BSAVA Companion - Current Issue

A PDF of the full May Companion

Final call for BSAVA PetSavers grants; New series of small mammal care and welfare CILs; Join in with Tour De Vet School 2025!; Problems accessing JSAP?

All veterinary medicines are highly regulated to protect the animals treated, the animal caregivers, and the environment. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) define how medicines for animals must be marketed, manufactured, supplied, and used (the most important part for practising vets). The VMR were updated in 2024 (building on the 2013 version); however, the update has sparked some confusion as to how the VMR should be applied in companion animal practice. To help understand the latest amendments, BSAVA Companion representatives posed some questions to Anna Burrows and Fraser Broadfoot from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool have introduced a free proficiency testing assay offered to any laboratory providing bacterial culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacterial isolates from cats, dogs and horses. As a result, this harmonization of laboratory testing promises to strengthen AMR surveillance in companion animals.

The BSAVA is an influential organization on the national policy-making stage ensuring that BSAVA views are represented and can influence policy which affects national and international issues of relevance to not only the small animal veterinary sector but the wider profession as a whole.

  The dog tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus, endemic but thought to be confined to hotspots in mid-Wales, the Welsh borders, and the Outer Hebrides, may be more widespread in the UK than previously understood, according to emerging research. This was the main talking point of a cross-disciplinary panel discussion at BSAVA Congress and EXPO, with practitioners from both veterinary and human medicine discussing implications for animal and public health. Lizzie Croose reports…

 An Vanhaesebrouck was awarded the inaugural BSAVA PetSavers Research Fellowship in 2023 to undertake work on the Development of a novel test to diagnose seronegative myasthenia gravis in dogs at Cambridge University.

From insightful sessions to candid moments, our photo gallery offers a visual journey through the event that brought the veterinary community together in style.

  This literary review by Kellie Bywater-Taylor entitled, The impact of general anaesthesia on tear production, perioperative ocular health and nursing considerations in dogs examines how general anaesthesia affects the tear production in canine patients and how this may in turn cause ocular damage.

A calendar of forthcoming online and in-person events.

  The winner of a BSAVA’s travel scholarship has become the first home-grown specialist in veterinary dermatology in Croatia. John Bonner spoke to Ana Petak to find out more.

Article abstracts from the latest issue of JSAP.

  Last month, Camilla Sherwin, Senior Sustainability Consultant and Partnerships Manager on the national green accreditation programme Investors in the Environment (iiE) highlighted how to set your organization on the right track to becoming a sustainable business. This month she offers advice on how to bring your colleagues with you on your sustainability journey.