Taskforce investigates fatal bat virus

The equine morbillivirus, responsible for two Queensland incidents of disease and death in horses and humans, has recently been found to be a common paramyxovirus infecting flying foxes. A new lyssavirus, also isolated from flying foxes, last month recorded its first human fatality. An AVA fact sheet outlining the implications of lyssavirus and procedures for handling flying foxes was sent to all veterinarians last month. The fact sheet is accessible also via the AVA web site at http://www.ava.com.au . If you didn't receive the information sheet and would like a copy, please contact the AVA national office. A full report on lyssavirus will be in the Exotic Diseases Bulletin in next month's AVJ.     

Veterinary issues of global concern

The International Veterinary Officers Coalition (IVOC) meets annually and this year held its meeting in Sydney, Australia, in May, a few days after the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) conference in Canberra.     

The critical need for federal legislation to provide for the expansion of the veterinary workforce

American veterinary medical education stands at a crucial point. To maintain the status quo and to meet ever-increasing societal needs within the United States and globally, it is essential that the veterinary medical profession expand its horizons and capabilities. If it does not, it will lose its current status. The profession faces a crucial shortage in the workforce it needs both to continue to perform its current functions and, more importantly, to meet its growing responsibilities. This is not a new situation, and the profession can learn from its past successes and failures. Action is necessary. The profession has the capability and expertise to meet these challenges, but it must activate these skills in order to succeed.     

Nominees for AVA ballot

A total of six AVA members have formally nominated for the two positions to be contested in the coming election to choose a President-Elect and a member of the AVA Board. There are three candidates for President-Elect and four for the Board position (one nominee has chosen to contest both ballots). The candidates for President-Elect are: Tom Lonsdale, Norm Blackman and Ian Denney (a member of the current Board). The nominees for the Board are: Norm Blackman, Joanne Sillence, Breck Muir and Robert Baker. Each of the nominees was requested to submit a 200 to 300* word'biography for publication in this edition of the AVJ (see below) as a means of indicating to members why they are seeking support for the positions they are contesting.     

News from the Scientific Organising Committee Learning new tricks to treat old dogs

Treating elderly pets and maximising your practice returns will be in focus at this year's AVA Annual Conference. The Scientific Organising Committee is delighted that such distinguished international and local speakers have agreed to give presentations in the Small Animal (Geriatric Medicine and Surgery) and Practice Management streams at the conference.
The AVA Conference will be at Hobart's Wrest Point Conference Centre from May 21–26, 2006. To see the full program and to register online visit www.ava.com.au/avaconference.     

GOODS AND SERVICES TAX UPDATE

The following article updates the implementation of GST. It is prepared for the benefit of members by Mr Douglas Wood, FCA, a partner of the Australian Veterinary Association's auditor, Foster Raffan. It has been decided that this update service be provided to assist all AVA members.     

Vibrio anguillarum: prevalence of typical and atypical strains in marine recipients with special reference to carbohydrate pollution

Primary isolates of Vibrio anguillarum-like organisms could be separated into typical V. anguillarum (VA) and atypical V. anguillarum (AVA) by biochemical tests. The prevalence of the fish pathogenic V. anguillarum was highly influenced by carbohydrate pollution as compared to the AVA. Water an sediment counts of VA generally increased at the polluted sites during April-May and persisted at a level of approx. 100/ml water and 1,000/g sediment until October-November. A further increase in VA counts could be registered locally at the time when the sugar beet processing season started (September-October). At the control site VA counts increased during June-July to a level of 10/ml persisting until August, while the only increase in sediment counts occurred in September (100/g). The maximum counts in water and sediment were at the control site 10/ml and 100/g and the polluted sites 100,000/ml and 50,000/g, respectively.     

AVA involved on multiple levels during sheep export predicament

A shipment of 57,000 Australian sheep, rejected by Saudi Arabian authorities for being infected with scabby mouth at unacceptably high levels, was the centre of a firestorm of controversy in September, and the AVA was involved on several fronts.     

The veterinary profession in New Zealand

Extract

At the beginning of this new decade, the veterinary profession in New Zealand faces a future of boundless opportunity. After a rapid and difficult growth period of twenty years, the profession is now well established as an entity, and if we, its members, show wisdom and vision, we can ensure that veterinary science will take its rightful place in the progress of New Zealand. If we fail, the profession will find itself playing a minor role in the future. We dare not allow ourselves to just drift into the years ahead.     

鸡病毒性关节炎弱毒苗的研制 Ⅱ.弱毒株的免疫原性

应用具有良好安全性的鸡病毒性关节炎病毒（AVAV）弱毒JN-1株免疫1日龄肉鸡40只,分别用琼脂扩散试验、间接ELISA和中和试验（NT）检测免疫鸡血清中的AVAV抗体。中和抗体于免疫后7d开始出现,14d后全部阳转;ELISA抗体也于免疫后7d开始显示阳性,21d后全部阳转;琼脂扩散抗体于免疫后14d开始阳转,28d以后全部显示阳性。分别在免疫后7、14、21和 28d于足掌皮下用强毒攻击免疫鸡,临床保护率分别为2/10、9/10、10/ 10、10/10,病理保护率分别为0/10、7/10、9/10、10/10。体外抗病毒谱试验显示,弱毒株的免疫血清能中和AVAV J-1株、S_(1133)株、FDO株和H_(9307)株。上述实验结果表明,AVAV弱毒株具有良好的免疫原性。     

1,000 miles away, vets face similar challenges

One of the perks of being a BVA Officer is being invited to attend the congresses of our sister associations, says vice-president, Peter Harlech Jones. This year, because the BVA President Carl Padgett had prior commitments, he attended the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) congress in Canberra in May.     

Tailored risk management guide for veterinary practices

AVA members enjoy a wide range of benefits in the financial area, including discounts and access to special deals, as well as a variety of credit, loan, financial planning and advice facilities. In this issue of AVJ we highlight the most recent benefits introduced by three very AVA-friendly organisations: Guild Insurance and Financial Services, Commonwealth Bank, and Diners Club.     

Animal welfare and the Australian veterinarian

SUMMARY This paper discusses the moral and philosophical arguments related to animal welfare. The veterinary profession in Australia has, to date, addressed this matter on a superficial and unsatisfactory level. In my view, the Australian Veterinary Association has not yet considered sound philosophical and moral positions in any area of animal welfare. This paper provides some examples of arguments concerning animal rights. It is suggested that the veterinary profession in Australia needs to take heed of these arguments and to develop a philosophy of its own. The profession is not seen to be having sufficient influence on the development of community standards in animal welfare. For example, public statements on the stray cat and dog problem concern the nuisance to human society and little is said of the welfare or rights of the animals themselves. The Australian Veterinary Association has not looked thoroughly at problems of animal welfare in the livestock industries, where the need for attention is urgent. Few veterinarians in Australia have the knowledge and experience to tackle problems in the area of animal experimentation. These include questions of laboratory animal production and disease, as well as those of a moral and philosophical nature. A discussion of ethical problems in studies on animal behaviour points to the lack of experience el veterinarians in this area. Possible mechanisms for statutory control of animal experimentation are explored. Antivivisectionist ideas and the significance of their political influence are outlined.     

AVA Annual Conference Perth: 25–30 June 2000

The venue for the AVA Conference in June 2000, is Rendezvous Observation City, located on the foreshores of Scarborough Beach in Perth. At this stage 15 Special Interest Groups have nominated to hold sessions during the week-long Conference. Tuesday and Wednesday are the most popular days, with 11 concurrent sessions running in the venue (plus two external field trips on Wednesday and one on Thursday).     

动物福利教育与兽医专业发展

动物福利教育是动物保护的基本内容,是动物福利立法的基础。我国传统的兽医专业并没有系统开展动物福利的教育,但随着兽医专业实践的新发展,兽医职业不仅限于动物的健康和保护,更期望实践高标准的动物福利。国际上越来越多的兽医专业本科及研究生教育开展动物福利教育课程,并且建立了一些福利组织。在兽医专业开展动物福利教育可促进兽医专业的国际化、职业化和社会化,加快动物福利立法的进程。     

Career opportunities in public health: one veterinarian's experience

The veterinary profession is rich in opportunities that are ignored. The veterinary profession should evolve to a new level--to more broadly include all aspects of public health. Veterinary education, even in its current classical mode, provides a rich base for multiple careers. With expansion, there will be a wealth of opportunities for veterinarians to be leaders in many phases of business and society.     

AVA letter sent to the Weekend Australian

The President of the AVA, Dr Garth McGilvray, last month sent the following letter to the Editor of the Weekend Australian newspaper. This was in response to inaccurate claims it had published earlier concerning the use of antibiotics in food production animals - and the risk of this leading to antibiotic resistance in humans. The letter was published unedited, except for the deletion of the last paragraph - apparently for space reasons.     

Medical Mythology

THE heritage of medicine and veterinary medicine is rich in mythic figures and legends. Many of these figures and symbols are evident in today's profession and some are universally accepted as symbols of medicine. Perhaps a moment spared from busy daily schedules to reflect on a segment of this fascinating history will cause us to appreciate our profession and its family tree a little more.     

Origin,Persistence, and Resolution of the Rotational Grazing Debate: Integrating Human Dimensions Into Rangeland Research

The debate regarding the benefits of rotational grazing has eluded resolution within the US rangeland profession for more than 60 yr. This forum examines the origin of the debate and the major reasons for its persistence in an attempt to identify common ground for resolution, and to search for meaningful lessons from this central chapter in the history of the US rangeland profession. Rotational grazing was a component of the institutional and scientific response to severe rangeland degradation at the turn of the 20th century, and it has since become the professional norm for grazing management. Managers have found that rotational grazing systems can work for diverse management purposes, but scientific experiments have demonstrated that they do not necessarily work for specific ecological purposes. These interpretations appear contradictory, but we contend that they can be reconciled by evaluation within the context of complex adaptive systems in which human variables such as goal setting, experiential knowledge, and decision making are given equal importance to biophysical variables. The scientific evidence refuting the ecological benefits of rotational grazing is robust, but also narrowly focused, because it derives from experiments that intentionally excluded these human variables. Consequently, the profession has attempted to answer a broad, complex question—whether or not managers should adopt rotational grazing—with necessarily narrow experimental research focused exclusively on ecological processes. The rotational grazing debate persists because the rangeland profession has not yet developed a management and research framework capable of incorporating both the social and biophysical components of complex adaptive systems. We recommend moving beyond the debate over whether or not rotational grazing works by focusing on adaptive management and the integration of experiential and experimental, as well as social and biophysical, knowledge to provide a more comprehensive framework for the management of rangeland systems.