The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, the UW-Madison lab that checks deer carcasses for a deadly brain disease, said Monday there may be increased urgency for hunters to test for chronic wasting disease this year based on new scientific research.
A contagious disease was found in many dogs at the Dane County Humane Society this week, but the University of Wisconsin Shelter Medicine Program is working to diagnose and stop its spread, officials said.
Experts at UW-Madison are helping Dane County Humane Society manage cases of a contagious illness that showed up at the shelter earlier this week. The UW Shelter Medicine Program and the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory are testing dogs showing symptoms at the shelter. The illness is a contagious respiratory disease that had closed the shelter's dog kennels to the public and halted adoptions.
With the help of Region V – Great Lakes Public Health Training Collaborative, Miranda Braithwaite, a University of Wisconsin-Madison DVM-MPH candidate, completed her public health field experience with the Wisconsin Companion Animal Resources, Education and Social Services (WisCARES), which provides no-cost veterinary care for the homeless population in Dane County, Wisconsin.
The quest for greater comfort dates to The Dairyland Initiative project undertaken by Dr. Nigel Cook at University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine. The Breunig’s Mystic Valley Dairy became part of the study.
Douglas A. Freeman, DVM, PhD, dean of the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan, transitioned to the immediate past-president position. Mark Markel, DVM, PhD, DACVS, dean of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, will remain treasurer, and Paul Lunn, BVSc, PhD, MRCVS, DACVIM, dean of the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, was named secretary, the release states.
Matthew Aliota, from the department of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin's School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison, said, "I do believe herd immunity is developing where Zika virus is endemic, but that does not mean Zika will go away."
A team of researchers, working with the University of Wisconsin’s Dairyland Initiative, is helping farmers have happier herds.
Lysa Boston, manager of the Joplin Humane Society, said they are working with the University of Wisconsin Madison School of Veterinary Medicine along with the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, both of which have experience with distemper outbreaks at shelters.