Britain's pedigree dogs plagued by disease

A documentary, "Pedigree Dogs Exposed," will be shown on BBC One at 2100 BST on Tuesday 19 August.

The BBC documentary says an investigation has found that pedigree dogs are suffering from genetic diseases following years of inbreeding. The program shows a prize-winning cavalier King Charles spaniel suffering from syringomyelia, a condition which occurs when a dog's skull is too small for its brain.

The study also features boxers suffering from epilepsy, pugs with breathing problems and bulldogs who are unable to mate or give birth unassisted. It says deliberate mating of dogs which are close relatives is common practice and the Kennel Club registers dogs bred from mother-to-son and brother-to-sister matings.

In a related story, the MailOnline reports that the BBC could stop showing the Crufts dog show after the documentary exposed the diseases and deformities suffered by many of Britain's 5 million pedigree dogs.

Mark Evans, the RSPCA's chief vet, said: 'When I watch Crufts, what I see is a parade of mutants. It's some freakish, garish beauty pageant that has nothing, frankly, to do with health and welfare. We've become completely and utterly desensitised to the fact that breeding these deformed, disabled, disease-prone animals is either shocking or abnormal.'

Eamon Hardy, the documentary's executive producer, said: 'In light of this programme, the BBC will request a meeting with the Kennel Club to discuss the implications and potential impact of the film.'

Was it tapeworm salad?

Anthony Franz had started to eat healthy, but the salmon salad he ordered for lunch from Shaw's Crab House in August 2006 wasn't the best choice, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.

Franz says he became violently ill for several days after eating that salad and later "passed a 9-foot tapeworm."

A pathologist determined the giant tapeworm only has one source -- "undercooked fish, such as salmon," according to court papers.

The lawsuit against Shaw's Crab House, 21 E. Hubbard, and its parent company, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, claims the restaurant's staff was negligent in serving him undercooked fish.

Franz, who was not available for comment, wants more than a refund. He's seeking $100,000 for his pain, suffering, lost time from work and "lost enjoyment of life."

Carrol Symank, vice president of food safety for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, said he is confident the tapeworm did not come from the restaurant.

"We have done a thorough investigation and we're confident the restaurant is not the source," he said.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

How Far Should We Go to Save Our Pets?

This is a country in which 93 percent of we owners describe our pets as members of the family, where 70 percent of us sleep with our dogs and 78 percent with our cats, in which nearly three-quarters of married pet owners report greeting their pet before their spouse when they return home. It is a culture in which, according to one New York study, women report feeling "significantly" more intimacy with the closest pet than the closest person in their lives.

Given this remarkable relationship, how do we approach these life-and-death decisions? Is it as far as our credit cards will stretch? Is it the pet's quality of life? Or our own quality of life?

(Photo: Boswell, a 2-year-old goose undergoing cancer treatment at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton. Though he was an $8 purchase at the local feed store, his two major bouts with cancer - a tumor in his trachea and now osteosarcoma (a fast-moving and painful bone cancer) in his leg - have added up to perhaps $20,000 worth of surgeries and treatments.)

There are kidney transplants for cats, brain surgery for dogs. Cancer treatments - including operations, chemotherapy, and radiation - for all creatures, including rabbits, lizards, parakeets, fish, and ferrets. Pacemakers are routine, as are CAT scans, PET scans, and MRIs. Along with the cutting-edge equipment, the level of expertise and specialization among vets has grown, too.

So - how much would you spend?

Source: the Globe Magazine

Hope on wheels

Hope, the two-legged Maltese puppy, gets around by using a specially-designed device which features wheels from a model airplane.

Hope was born with only two legs and has small wriggling nubs where her front legs should be. The energetic pup uses her hind legs to boost her body forward onto her chest and operate the wheeled prosthetic limbs.

The wheeled device was created by orthotist David Turnbill free of charge with makeshift shoulder joints connected to model airplane wheels.


(via Cute Overload)
Source: Daily Mail

Killer virus threatens fish in in Great Lakes

(Click photo for full-size)

When thousands of bloody, hemorrhaging fish recently turned up on the Lake Michigan shore south of Milwaukee, it confirmed the worst fears of scientists worried that an Ebola-like virus stalking Great Lakes fish would strike closer to Chicago.

Unlike many other diseases that tend to hit one or two types of fish, this viral strain has led to large fish kills involving more than 30 species, including valuable sport fish such as salmon, trout, walleye, muskie, bass and perch.

The infection, called viral hemorrhagic septicemia or VHS, doesn't threaten human health but could be devastating to the $4 billion commercial and sport fishing industry in the Great Lakes.

Viral hemorrhagic septicemia is an invasive species. The virus tends to be more destructive and pervasive here than in the lakes and rivers of Europe where it originated, but it's difficult to predict how it will affect Great Lakes species in the long term.

Some fish can resist the virus, but they can still spread it through urine and other fluids. Those that get sick become listless and ultimately bleed to death.

Canine flu documented in Illinois

Is Rover coughing? It could be dog flu.

Experts urge pet owners to be on the alert now that the disease has been confirmed in Illinois.

Canine influenza or "dog flu," is an infectious but treatable disease that was first identified in racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004 and has spread to more than 20 states. Most dogs recover just fine from this influenza, just like most people do from the human version.

Canine flu, whose symptoms include a hacking cough, lethargy and vomiting phlegm, can be mistaken for kennel cough. Both conditions affect dogs confined to close quarters, like animal shelters, grooming facilities and day-care centers for dogs.

As a species, dogs have not been exposed to the virus long enough to develop immunity. Most dogs who are exposed will get infected and 80 percent will get sick. Dogs are contagious for 7 to 10 days after infection, whether or not they show symptoms, which can drag on for three weeks.

There is no approved vaccine to prevent canine influenza. Active cases are typically treated with antibiotics meant to ward off secondary infections such as bacterial pneumonia, which can be fatal to puppies, ailing dogs and older dogs. Experts also recommend that pet owners keep coughing dogs away from other dogs.

Source: Chicago Tribune

But can he read now?

Dixie, a seven-year-old Mountain Cur from Runnells, Iowa, can now see to chase squirrels to her heart's content, thanks to the new plastic cornea she received in a novel surgery.

Dixie received the first veterinary corneal implant procedure in North America, and one of only a few ever performed. During the surgery, Sinisa Grozdanic, an assistant professor of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Iowa State University, removed the dog's damaged cloudy cornea and replaced it with a permanent synthetic one.

Source: msnbc

Book Review: Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health

A book that should be in the library of every pet owner and pet lover: The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is an outstanding resource. Written by veterinarians and animal health specialists, the book is still aimed at the public at large. It's easy to understand and also easy to find information quickly.

The book covers health issues in common and exotic pets, but there are also some unusual and interesting special subjects. I found the chapter on diseases spread from animals to people (zoonoses) fascinating because I like this sort of off the wall stuff.

Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health is a book I will keep handy and will refer to often for the well being of my pets.

Bedbug sniffer dogs employed by NY hotels

In a prominent New York hotel last month, a uniformed man strode purposefully through the corridors, a beagle mongrel trotting at his side.

“We look like cops,” says Carl Massicott with a laugh.

Massicott is in fact an exterminator; his highly trained dog sniffs out bedbugs – the pestilence whose virulent return has been plaguing hotels across the US in recent years.

Massicott runs Advanced K9 Detectives, a specialist extermination company that uses dogs to sniff out pests. News of an infestation can ruin a business predicated on giving punters a good night’s sleep; it helps that Massicott dogs appear innocuous. Massicott says he's heard of dogs being used to sniff out termites in the past, and thought to apply the skills of his first black-lab mix, Jada, to sniff out bedbugs when there was an epidemic in 2002.

He’s since trained a small army of mutts, all adopted from dogs' homes. There’s only one requirement: “They’ve got to like to hunt,” he says.

Each young dog is trained for an average of 18 months. Initially they are introduced to the pest’s scent and rewarded with a treat each time they smell the bugs; the process culminates in the dog seeking out that scent on its own.

Each dog is capable of covering 150 hotel bedrooms per day.

Source: Times Online

Run for your life!

With the number of deadly dangerous little creatures slithering, hopping, and swimming on this Earth, it's amazing that mankind has managed to survive.

Here are 20 creatures guaranteed to make you very, very sick at the least, or to kill you, should you happen to meet them.

Let's be careful out there!

Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox

The Western Diamondback, which can exceed seven feet in length, is the king of twenty odd species and sub-species of Southwestern desert rattlers, not only in terms of size, but also in terms of its fearsome reputation.

This viper comes equipped with a spade-shaped head, a fiendish fang and venom system, elliptical pupils and heat-sensing facial pits. It has reserve fangs to replace any which break off in a victim. The venom causes extensive tissue damage, bleeding and swelling in humans.

The diamondback will coil, rattle fearsomely, and stand its ground when threatened. It bites hundreds of people a year, more than any other venomous snake in the United States. It is likely responsible for the majority of snakebite fatalities in northern Mexico and in the USA.

As many as 50% of bites by rattlesnakes are 'dry bites' where no venom is injected. Many folk remedies for snakebite came about because no venom was injected to begin with.

Symptoms include, but are not limited to pain, severe swelling, bruising, blistering, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, collapse or convulsions, Yellow vision; paraesthesia/numbness of digits, metallic taste in mouth, fasciculations, and/or death. (Photos for those with strong stomachs.)

Black Mamba
Dendroaspis polylepis

Black mambas are fast, nervous, lethally venomous, and when threatened, highly aggressive. They have been blamed for numerous human deaths and are widely considered the world’s deadliest snake. They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour.

When cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths and hiss. If an attacker persists, the mamba will strike not once, but repeatedly, injecting large amounts of potent neuro- and cardiotoxin with each strike.

Before the advent of black mamba antivenin, a bite from this fearsome serpent was 100 percent fatal, usually within about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, antivenin is still not widely available in the rural parts of the mamba’s range, and mamba-related deaths remain frequent.

Coral Snake

The order of the bands distinguishes between the non-venomous mimics and the venomous coral snakes: "Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, venom lack."

Coral snakes are highly venomous, they are a relative of the cobra. Their venom is a powerful neurotoxin which paralyzes the nerves.

No deaths related to coral snake bites have been reported in the United States since coral snake antivenin became available. Before that time, the estimated case fatality rate was 10%.

According to a recently published report, no more antivenin is being produced. Wyeth Laboratories, the only manufacturer, phased out production several years ago.

Golden Poison Frog
Phyllobates terribilis

The golden poison frog is so toxic that even touching it can be dangerous. A single frog contains enough poison to kill 20,000 mice or 10 people. It is probably the most poisonous animal on earth.

Indians from Colombia use the poison secreted from the skin of poison dart frogs to treat their blowgun darts. The darts are heated and wiped over the backs of the frogs. Once a dart is poisoned, it remains lethal for up to two years. These darts can be used by the Indians as an easy way to catch small prey.

Cone snail
Conus textile

Cone snails are one of the most venomous creatures on earth.

The geographic cone is the most venomous of the 500 known cone snail species, and several human deaths have been attributed to them. Their venom, a complex concoction of hundreds of different toxins, is delivered via a harpoonlike tooth propelled from an extendable proboscis. There is no antivenin for a cone snail sting.

The geographic cone is nicknamed the "cigarette snail," a humorous exaggeration meaning a person stung by one would have enough time to smoke a cigarette before dying.

Box jellyfish
Chironex fleckeri

These invertebrates are among most poisonous creatures in the sea. Stings from these species are excruciatingly painful, either initially or as an after-effect, and are often fatal - 5,567 deaths have been recorded since 1954.

The most dangerous jellyfish can carry more than half a million venom triggers per square inch. The venom contains toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells. It is so overpoweringly painful, human victims have been known to go into shock and drown or die of heart failure before even reaching shore. Survivors can experience considerable pain for weeks and often have significant scarring where the tentacles made contact.

Blue-ringed octopus
Hapalochlaena

This brilliant creature is exceptionally dangerous. Just one bite and you won’t be able to move a muscle. In fact you won’t be able to breathe, or scream! A lot of people who get bitten by these creatures don’t even know it, until the deathly symptoms start to come on. Time till death – less than ten minutes.

This little octopus is about the size of a golf ball and weighs only 10 ounces, but one blue-ringed octopus this size has enough venom to kill 10 men. The venom contains maculotoxin which is more violent than that of any animal found on land. This poison is 10,000 times more potent that cyanide.

Yellow fat-tailed scorpion
Androctonus australis

These creatures are responsible for the highest number of scorpion-caused human deaths. The sting is hugely painful. After being stung, severe sickness follows, movement becomes hard and breathing becomes very difficult. Chances of survival after this scorpion's bite are slim. Their sting can kill in 2 hours, and faster, if you're allergic to it.

No antivenin is available, but with immediate hospital care, some people have recovered.

Stonefish
Synanceia verrucosa

The Reef Stonefish is the most venomous fish in the world. It has thirteen stout spines in the dorsal fin which can inject a highly toxic venom. Each spine on a stonefish is said to carry enough venom to kill 1,000 mice. The sting causes excruciating pain and a great deal of swelling rapidly develops causing the affected tissue to die. The symptoms of the venom are muscle weakness, temporary paralysis and shock - which may result in death if left untreated. The pain is excruciating and can last for months with tremendous swelling and death of tissues. Amputation might be required. If not treated, stonefish stings can often be deadly.

Capable of surviving for up to 12 hours on land, the stonefish has even killed people out walking on the beach yards away from the sea. Time until death – 6 hours or less.

South American silk moth caterpillars
Lonomia obliqua

Lonomia caterpillars have bristles associated with venom glands, called urticating hairs. They produce a chemical anticoagulant of such potency that it can kill a human, causing them to hemorrhage to death. By simply touching this caterpillar's hairs, a person will begin to bleed uncontrollably for 12 to 24 hours and eventually die if not treated.

In southern Brazil the death rate from caterpillar contact is three to six times higher than that observed for snake bites.

Carpet viper
Echis carinatus

The saw-scaled or carpet viper is generally considered to be the most dangerous snake in the world. Ranging from West Africa through the Middle East to India and Sri Lanka, it probably kills more people in the world than any other species. In Asia alone, it is reported to kill 800 people annually. Its venom is more toxic than any other viper, it is small and easy to overlook and, above all, it becomes extremely aggressive when frightened or disturbed.

The venom of the carpet viper prevents blood from clotting. The poison takes hold and the flesh swells up dramatically. After a few hours any cut on the body will not close. Blood begins to ooze uncontrollably from the bite, then from the nose, from the gums, from the eyes and finally from the very pores in the skin. If treatment comes too late, the swollen flesh can start to die and the patient’s leg or arm literally starts to rot. This putrefying necrosis can cause death by infection.

Cottonmouth, Water Moccasin
Agkistrodon piscivorus

There is only one North American poisonous water snake - the Cottonmouth Water Moccasin. They are territorial animals which defend and guard a specific area, thus appearing to be more aggressive than most snakes. Unlike most snakes, when startled the cottonmouth often will stand its ground and open its mouth ("gape" or "smile") to warn predators to stay away.

The venom of the cottonmouth is hemotoxic, causing swelling and necrosis near the site of the wound, and potentially death of the victim if treatment is not received promptly. Like many vipers, the cottonmouth is capable of inflicting what is referred to as a "dry bite", where no venom is injected. However, the bite is extremely painful, prone to gangrene, and loss of digits is possible.

Inland Taipan
Oxyuranus microlepidotus

The Carpet Viper may cause the most deaths, but the Inland Taipan is the most venomous land snake in the world. A single bite from the Inland Taipan contains enough venom to kill as many as 100 human adults. Its venom is 50 times more toxic than that of the Indian Cobra and 650 - 850 times more toxic than that of a Western- or Eastern Diamondback.

Although highly venomous it is a relatively timid snake provided that it is left alone. All known bites have been treated using antivenin.

Brazilian Wandering Spider
Phoneutria nigriventer

Brazilian wandering spiders are one of the world's most dangerous arachnids. At best, their venom can seriously sting; at worst, it can kill. They are not only extremely venomous but also very fast and aggressive, and won't hesitate to bite. The Guinness Book of World Records considers the Brazilian wandering spider to be the world’s deadliest spider.

In addition to causing intense pain, the venom of the spider can also cause priapism - uncomfortable erections that can last for many hours and that can lead to impotence. (BBC)

Funnel web spider
Atrax robustus

Bites are dangerous and can cause serious illness or death, one bite from this creature could kill you in just fifteen minutes. The male Sydney Funnel-web Spider is more dangerous than the female. This is because the toxic venom component that attacks the human and primate nervous system so severely is only present in male spiders. Initial symptoms after a bite include local pain, mouth numbness, vomiting, abdominal pain, sweating and salivation.

Antivenin is available and no deaths have occurred since its introduction.

Brown Recluse spider
Loxosceles reclusa

As indicated by its name, this spider is not aggressive and usually bites only when pressed against the skin, such as when tangled up within clothes, towels, or in bedding. But brown recluse venom is extremely poisonous, even more potent than that of a rattlesnake, and its bites can cause serious skin lesions. Yet recluse venom causes less disease than a rattlesnake bite because of the small quantities injected into its victims. The venom of the brown recluse is toxic to cells and tissues.

This spider's venom is a collection of enzymes. One of the specific enzymes, once released into the victim's skin, causes destruction of local cell membranes, which disrupts the integrity of tissues leading to local breakdown of skin, fat, and blood vessels. This process leads to eventual tissue death called necrosis in areas immediately surrounding the bite site.

Black widow spider
Latrodectus mactans

This spider's bite is much feared because its venom is reported to be 15 times stronger than a rattlesnake's.

In humans, bites produce muscle aches, nausea, and a paralysis of the diaphragm that can make breathing difficult; however, contrary to popular belief, most people who are bitten suffer no serious damage—let alone death. But bites can be fatal—usually to small children, the elderly, or the infirm.

Africanized Honey Bees
hybrids of the African honey bee, Apis mellifera scutellata

Killer bees are descendants of southern African bees imported in 1956 by Brazilian scientists attempting to breed a honey bee better adapted to the South American tropics.

When some of these bees escaped quarantine in 1957, they began breeding with local Brazilian honey bees, quickly multiplying and extended their range. They acquired the name killer bees because they will viciously attack people and animals who unwittingly stray into their territory, often resulting in serious injury or death. An animal or person will be stung dozens to hundreds of times. The angry hive of bees may pursue people and animals for greater distances than regular bees. Even non-allergic people who receive multiple stings can develop life-threatening complications.

(On July 15, 1993, 82-year-old Lino Lopez became the first person to die in the U.S. from Africanized honey bee stings. He was stung more than 40 times while trying to remove a colony from a wall in an abandoned building on his ranch near Harlingen, Texas.)

Kissing bug
triatomines rubida

Kissing bugs received their name because they usually bite people near their mouth during the night while they sleep. They are blood-suckers, attracted to the light in our houses, the odors that we exhale, skin odors, and to the warmth of our bodies.

People have moderate to severe allergic reactions to the kissing bug bite. Severe reactions include swelling of the tongue and throat; swollen lymph nodes; small blood-filled blisters; anaphylactic reactions that cause breathing problems, a drop in blood pressure, and shock that can be lethal.

An associated health problem is Chagas Disease. This is caused by a potentially deadly parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi) that lives in the digestive system of the kissing bug and is excreted during defecation or urination of the kissing bug after feeding. If this parasite enters your blood stream through the bite site or an open wound, you might become infected. This is a major health issue in Central and South America where over 18 million people have become infected resulting in 14,000 deaths every year.

Bombadier beetle
Stenaptinus insignis

The bombardier beetle is notable due to the two small glands located near the end of its abdomen. One gland produces hydrogen peroxide, one gland produces hydroquinone. The two chemicals are mixed and two enzymes, catalase and peroxidase, are added to them. These enzymes speed up the reaction to a level where the beetle can make an audible "pop" as it ejects the now-boiling chemical stream at whatever unlucky predator happened to disturb it. Added to this, the beetle can rotate the end of its abdomen 270 degrees in any direction, which allows for an impressive "firing range." The beetle can discharge upward of 20 times before depleting its glands.

The damage caused can be fatal to attacking insects and small creatures and is painful to human skin.

Photos:
blue-ringed octopus, yellow fat-tailed scorpion, funnel web spider, reef stonefish, box jellyfish, diamondback rattlesnake, cone snail, black widow spider, carpet viper, inland taipan, brown recluse spider, Brazilian wandering spider, golden poison frog, lonomia caterpillar, coral snake, Africanized bees, kissing bug, Bombadier beetle, black mamba, cottonmouth

Why dogs are good for kids

Children run less risk of being sensitive to allergens if there is a dog in the house in the early years of their lives, scientists have found.

The conclusion, based on a six-year study of 9,000 children, adds weight to the theory that growing up with a pet trains the immune system to be less sensitive to potential triggers for allergies such as asthma, eczema and hay fever.

The “hygiene theory” of allergy holds that modern life has simply become too clean, meaning that babies’ immune systems are not exposed to enough germs to develop normally.

Having a dog provides enough dirt of the right kind.

Source: Times Online

Is your pet a Boomer?

New studies and statistics about the "Baby Boomer" generation dominate the headlines almost daily, but there is another population, the nation's 45 million "Pet Boomers", which is quietly slipping into its senior years.

On average, pets age seven times faster than humans. Consequently, the potential for age-related disease also progresses seven times as fast. Unfortunately, many pet owners are unaware of the signs of animal aging which may actually indicate treatable health problems.

Certain health conditions can occur more often in aging pets. Below are five common health conditions that every pet owner should monitor in their pets.
* Weight Gain
* Tooth Decay and Gum Disease
* Stiff Joints and Slower Movement
* Changes in Coat and Skin
* Eye Abnormalities

Is your pet a boomer?
PetBoomers.com is a great new web resource for all pet owners. It offers quizzes, facts, statistics on the aging pet population and is a terrific for pet owners dealing with traveling with a pet, pet poisons and emergencies.

This short video segment from Marty Becker, DVM, a nationally recognized pet expert, author and Good Morning America contributor, features five common health conditions in aging pets.

Photo from Flickr by Corsi_photo

Saving lives with venom

There are thousands of venomous animal species on Earth. Just a few of the most lethal are the Gila monster, the death adder, the fugu puffer fish and the Sydney funnel web spider.

Medical researchers are finding a positive side to these dangerous creatures: the complex and highly sophisticated poisons produced by these creatures have components that might save lives rather than kill.

The PBS show, Nature, Victims of Venom, illustrates how some of the animals we fear most may one day soon be helping us solve or alleviate a wide range of life-threatening medical problems.

Venomous animals use their toxins to capture prey or defend themselves. They inflict their poisons by biting, stinging, and, in the case of some marine animals, by emitting venom into the water so it can be absorbed through the skin. The venom itself typically comprises many different substances that have various effects on their victims.

The film introduces us to carefully trained researchers around the world who are risking harm - even death - to themselves by "milking" the venom of live animals so that the various components of these poisons can be studied in great detail and better understood, perhaps preparing the way for clinical trials against a variety of diseases and medical conditions. It's not only a dangerous job but a laborious one, since only tiny amounts of venom can be extracted at a time.

Heart disease, stroke, various cancers, and the management of chronic and severe pain are other potential targets of the chemicals that comprise venom.

Feline CSI

This is Mary.

Mary has a problem: the hair around her rectum is missing. That area is very pink and a little bloody, but not swollen.

What's wrong with Mary?

Read Cat Care, Breeds and Resources Blog for the answer.

Lawsuit blames sick hamster for 3 deaths

A woman whose husband died after receiving a liver transplant claims a diseased hamster purchased at a pet store is to blame.

Nancy Magee, 51, of Whitman, Mass., is suing PetSmart for negligence.

Thomas J. Magee was one of three people who died after receiving organs donated by a woman who had contracted lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) from a hamster she bought at a PetSmart in Warwick, R.I., according to a law suit Magee has filed in federal court.

The organ donor later died of an unrelated stroke and the transplants were done by hospitals which had no knowledge of her disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control Web site, lymphocytic choriomeningitis is a rodent-borne viral infectious disease with symptoms similar to meningitis.

Thomas Magee’s liver transplant was performed at Massachusetts General Hospital in April 2005. Five days later, the suit says, he “was exhibiting high blood pressure and a fever.”

Weeks later he died and according to the suit, the virus was the cause of death. “The immediate cause of” Thomas Magee’s death was “determined to have been the dissemination of LCMV in the liver he received.”

Source: the Boston Channel

Heart disease hits zoo gorillas

Gorillas in zoos around the nation, particularly males and those in their 20s and 30s, have been falling ill - and sometimes dying suddenly - of heart disease.

The stunning deaths of otherwise healthy apes have zookeepers scrambling to understand what factors may be causing the illnesses and what might be done to save the 368 lowland gorillas that now reside in 52 zoos across North America.

Ape experts have established the Gorilla Health Project, looking to track rates of heart disease and death among gorillas in captivity.

Read the excellent article at Monkeys in the News.

Wheelchairs keep disabled pets moving

When Gary Mikus learned that an incurable nerve disease was starting to paralyze the hind legs of his German shepherd, he immediately dismissed the idea of putting the dog to sleep. Then he spotted an ad in a pet food store: "Eddie's Wheels For Pets. Help for Handicapped Pets." Now the dog named Bear, which has been Mikus' constant companion for a decade, has a lot of living left to do — much of it in his new pet wheelchair.

"He's healthy in every other way," Mikus said. "Until something tells me otherwise that he's failing, I'll do everything I can to keep him mobile and happy."

A growing number of pet owners are turning to custom-built wheelchairs to restore mobility to furry friends whose legs, hips or backs don't work. The owners' goals are simple: to reward their pets' unconditional love with whatever it takes for the animals to live normally.

Source: Yahoo News

Stem cell therapy for dogs

Veterinarians are pioneers in the practical use of stem cells.

In the race to perfect "regenerative medicine," stem cell therapy for animals is ahead of treatment for humans because it is not so strictly regulated. It's not experimental -- it's here.

And while the debate rages over the ethics of embryonic stem cell research, doctors have made stunning progress with "adult" stem cells recovered from body fat.

They are less powerful than embryonic cells, but they don't require the destruction of an embryo. There are no side effects and no problems with rejection, because the patient is also the cell donor.

It takes almost 24 hours to send fat cells to a remote laboratory and return them for reinjection. Veterinarians remove about 30 grams of fat, pack up the cells and whisk them away to the Vet-Stem laboratory outside San Diego where this procedure has been developed. At Vet-Stem, the fat cells are chopped up, treated and put in a centrifuge that separates the stem cells.

Stem cells show great promise for healing animal joints, hearts, livers and kidneys … and perhaps, in the future, humans. Hopefully one day, stem cells will be injected into human stroke and heart attack victims, and maybe even used to regenerate damaged spinal cords within hours of injury.

A large selection of vets have been using this treatment successfully for years. The results have been outstanding and the therapy has helped many beloved dogs feel like pups again.

Source: ABC News

Earthworms Found To Contain Chemicals

Earthworms studied in agricultural fields have been found to contain organic chemicals from household products and manure, indicating that such substances are entering the food chain.

Manure and biosolids, the solid byproduct of wastewater treatment, were applied to the fields as fertilizer. Earthworms continuously ingest soils for nourishment and can accumulate the chemicals present in the soil.

The chemicals investigated are considered indicators of human and animal waste sources and include a range of active ingredients in common household products such as detergents, antibacterial soaps, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals.

Source: Science Daily

Does your dog need to diet?

Is your dog a little on the heavy side?

There’s now a tool to help dog owners determine if their pets are overweight or obese – or heading in that direction.

Spend a few minutes taking the BARC (Body Assessment Rating for Canines) survey to determine if it’s time to speak to your veterinarian about tackling weight loss measures.