Veterinary Medicine News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

New Study Confirms Mammal-to-Mammal Avian Flu Spread

July 24, 2024 — A new study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission -- between cows and from cows to cats and a ...

New Genetic Test Will Eliminate a Form of Inherited Blindness in Dogs

July 22, 2024 — Scientists have identified the genetic mutation that causes progressive retinal atrophy in English Shepherd Dogs, which results in incurable blindness, and developed a genetic test to help eliminate the disease from future generations of the ...

Smell of Human Stress Affects Dogs' Emotions Leading Them to Make More Pessimistic Choices

July 22, 2024 — Dogs experience emotional contagion from the smell of human stress, leading them to make more 'pessimistic' choices, new research finds. Researchers tested how human stress odors affect dogs' ...

What Fat Cats on a Diet May Tell Us About Obesity in Humans

July 17, 2024 — Pet cats may be excellent animal models for the study of obesity origins and treatment in humans, a new study of feline gut microbes suggests -- and both species would likely get healthier in the research process, scientists ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:08pm EDT

Receptors Make Dairy Cows a Prime Target for Influenza

July 15, 2024 — A study helps explain why dairy cows infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza are shedding the virus in their milk. Their findings could help develop biosecurity measures aimed at slowing the ...

Raw Milk Is Risky, but Airborne Transmission of H5N1 from Cow's Milk Is Inefficient in Mammals

July 8, 2024 — While H5N1 avian influenza virus taken from infected cow's milk makes mice and ferrets sick when dripped into their noses, airborne transmission of ...

Biting Flies on Dairy Farms Can Spread Bovine Mastitis

June 26, 2024 — A new study identified biting flies as reservoirs of bacteria that cause bovine mastitis on dairy ...

A Dog's Puppyhood Can Cause 'Puppy Blues' Reminiscent of Baby Blues

June 28, 2024 — Bringing a puppy home is usually a happy event, but sometimes the life change that comes with it can provoke significant negative emotions. Researchers found that almost half of dog owners experience ...

When Should You Neuter or Spay Your Dog?

May 28, 2024 — A new study updates guidelines for when you should neuter or spay your dog to prevent increased risk of cancer or joint ...

Cuddled Cows Who Work as Therapy Animals Showed a Strong Preference for Women Compared to Men, Study Finds

May 22, 2024 — A new study reveals that cows who are cuddled as therapy animals showed a strong preference for interactions with women when compared to men. In ...

Chronic Wasting Disease Unlikely to Move from Animals to People

May 17, 2024 — A new study of prion diseases, using a human cerebral organoid model, suggests there is a substantial species barrier preventing transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) from cervids -- deer, ...

H5N1 Virus from 2022 Mink Outbreak Capable of Inefficient Airborne Transmission

May 15, 2024 — Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza was detected in dairy cattle for the first time in the United States in March, with nine states reporting ...

Drug Compounds to Combat Neurodegenerative Diseases

May 15, 2024 — Prions are the abnormal, pathogenic agents that are transmissible and are able to induce abnormal folding of specific normal cellular proteins. Prion disease is an umbrella term for a group of fatal ...

AI Tool Recognizes Serious Ocular Disease in Horses

Apr. 24, 2024 — Researchers have developed a deep learning tool that is capable of reliably diagnosing moon blindness in horses based on ...

Dog Attacks on Mountain Tapirs Highlight a Growing Threat to Endangered Wildlife

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened ...

TB Vaccine May Enable Elimination of the Disease in Cattle by Reducing Its Spread

Mar. 28, 2024 — Vaccination not only reduces the severity of TB in infected cattle, but reduces its spread in dairy herds by 89%, research ...

UK Rabbit Owners Can Recognize Pain in Their Pets, Study Finds

Mar. 26, 2024 — Rabbits are popular family pets, with around 1.5 million in the UK and it is important that owners can recognize when their animal is in pain, and know when to seek help to protect their ...

Sheep: Excess Temperatures Cause Low Flocking Concerns

Mar. 21, 2024 — High temperatures during critical periods of the reproductive cycle of sheep result in 2.1 million fewer lambs produced in Australia each year, costing sheep farmers an estimated $97 million ...

Newborn Piglets Serve as a Model for Studying Influenza

Mar. 18, 2024 — Although prevention and treatment strategies are available for influenza, they are not sufficient for vulnerable populations such as young children and newborns. A team of researchers has studied ...

Training Dairy Cows With Positive Reinforcement Can Turn Otherwise Stressful Events Into Play

Mar. 14, 2024 — Dairy cows receive a huge amount of care during their lives on a farm, but procedures, especially restraining during procedures, can be stressful for some animals. Positive reinforcement training -- ...

Milk to the Rescue for Diabetics? Cow Produces Human Insulin in Milk

Mar. 13, 2024 — An unassuming brown bovine from the south of Brazil has made history as the first transgenic cow capable of producing human insulin in her milk. The advancement could herald a new era in insulin ...

Some Pre-Roman Humans Were Buried With Dogs, Horses and Other Animals

Feb. 14, 2024 — Some people from an ancient community in what is now northern Italy were interred with animals and animal parts from species such as dogs, horses and pigs. The reasons remain mysterious, but might ...

Understanding Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer

Feb. 12, 2024 — A new collaborative study analyzed fecal samples to shed light on how the fatal disease impacts the gut microbiome in deer, providing a promising tool for disease ...

Knowing What Dogs Like to Watch Could Help Veterinarians Assess Their Vision

Jan. 18, 2024 — A veterinary ophthalmologist wanted to determine factors, including age and vision, that influence a dog's interest in interacting with video content. Ultimately, the goal of the study, which ...

Big Dogs Versus Small Dogs: Which Sizes Face Higher Risks of Which Diseases?

Jan. 17, 2024 — A study of more than 25,000 U.S. dogs and 238 breeds has linked dog size to varying patterns of risk for health conditions over the course of a dog's ...

A Tiny Tattoo for a Tabby

Jan. 11, 2024 — Researchers have developed an alternative labeling method called 'bio-tagging', which is a microneedle array system that can safely deliver ink in the form of unique number or letter ...

Strong Connections Found Between Vaccine Hesitancy and Support for Vaccinating Pets

Dec. 22, 2023 — Study findings raise the stakes for public health efforts to improve attitudes about vaccination rates across the ...

The Future of Canine Stem Cell Therapy: Unprecedented, Painless, and Feeder-Free

Dec. 21, 2023 — Scientists have developed an efficient, non-invasive, and pain-free method to generate canine-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). They identified six reprogramming genes that can boost canine ...

Feeding Dogs Raw Meat Increases the Risk of Antibiotic-Resistant E. Coli

Nov. 20, 2023 — Feeding dogs raw (uncooked) meat increases their risk of excreting E. coli that cannot be killed by a widely used antibiotic -- ciprofloxacin -- researchers have found from a study of 600 healthy pet ...

An Exotic Tick That Can Kill Cattle Is Spreading Across Ohio

Nov. 3, 2023 — A species of exotic tick arrived in Ohio in 2021 in such huge numbers that their feeding frenzy on a southeastern farm left three cattle dead of what researchers believe was severe blood loss. The ...

Gut Bacteria Found in Wild Wolves May Be Key to Improving Domestic Dogs' Health

Oct. 2, 2023 — Gut microbes found in wild wolves may be the key to alleviating a debilitating gastrointestinal condition common to domestic ...

Cars, Chlamydia and Canines Are Biggest Koala Killers

Sep. 15, 2023 — A database tracking hospital admissions and deaths reveals the devastating impact cars, disease and dogs are having on the South East Queensland koala ...

Nearly Half of Dog Owners Are Hesitant to Vaccinate Their Pets

Aug. 31, 2023 — A new study found that more than half of people who own dogs expressed some level of canine vaccine hesitancy -- i.e. skepticism about vaccinating their pets against rabies and other diseases. An ...

How Brucellosis -- Which Can Jump from Animals to Humans -- Impacts the Brain

Aug. 29, 2023 — Brucellosis is a disease, caused by the members of bacterial Brucella family, that mainly infects cattle, goats and sheep, leading to pregnancy loss, which has caused billions of dollars in economic ...