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...

Heartworm in dogs...in Canada we've typically said June 1 for the start of seasonal heartworm meds. Does that still apply with a changing climate? Data from Ontario suggest we're fine and still have lots of cushion. 1/n

Normally, I'd think that CDC would be front-and-centre communication about an organ transplant-associated rabies death. It's not the first but it's still notable Now's obviously not a normal time (and they're firing thousands of staff). www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

H5N1 influenza in a sheep in the UK (positive milk sample). Nice surveillance pickup, through testing of livestock on a farm with infected birds. Just 1 positive (so far, at least) so hopefully just a random one-off spillover. However... 1/n

While H5N1 in poultry is getting all the press, Salmonella remains a big issue. Interesting @foodsafetynews report about industry pushback on Salmonella thresholds. (Unlike E coli in beef, there are no limits for Salm in poultry). www.foodsafetynews.com/contact-us/#...

More H5N1 infections in cats have been linked to raw diets. Communication around testing (and deflection by some companies) has led to confusion, especially around 'non-negative' results. Thoughts on that in the blog post linked in the replies. 1/3

H5N1 and pet food safety. Full comments in the blog post in the replies but, TLDR... Canned food: basically sterile Kibble: cooked at temps well above what kills flu 'Lightly/gently cooked': Probably ok but I'd want to know actual cooking temp and time. 1/n

No, canned pet food is not higher risk. It's cooked at high temps and is basically sterile. Avoiding raw poultry based diets is an important H5N1 protection step but avoiding canned food does not make sense. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Over a year ago, CLSI, the group that guides interpretation of culture and susceptibility testing, made some big changes to canine guidelines. Many labs still have not implemented them, resulting in treatment failures. So here's a quick reference (more details and a pdf version in the blog post)

It's a bit of a niche topic but a question I get from vets periodically. "A client just came in and said they/their kid was diagnosed with Dientamoeba fragilis infection and their physician said to test/treat their dog. What should I do?" Thoughts👇 www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/03/arti...

Antiviral resistance in animals. It's not a topic that gets a lot of attention and concerns are pretty niche overall, since antiviral use is limited. But, there are things to consider. Part 1....drugs for FIP in cats 1/n

Details are now available for the story about potential intra-household transmission involving cats and people that was accidentally released, then withdrawn a couple weeks ago. It's an interesting story that maybe raises more questions than answers. 1/n

Should we use antibiotics in healthy animals? Sounds like an easy 'no', correct? That's the problem, questions around antibiotic use in animals are often oversimplified, and that leads to bad discussions and decisions. 1/n

More indoor cat deaths from H5N1 linked to raw poultry diets. Cats from 2 separate households in Oregon euthanized bc of severe H5N1 infection. Virus found in the cats' diets, and then in unopened packages from retail. Solid link to the diet. 1/n