In The News

By now, we all know that hospitals are struggling with staffing shortages, but it’s not just us people who are having issues seeing a doctor.

The two candidate genes were discovered by an international team of researchers from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), the University of Göttingen and the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the U.S. The scientists analyzed data from more than 5,000 dairy cows. The findings could help improve the breeding of disease-resistant animals.

Dr. Maria Verbrugge, clinical instructor of primary care at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, tries to help pet parents calm their partners during noisy summer weather events.

Dr. Mark Markel, dean of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, says a few factors are at play, including an increase in pet ownership, with more people keeping a closer eye on their animals while working from home.

“I think the immunological memory which is induced by vaccines is pretty good and is actually sustained,” said Marulasiddappa Suresh, a professor of immunology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who co-authored the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in May.

Now circulating is a survey asking dog owners what TV programs grab the attention of their canines, if any. The UW-Madison veterinarian ophthalmologist behind the query hopes the response advances her research into the decline of eyesight in dogs – and maybe the vision of their human owners, too.

“Effect of attire on client perceptions of veterinarians,” published in The Veterinary Journal by researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) School of Veterinary Medicine, sought to examine the effect of veterinarian attire and gender on clients’ perceptions of veterinarians.

Double board-certified veterinarian Dr. Lauren Trepanier has lost three Boxers to lymphoma, and she’s not letting that slide. She is currently studying the impact of carcinogens caused by environmental pollution on lymphoma in Boxers and transitional cell carcinoma in all dogs. For lymphoma, the initial study found that Boxers have a higher risk of developing lymphoma if they live within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant, or within two miles of a chemical supplier or active crematorium. Current studies are directly measuring the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and herbicides in the urine of Boxers with lymphoma as well as their levels in the air and tap water in those dogs’ homes. Dr. Trepanier’s lab is also teaming up with the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study to measure VOCs and herbicides in the urine of Goldens with lymphoma. For bladder cancer, the initial study found that dogs were at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer if they lived in a county with higher ozone concentrations or higher levels of trihalomethanes in the tap water. They also found that dogs and their owners share similar urinary levels to two carcinogens, with 5-7% of apparently healthy people and dogs having levels high enough to damage their DNA and potentially cause cancer. Current studies are measuring the urinary and household levels of acrolein and arsenic.

“It was not a fun surprise,” said Dr. Shawna Hawkins, a zoo and wildlife veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Findings by Yoshihiro Kawaoka — a UW-Madison virologist and professor at both the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Tokyo — and associates in Japan show that the omicron sub-variants BA.2 and BA.1 are very similar.