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Following an alert by a University of Missouri veterinary toxicology expert working in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. voluntarily recalled some of their Sportmix brand of pet food on Dec. 30, 2020. The FDA launched a formal investigation to identify all Sportmix pet food products containing potentially fatal levels of aflatoxin, a fungal toxin that can be poisonous if consumed by animals or humans. The FDA is now aware of more than 30 canine deaths and 8 illnesses in dogs, located in multiple states, that ate…

CVM Provides Free Eye-Exams for Military Service Dogs The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine Comparative Ophthalmology program has done its part to assist military service dogs. Elizabeth Giuliano, DVM, MS, DACVO, professor and section chief of the Comparative Ophthalmology Service at the MU Veterinary Health Center, has diligently worked with both clinical and basic science faculty for more than a decade to provide specialist services through her collaborations with both clinicians and vision-science researchers. “The ophthalmology section has provided free exams to military service dogs through a program organized by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists since 2011,”…

The University of Missouri Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory recently began working with MU Health Care to provide COVID-19 testing. With the MU Health Care testing site exceeding its capacity due to an increasing number of coronavirus cases, Shuping Zhang, BVS, PhD, DACVM, director of the VMDL, said it was time for the veterinary lab to start providing this service. “MU Health reached out to us for collaboration,” said Zhang. “With our participation, projected testing capacity is up to about 1,500 more tests per day, or around 8,500 per week.” There were many steps taken to make this possible for the…

The University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine has installed a new linear accelerator in the Veterinary Health Center. A linear accelerator creates high energy x-rays, which are used to treat patients with certain types of cancer. The new linear accelerator was purchased after the previous linear accelerator, which had been used at the CVM for approximately seven years, began to break down. According to Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology Charles Maitz, DVM, PhD, DACVR-Radiation Oncology, the previous machine was around 8 years old when it was purchased, and the average life span is usually around 15 years of functionality…

After a tiger at the Bronx Zoo recently tested positive for COVID-19, some pet owners are wondering if the respiratory disease can be transmitted from cats and dogs. While there have been nearly 2 million people worldwide infected with COVID-19, only two dogs, two cats and one tiger have tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of early April. “There’s an awful lot that we are still learning about the virus,” said Leah Cohn, professor of small animal internal medicine at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine. “We have not seen a rise in respiratory diseases or infections in dogs…

MU’s Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab screens harvested deer for chronic wasting disease The Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Missouri is helping to improve the testing of deer in Missouri after continued reports of chronic wasting disease. This illness is found in deer populations and affects the neurologic system, commonly causing chronic weight loss. Chronic wasting disease is fatal in all deer it infects, and left unchecked, has the potential to wipe out Missouri’s white tail deer population. Throughout Missouri, testing for the disease is vital and MU’s lab, housed in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is aiding…

For retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. John Hopson, Memorial Day 2019 was particularly memorable ─ it was the first one spent with Max, his new service dog. Hopson received Max, a chocolate Labrador, on Friday, May 24, through the University of Missouri Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction (ReCHAI) Uniting Veterans with Service Dogs program. During a hand-off ceremony at Crowder Hall on the MU campus, Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, FNAP, the director of ReCHAI, said Max is the seventh dog who has been successfully partnered with a veteran since ReCHAI initiated the program a decade ago. The program is…

Nonprofit formed by CVM residents partners with other animal welfare organizations to offer free spay and neuter clinics to help Puerto Rico’s recovery after Hurricane Maria. The Storm On Sept. 20, 2017, Puerto Rico experienced the worst natural disaster in its history. Hurricane Maria wreaked catastrophic destruction and created a humanitarian crisis when it struck the island, resulting in flooding, extensive infrastructure damage, and the worst electrical blackout in U.S. history, as every one of the island’s 3.4 million residents lost power. Maria, a 50-mile-wide hurricane with 150 mph winds, would prove to be the fifth-strongest storm ever to hit…

Rhodococcus equi, which affects developing foals, may be more prevalent because of early summer Rhodococcus equi is a bacterial organism found in dry and dusty soil in horse environments that can cause pneumonia in young foals. A zoonotic disease, Rhodococcus equi can also infect people who are immunocompromised, such as HIV-AIDS patients. Philip Johnson, a professor of equine internal medicine in the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, has seen several cases this season and cautions that horse owners, especially those with foals between 1 and 4 months old, should remain vigilant and attentive to the signs of Rhodococcus…