Worms & Germs Blog

When we talk about “worms” in dogs or cats, we’re usually talking about parasites that can infect pets or (less commonly) that harbour other pathogens. However, there are also certain worms...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/04/articles/miscellaneous/hammerhead-flatwormsare-there-animal-health-risks/

As with any emerging disease, we have more questions than answers, but we can make some interim assessments based on general principles of infection control, and what we’ve learned over the pas...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/04/articles/animals/cats/h5n1-avian-flu-in-catswhat-do-we-know-so-far/

H5N1 avian influenza has been found in cats on a dairy farm in New Mexico where cattle were infected with the same virus. As part of the farm investigation, some (number not reported) sick (type ...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/04/articles/animals/cats/avian-flu-in-a-cat-on-a-dairy-farm-completely-unsurprising/

The UK’s FIP Advice Team has released new antiviral drug treatment guidelines for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). A major change is introduction of twice daily dosing of oral GS-441524, ba...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/02/articles/animals/cats/updated-fip-treatment-guidance/

Now that Canadian veterinarians can legally import antiviral drugs for treatment of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), there’s no (good) reason for people in Canada to be sourcing these drugs...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/02/articles/animals/cats/black-market-fip-drug-quality/

A fatal Alaskapox virus infection in a person in (unsurprisingly) Alaska has once again focused a lot of attention on this rather obscure virus. When I last wrote about Alaskapox virus in 2020, w...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/02/articles/animals/cats/fatal-alaskapox-infection-and-a-possible-cat-link/

Great news for Canadian veterinarians, cat owners and cats: We now have legal access to drugs that can treat feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease that’s historically been considered a...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/02/articles/animals/cats/fip-drug-access-canada/

In the first two parts of this series, I explained a lot of the changes that have been made to the CLSI veterinary antimicrobial susceptibility testing guidelines, specifically those related to s...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/01/articles/animals/dogs/new-clsi-breakpoints-for-veterinary-medicine-how-to-interpret-results-while-labs-are-updating-their-protocols-part-3-pseudomonas/

Diagnostic testing is a cornerstone of veterinary medicine that helps us optimize patient care, but there’s a lot of science behind it that people often forget. We collect a sample, send it off...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/01/articles/animals/dogs/updated-clsi-veterinary-susceptibility-testing-guidancewhat-vets-need-to-know-spoilerthis-one-has-lots-of-relevant-changes/

I spend a lot of time talking about antimicrobial misconceptions and dogmas. They are a big issue, because they often lead to unnecessary or excessive duration of antimicrobial use, use of more i...

https://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2024/01/articles/animals/dogs/let-doxycycline-off-the-leash-no-need-to-avoid-it-in-young-growing-animals/