Vaccine hesitancy isn't just for humans, we see impacts on pets too. There's some overlap between hesitancy for human and animal vaccines, but also some different issues and reasons. It's complex. But, what are the disease implications. 1/n

At what age should puppies and kittens get their first rabies vaccine? Often, it's done at 16 weeks but there are compelling protection (and in Ontario, legal) reasons to start at 12 weeks. 1/n

H5N1 in an animal sanctuary in BC. It's not Universal Ostrich 2.0 (despite fringe attempts to stir things up). It's the antithesis...a transparent and excellent response to an awful disease event. Sadly, they're facing misinformation and threats 1/n

A tale of two species...

The Universal Ostrich saga has come to a close, with CFIA culling the herd. There are a lot of layers to this scenario, and science has taken a backseat to politics, anti-government sentiment and grift. Some final thoughts.... www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/11/arti...

FDA has given Credelio (lotilaner) Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for New World screwworm in dogs. Game changer? No. We've always had extra-label options. Useful? Yes, to provide some support for tx decisions and education. 1/n

I should stop checking my mailbox at work Today, I got three registered mail One is another notice from someone who’s fining me for failing to stop all vaccination of ppl in Canada. (If I had that much power, I’d have been able to score @BlueJays tickets for tonight). 1/n

CFIA update about Universal Ostrich farm. CFIA is respecting court orders and waiting, while caring for the birds. Winter preparations are "based on the owners' description of past practices, but are limited by the poor condition of the few facilities on the farm". 1/n

Take home messages from this blog post... Ozzie is a more effective tick dragger than me. Ticks are seasonal and we're into black legged tick season. Tick ranges are changing. Check for ticks, on you and your animals. Full details👇 www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/10/arti...

Following up on @PHAC_GC 's rather vague Sept notice about an outbreak of salmonellosis in ppl linked to pet food or treats, there's now a link with Puppy World and Puppy Love treats. 31 diagnosed (so likely hundreds of actual) infections 1/n

Pet food and treat recalls because of Salmonella contamination. Raw diets and Salmonella? No surprise. Assume contamination with something unless high pressure pasteurized (which reduces but doesn't eliminate risk). 1/n

New World Screwworm (NWS). Nasty, gross, re-emerging, but fortunately it doesn't like Canadian weather. A NWS primer for Canadians. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/10/arti...

I don't usually put up my talks (in part since I hate watching myself) but here's a quick one from a @walrus event about the complexities and nuances regarding antibiotics in animals, and the need to focus on health. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dL5...

Oh Darwin's...why do we have to do this again? FDA has yet again issued an advisory about Salmonella and Listeria contamination of Darwin's raw pet food. The company has, yet again, not recalled the diet. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Fatal H5N1 influenza in 2 more cats fed a commercial raw diet. Diet investigation is underway but it's the logical source for indoor cats. Rare issue or rarely diagnosed? Probably a bit of both but I assume the known cases are the vast minority. 1/2

Salmonellosis in people linked to pet food and/or treats, Canada . PHAC warning about S. Oranienburg in 27 ppl, with 6 hospitalizations (and presumably a few hundred undiagnosed). Tentative link to pet food or treats...kibble, dehydrated diets and/or freeze dried treats 1/3

Gave a keynote address✔️ Met a British royal✔️ Got in the middle of a dog attack✔️ Talked to Birmingham police.✔️ Eventful 48h trip to the UK. More details below, with a focus on the dog bite aspect, obviously. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

FDA issues notice about fatal H5N1 flu infection in a cat linked to a raw diet and the company responds. Apologetic? Not really. Accept that there’s an issue? No. Indicate what they are doing in response to this problem to prevent problems in the future? No.

Another cat death linked to H5N1 contaminated raw pet food. Not surprising, unfortunately, and it's likely that other cats were affected since multiple lots were involved. Raw food associated H5N1 infection is deadly but preventable. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Rabies in an unmanaged cat colony. No human cases but a large investigation. Cat colonies aren't going away so we should manage them better. The amount of $ spent for this investigation could have covered a lot of spay/neuter/vaccination. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

New update for Firstline OVC-CPHAZ...open access antimicrobial prescribing guidance for dogs and cats. firstline.org/ovc-cphaz/

Raw pet diets containing what we expect raw pet diets to contain...pathogens. But, this one was found so there's a recall. Viva Raw diets. www.fda.gov/safety/recal...

Who's liable when someone gets a raw milk-associated infection? Raw milk is well known to be high risk, but if it's legal (bizarrely in many US states), who bears the responsibility? Lots of people? No one? www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

The Universal Ostriches fiasco may be nearing an end as the farm as lost its appeal of the cull order issued in January after an H5N1 outbreak. The order led to legal challenges, blatant quarantine breaches, a convoy campout, claim of murder drones and.... 1/2

Tritrichomonas diarrhea is a frustrating disease in cats, and it's currently even more frustrating since we have a hard time accessing effective drugs. What can we do? 👇 www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm....rare but potentially nasty cause of disease in people (and one that causes oversized angst in some ppl). One part of our recent scoping review identified reported sources of infection. 1/n

Two children with neuro and ocular dz from the raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis. One full recovery. One with severe longterm consequences (and a missed diagnosis). There's a mix of excessive concern about this parasite by some and lack of awareness by others 1/n

Contaminated raw pet food ✔️ Life-threatening illness in a child linked to the food ✔️ Ignored FDA recall notice ✔️ Business as usual, I guess. Hemolytic-uremic syndrome in a child linked to E coli from raw dog food, but the company (again) has ignored recall requests. 1/2

I guess it's fitting that, as someone who's authored international urinary treatment guidelines for dogs, my dog would develop an infection. Anyway, Ozzie got a UTI. It was pretty straightforward but it's an opportunity to discuss some practical issues. 1/2

We're still tracking Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever on Long Point, Ontario. Here's a quick primer on the disease and issues. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/07/arti...

Canine parvovirus 'outbreak' in London Likely more of a cluster in a low vaccine coverage population that's attracted attention vs something overly remarkable for this endemic virus, but a good reminder that it's a problem and we need good vax coverage www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/07/arti...

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) in dogs update, Ontario. Now up to 5 cases, 4 with a solid link to Long Point (and the other may have). Not a reason to panic but we need increased awareness about ticks, in general, and RMSF, esp in dogs (and people) at Long Point. 1/2

Free webinar by our AMR Multistakeholder Partnership Platform Vet Education group. More than just numbers-making use of surveillance data in veterinary practice: Dr. Susanna Sternberg Lewerin Registration here: fao.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) in a dog in Ontario. Not unprecedented but locally acquired cases have been rare. Rumours of other dogs affected in the same area (real? Unclear). Worth paying attention to because of how tickborne dzs are changing and.. 1/

Ultrasonic flea/tick repellants for pets. Easy to find, splashy advertizing, but do they work? TLDR: There's no supporting evidence and often the 'evidence' that's used in marketing is crap. 1/3

Not an official "Dear Veterinarian" letter but my own plea to avoid causing harm through inappropriate nitrofurantoin use in dogs and cats. It's a good drug for UTIs but only gets useful drug levels in the bladder (so it's useless for other infections).

Late notice, but here's a free webinar on surgical antimicrobial prophylaxis in dogs and cats tomorrow (1500 CET, 9am Eastern) by Fergus Allerton. It's the first in our series of veterinary antimicrobial use webinars Registration link below.

Not an uncommon question.... "Can I give a half dose of a vaccine to small breed dogs?” Or “An owner wants me to give their small dog a half a vaccine dose because they are worried about adverse effects. Should I do that?” TLDR: No. Full answer: check out the post in reply

Capnocytophaga canimorsus...a bit of a niche zoonoticn bacterium but an important one since it can kill. It's a common commensal in the mouth of dogs, and most infected ppl don't have a spleen, but it can affect other people. 1/n

Rabid dog in Winnipeg. Another incident of unknowingly moving a rabid dog from Nunavut to southern areas. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/05/arti...

2025 @uofg Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ) Symposium Free, online, Wed May 21. Program below. Registration: www.eventbrite.com/e/cphaz-annu...

New ISCAID guidelines for superficial bacterial folliculitis (pyoderma) in dogs. Full guideline link in the post below. Some highlights: Topical treatment (e.g. 2-4% chlohex) should be first line. 1/n

Rabies titres in dogs imported into Canada. 32 of 67 (48%) recently imported dogs rabies antibody titres below the 0.5 IU/ml cutoff. 14% had no detectable titres. 1/n

H5N1 influenza in cats: webinar recording👇 petpublichealth.org/events/h5n1-...

Part 1 of my overview of our new ISCAID pyoderma guidelines....surface pyoderma. TL:DR: use topical tx. For more details. 👇 www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/05/arti...

Our updated ISCAID guidelines for canine pyoderma are now available. I'll give a bigger breakdown of the highlights and changes later, but here's the link to the full document. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I recently wrote about how we should be able to safely (and hopefully effectively) use oseltamivir in cats for H5N1, with limited resistance risk. However, that low risk assessment doesn't apply to all virus/antiviral combinations. 1/2

Antivirals for H5N1 influenza...should we use them in animals? It's maybe more nuanced than most people think. www.buzzsprout.com/2394753/epis...