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Welcome to your next
issue of E-Source An
electronic newsletter highlighting veterinary issues for |
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December 27, 2004 Volume II, Number 19 |
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In This Issue · Horse Identified with Rabies in Illinois ·
Proposed Regulation from Illinois Racing Board · Register Now for ISVMA Spring CE Seminars Index of
Links · ·
Contact Us peter@isvma.org |
Horse
Identified with Rabies in LaSalle County
On December 10, 2004, the Illinois
Department of Agriculture laboratory in It was not possible to identify
the possible source of rabies for this horse through history taking as there
were no recognized bites to the horse.
The owners did report seeing a skunk around the stable during daylight
hours. Animals in contact with the rabid animal will be managed appropriately
by the attending veterinarian, local animal control and the Illinois
Department of Agriculture. This horse
is the first terrestrial mammal since 1998 to have developed rabies in the
state. Specimens from the horse brain
were sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for rabies
variant typing. CDC confirmed the
rabies positive result on the horse and began sequencing the virus to
identify the rabies variant. On December 27, the Illinois Department of
Public Health was informed by CDC that the strain of rabies detected in the horse
was the north-central skunk strain.
Earlville is in northern Veterinarians in this area of the
state in particular should consider the diagnosis of rabies in animals with
consistent symptoms and arrange for testing as needed. They should also encourage rabies
vaccination of dogs, cats and ferrets and consider vaccination of valuable
livestock and horses. If veterinarians in this three county area hear reports
of skunks acting abnormally they should report this to their local animal
control agencies. This is also a good
opportunity for veterinarians to review the rabies pre-exposure vaccination
status of the staff in their clinic. Rabies PEP for those with appropriate
pre-exposure rabies vaccination is far simpler than rabies PEP for those who
have not previously received rabies vaccination. When submitting brains for rabies
testing please be sure to refrigerate, NOT freeze the brain and provide the
entire brain for testing. To call a
brain negative for rabies, three different parts of the brain must be tested
negative. Within In ****************** Proposed
Regulation from the Illinois Racing Board The ILLINOIS RACING BOARD has proposed an amendment for "Medication" (11 Ill Adm Code 603) to increase the maximum allowable intravenous dose of furosemide administered by a veterinarian during the pre-race period from 250 to 500 milligrams, with the test level not exceeding 100 nanograms per milliliter of serum or plasma. A first-time fine level of $250 is added rather than the current written warning, and subsequent fine and suspension levels are modified. The rulemaking also decreases from 9 days to 7 the time that a horse placed on the furosemide list must wait following its certification date before participating in a qualifying race. Questions/requests for copies/comments are open until 1/31/2005: Send to Mickey Ezzo, Illinois Racing Board, 100 West Randolph, Suite 7-701, Chicago, IL 60601 or call (312) 814-5017. ****************** Register Online for the
ISVMA Spring Seminar! The Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association (ISVMA) is proud to offer an excellent continuing education seminar designed to develop vital communication skills essential for each member of your practice team. Nationally acclaimed consultant Karyn Gavzer will present: "It's Not What You Say; It’s How You Say It – Tips and Strategies for Effective Client Communications." For more information on this tremendous program or to register please visit: www.isvma.org/springseminars.htm REMEMBER TO REGISTER EARLY TO GUARANTEE AVAILABILITY! *There are only 150 spaces available at each of
three regional locations for this very popular and useful program. **************** Like the common House Sparrow ("English Sparrow"), the Eurasian Tree Sparrow is not native to the United States. Both species originated in Europe or Asia and are in the family of birds known as weavers, which is unrelated to our native sparrows. In the 19th century, south St. Louis was the home of many European immigrants who wanted to see familiar birds from their homeland. So, on April 25 of 1870, twelve Eurasian Tree Sparrows were released in Lafayette Park in south St. Louis. Numbers of other European birds were also released (European Goldfinches, Eurasian Bullfinches, Chaffinches, Greenfinches, and Linnets), but only the Eurasian Tree Sparrow successfully established a breeding population. The invasion of the more aggressive House Sparrow in 1878 began to push the Eurasian Tree Sparrow from its established nesting areas. Expansion of the city also caused the Eurasian Tree Sparrow to spread, for it prefers suburban areas and open country. Today, there are still individuals in the city and a fair number in the suburbs. Most of the range expansion, however, has been to the north, along the Illinois River to at least Mason County, Illinois, and along the Mississippi River to southern Iowa. The largest population of Eurasian Tree Sparrows seems to be along the east side of the Illinois River north of the village of Meredosia (Cass County). The expansion of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow has been very limited and large number of bird "listers" travel from all over North America to Illinois, Iowa and Missouri in search of this species. This individual was photographed in Rochester, IL during the Spring of 2004. ***************** Contact Us Please feel free to forward this issue of the E-SOURCE to veterinarians that are not receiving ISVMA’s electronic newsletter. Any ISVMA member may subscribe to the E-SOURCE for free: If you wish to add your name to the recipient list, send an e-mail to info@isvma.org and ask to receive the E-SOURCE newsletter. Use the same procedure if you wish to unsubscribe from the recipient list. |
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