
of credentialed veterinary techs to help
alleviate veterinary workforce shortages,
rather than creating a new midlevel
practitioner (MLP) position.
The AAVSB fielded the survey to assess
current roles and responsibilities of
veterinary technicians and gauge level of
interest within the North American veterinary
community for an MLP, whose
duties would overlap the duties of the
veterinarian and veterinary technician.
Nearly 14,000 veterinarians and veterinary
technicians responded to the
survey, a majority (61%) of them being
veterinary technicians. Most respondents
(79%) work in companion-animal
exclusive practices, and half work in the
suburbs, followed by urban (32%) and
rural (18%) areas.
Veterinary Management Groups
(VMG), a professional membership
organization for practice owners who
want to improve the business side of
their practice, also conducted a survey
regarding the creation of an MLP.
The respondents were " overwhelmingly "
opposed to the idea, stating
that they were afraid of nonveterinarians
performing surgeries due to risks
and potential complications, a decline
in care quality resulting in improper
diagnosis or malpractice, devaluing the
veterinary degree, diluting revenue
streams, and perception that MLPs are
driven by interests in lower labor costs
instead of actual need.
Emergency Specialists Update
Veterinary CPR Guidelines
Veterinary emergency and critical care
specialists have released updated CPR
guidelines that aim to standardize cardiopulmonary
resuscitation practices
and make the outcomes more comparable
to human cases.
" The publication of these new guidelines
represents a pivotal event in
veterinary resuscitation science, " said
Dr. Manuel Boller, who co-chaired the
Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary
Resuscitation (RECOVER) Initiative.
" These updates incorporate new
scientific evidence, feedback from the
veterinary community and the latest
advancements, directly enhancing how
we perform lifesaving CPR on pets. "
The key updates include chest compression
techniques; chest depths and
techniques; breathing support; and
medication dosages and procedures.
Specialists worldwide and from multiple
disciplines collaborated to develop the
new recommendations.
The revised guidelines, which introduce
essential changes that reflect the latest
in veterinary science and practice, are
available in an open-access issue of the
Journal of Veterinary Emergency and
Critical Care and at the RECOVER Initiative
website (recoverinitiative.org).
Heartworm Ed Training
Offered in New AHS course
Educating veterinary staff with " comprehensive "
knowledge on heartworm is central
to a newly launched training course.
Offered by the American Heartworm
Society (AHS), " Heartworms Unraveled "
is a series of five video-based training
modules, ranging from 25 to 45 minutes
in length, that discuss heartworm biology,
life cycle and epidemiology; testing;
prevention; treatment; and feline heartworm
disease. Specialists and practitioners
from the AHS board of directors
comprise the course faculty.
" We see clinical training that equips
veterinary technicians and other staff
members to confidently speak with
clients about the importance of heartworm
management as one of our top
priorities, " says AHS President Jenni
Rizzo, DVM.
The AHS offers the training course
free of charge to registered veterinary
professionals. For more information,
visit the AHS website. P
- Marilyn Iturri
17
http://www.recoverinitiative.org
Pulse - August 2024

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