Veterinarian and dentist collaborate to help cat through unique dental procedure

A Siamese-mix cat named Darryl is recuperating well after receiving a metal prosthesis to correct a palate injury in his mouth, thanks to a unique collaborative dental procedure performed Oct. 29 at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital.
The procedure involved affixing a metal prosthesis to the roof of Darryl's mouth to close a gaping hole between his oral and his nasal cavities. Fong Wong, D.D.S., an associate professor of prosthodontics and maxillofacial prosthetics in UF's College of Dentistry, conducted the procedure and was assisted by Amy Stone, D.V.M., Ph.D., a clinical assistant professor in UF's College of Veterinary Medicine.
This is a procedure Wong routinely performs in human patients with cleft palates or defects after cancer surgery.
"This was a different approach than has ever been done before," said Stone, who also serves as chief of the veterinary college's primary care and dentistry service. "We have not had an exact procedure for palate issues that is entirely successful for every species, and Darryl's problem was one likely caused, or at least exacerbated, by injury. There were also other complications, so his situation required something a bit different."
Added Wong, "Usually medical procedures are first tried in animals, and then, when successful, used in human patients. In this case, it was the animal that benefited from a procedure that is routine in humans but has not been part of routine veterinary medicine."
Darryl was originally rescued from Alachua County Animal Services, where he had been slated for euthanasia, by the Alachua County Humane Society. Even though the massive hole in his hard palate was obvious, Darryl quickly became a staff favorite, said Julie Levy, D.V.M., Ph.D., a professor of shelter medicine at UF who fostered Darryl and later adopted him.
"Every bite of food he took was painful, and he had constant nasal infections," Levy said. "Despite struggling to eat and being extremely messy with his food, he was always affectionate and craved attention from staff and volunteers."
But his condition made adoption impossible, so Darryl became a long-term resident of the Humane Society. Levy meanwhile began investigating solutions to his palate problem and transferred the cat to the Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program at UF.
Various specialists at UF examined Darryl. Katherine Polak, D.V.M., a former UF shelter medicine resident, performed an examination in February. Then Nick Bacon, Vet.M.B., an associate professor of small animal oncology, conducted a biopsy of an oral lesion to rule out cancer. A feeding tube was inserted a few months later, allowing Darryl to gain weight and for his mouth to heal without the trauma of eating and drinking.
By April, Levy had taken Darryl into her home as her foster pet in order to provide the intensive care she knew was needed to bring him back to health. Various specialists weighed in, or attempted to heal Darryl's palate defect. Soon after Levy contacted UF's College of Dentistry seeking assistance, Wong got involved.
After performing a separate examination, she proposed a prosthodontic solution. In August, she made a cast of Darryl's mouth and crafted a custom acrylic appliance to cover the defect. The appliance was sutured into place on a trial basis to see if the approach would work in a cat.
The approach was successful, and on Oct. 29, Darryl's permanent metal prosthesis was installed. His feeding tube was removed two days after the procedure and he was able to eat normally for the first time in more than a year.
"He is doing great," Levy said. "Many thanks to the entire team who pitched in to help this lovely cat."

Guidance issued to help states handle Ebola exposure in pets

Following weeks of collaborating with public health agencies and experts from around the country, The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has issued guidance for health officials handling the pets of people exposed to the Ebola virus.
The guidance has been in development since early October, when a dog in Spain was euthanized after its owner became sick from the Ebola virus. A similar case emerged shortly afterwards in Dallas, where a nurse with a dog tested positive for Ebola. Unlike in Spain, the dog in Dallas was placed in quarantine for 21 days and released after showing no symptoms and twice testing negative for the virus.
In response, the AVMA convened several working groups with the USDA, CDC, and other health agencies and experts to develop guidance for public health officials on how to assess, handle, and monitor companion animals that may have been exposed to the virus.
The AVMA said the development of this guidance was a long process due to its novel and complex nature, as well as the lack of scientific data on Ebola and companion animals currently available. But this morning the following documents were posted online for AVMA members:

• Interim Guidance for Public Health Officials on Pets of Ebola Virus Disease Contacts provides guidance for the management of pets, specifically dogs and cats, owned by Ebola virus contacts.
• IInterim Guidance for Dog or Cat Quarantine After Exposure to a Human with Confirmed Ebola Virus Disease describes the process for conducting a risk assessment for exposure of dogs and cats that had contact with a human with laboratory-confirmed evidence of Ebola, and it describes how to implement quarantine of dogs or cats if deemed appropriate by state and federal human and animal health officials.

In addition to these documents, the AVMA has a number of resources available for veterinarians, health officials, and the public on its website at www.avma.org/Ebola. The AVMA will be continuously monitoring these resources and updating them as more information becomes available.

Unbeivable, new influenza virus affects cattle and pigs

Two South Dakota State University researchers will examine a new influenza virus that affects cattle and pigs through a two-year, $393,530 National Institutes of Health grant.

Virologist Feng Li and immunologist Radhey Kaushik will study the biology, genetics and evolution of the virus that has 50 percent similarity to human influenza C. Both faculty members have joint appointments in the biology and microbiology and veterinary and biomedical sciences departments.
"The virus has not been shown to be pathogenic in humans. No one should be afraid of this," Kaushik cautioned.
"This is important work because so many questions remain to be answered about the virus," said Ben Hause, now a research assistant professor at Kansas State University, who uncovered the virus three years ago while working at Newport Laboratories in Worthington, Minnesota. He identified and characterized it as part of his doctoral work at SDSU under Li's tutelage.
Although it was first discovered in pigs, Hause found the virus was far more common in cows. "A high percentage of cattle with respiratory disease tested positive," he said, pointing out that "it's common for cattle to be infected with this influenza virus."
Because it occurs in association with pneumonia, this virus may be part of a disease complex, Li explained. Doctoral student Runxia Liu did further research on the virus, generating data to support the NIH application.
From an evolutionary standpoint, this virus shares common ancestry with known influenza viruses including those that have caused seasonal influenza epidemics, Li added, noting that the virus has also been found in China. He has proposed calling it Type D Influenza because of its distinctness from other influenza types -- A, B and C -- to the International Committee of Taxonomy of Viruses.
The researchers will develop genetic and biochemical tools to study the virus and then determine how the virus is transmitted and how it replicates at the molecular level.
Ultimately, the goal will be to determine whether the virus can cause problems in humans, Kaushik explained. "If the virus can undergo reassortment in combination with a closely related human influenza virus, it may be able to form a new strain that could pose more of a threat to humans."
Li said, "From a science viewpoint, it's very exciting to work with a brand new virus. There are so many mysteries to solve -- where and when this virus emerged and what its animal reservoir is in nature.

Date:

October 30, 2014

Source:

South Dakota State University