* Rabies cases drop in 2005
SCHAUMBURG, ILL - Reported rabies cases dropped in 2005, according to a report in the December Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA).
Veterinarians continue to remind pet owners to vaccinate against the virus to avoid rabies in domestic animals,
Reported cases dropped 6.2 percent, from 6,836 cases in 2004 in the United States and Puerto Rico to 6,417 cases in 2005. One case of rabies in a human was reported in 2005, down from 8 in 2004.
Rabies continues to affect wildlife, especially raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes, more than domestic animals, but cats lead the list of domestic animals in 2005 reported rabies cases.
cases have continued to decline since 2000, mainly because of increased effort to vaccinate both companion and wild animal populations.
* Schools to create tissue bank
MADISON, Wisc. - Three universities have been selected to collect canine cancer specimens for a centralized tissue repository.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, Colorado State University and The Ohio State University will collect and store the samples at the National Cancer Institwte in Maryland as part of a new Canine Comparative Oncology Genomics Consortium. Osteosarcoma, Symphoma and melanoma are the samples to be collected.
The goal is to eventually recruit 10 samples providers to collect 3,000 samples in three years.
Because of the similarities between dog and human cancers, the collection will create a large sample bank for researchers to increase the likelihood of cancer discovery and progress, says David Vail, DVM at Wisconsin.
The veterinary medical centers involved will take tissue and blood samples from companion animal dogs as part of their diagnostic or surgical workup.
The samples will be available to researchers through an application process to ensure the tissues are being used in the best ways.
* Pets and owners stay in shape better together
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A study monitoring the success of weight loss for people and animals showed better results when owners and pets worked together.
The People and Pets Exercising Together (P-Pet) yearlong study by Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Hill's Pet Nutrition tested three groups: people, dogs, and people and dogs.
The study showed that participating in a weight loss program with your pet, rather than alone, increases the plan's success rate, improves life quality and strengthens the pet-owner bond.
* Acquisition falls through
DUBLIN, OH - Unable to agree on acquisition terms, Butler Animal Health Supply terminated a letter of intent to acquire IVESCO, a leading product distributor.
Ranking as the largest national companion animal health supplies distributor to veterinarians, Butler signed a letter of intent to purchase IVESCO in June 2006.
IVESCO is a privately held company that operates across the United States in 25 locations, with corporate headquarters in Iowa Falls, Iowa.
