British Vets Resist “Political Measures” to Restrict Veterinary Use of Antibiotics

By Miroslav Djuric, DVM The British Veterinary Association (BVA) marked the 5th European Antibiotic Awareness Day (18 November 2012) by releasing a statement in which it reaffirms its commitment to promoting responsible use of antibiotics, but also warns that political measures to reduce antimicrobial resistance in Europe and the UK are not based on sound…
Read Further

August babies lack self-esteem

Image:'popofatticus This week we heard that being born in August in England leads to lack of self-esteem and a lifelong tendency to underachieve (Does when you are born matter?, from Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS)). This appears to be a follow-up study to one focussed on primary school children in 2007, and it certainly got…
Read Further

NICE people lend a helping hand

“Nice” is not a word often used in scientific research and when it appears in the UK media, it’s now associated with NICE, National Institute for Health & Clinical Excellence. More often than not this government organisation makes headlines with bad news: the press reports quickly when a drug is not approved for general use…
Read Further

Happy holidays! ‘Tis the season to be hypertensive

With Thanksgiving now upon us, the holiday season has well and truly arrived. This not being a diet blog, I will most likely be indulging with the best of them. Well it would be rude not to, wouldn’t it? However, while the marketers are encouraging us to stuff it all in (if you’re UK based,…
Read Further

Pass the Tamiflu!

A bear, a lion and a chicken meet up in a chat room. The bear types: "If I roar in the forests of North America, the entire forest is shivering with fear." Not to be outdone by a mere bear, the lion taps in, "If I roar on the great plains of Africa, the entire…
Read Further

Bluetongue virus: knocking at the door.

The big animal health story in the newspapers in the UK this summer has been the return, after 6 years, of foot and mouth disease. The outbreak was almost certainly caused by the escape of the virus from the virology research laboratory in Pirbright, Surrey. It seemed as if the outbreak had been contained quickly…
Read Further

Biosecurity: who will guard the guardians?

The recent outbreak of foot and mouth disease in UK, possibly from a neighbouring laboratory working on vaccines for the disease, has raised the question of biosecurity in micro-organism research and the risks to the health of people, animals and plants. The Initial report on potential breaches of biosecurity at the Pirbright site 2007, by…
Read Further