If you prefer to listen to podcasts, feel free to play the audio version of this blog by clicking on the player above. Podcast: AnthraxLength: 4:22 minutesWritten and read by the author
Continue ReadingHow Apocalypses Are Born
We are going to step back from the normal informational post and test your foreign animal disease (FAD) knowledge. This post’s onus stems from my recent trip to Plum Island Animal Disease Center. I was struck by each disease’s clinical signs, and how easily I would have mis-diagnosed a FAD in practice.
Continue ReadingTSE Part 4: BSE
In our fourth and final installment of prion diseases, we will discuss probably the most familiar of the TSEs: bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Most cases occur in the United Kingdom, but the disease has been found in Japan, Canada, the US, and across Europe. First diagnosed in the UK in 1986, BSE was brought to […]
Continue ReadingTSE Part 3: Scrapie
In our third installment of prion diseases, we will discuss the oldest of the TSEs: scrapie. Scrapie affects sheep, goats, and their close relatives. Scrapie received its name from the intense pruritis that affected animals exhibit. First described in Great Britain in the 1750s, scrapie can now be found worldwide, expect for Australia and New […]
Continue ReadingTSE Part 2: Chronic Wasting Disease
We covered the basics of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in our previous post. We will delve a little deeper into the three economically significant diseases in the remaining posts. White tail season closed last week. Hopefully, the season was successful for those who endured endless hours of scouting, fine tuning scopes and bows, and freezing in […]
Continue ReadingIntroduction to TSE
A family of diseases caused by a little known agent is making a steady march across the US. One form of this disease is centuries old in Europe, while another is only a few decades old here in the US. Only mammals are affected, which includes humans. The disease can neither be treated or vaccinated […]
Continue ReadingDon’t Share the Orf!
Hopefully after Dr. Lee’s series of Goatcasts, you are seriously entertaining the thought of adding goats to your operation. There are many benefits to having goats, ranging from pasture management to home-raised milk. However, there is a particular zoonotic disease to remember.
Continue ReadingRuminant Abortions: What’s Your Differential?
Differential Diagnosis The ACVPM exam is over, and you decide to reward your hard work with a relaxing night out. While at supper, you are drawn into a nearby conversation with fellow ACVPM candidates discussing a recent outbreak of abortions in local sheep and goats back home in Kenya. Some sick calves have been noted […]
Continue ReadingPeste des Petits Ruminants
Peste des petits ruminants. While it is French, it is not something fancy that you would want to receive as a gift from your beloved. It is commonly referred to as sheep plague or goat plague and is decimating the small ruminate population in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The most recent outbreak has […]
Continue ReadingRabbit Fever
If you prefer to listen to podcasts, feel free to play the audio version of this blog by clicking on the player above. Podcast: Rabbit Fever Length: 3:48 minutes Written and read by the author Fall is upon us, and many people are getting ready for fall and winter hunting. Now is a good time […]
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