November 28 , 2006

Volume IV, No. 14

FDA Warns Horse Owners and Veterinarians about Deaths Due to Unapproved Clenbuterol

FDA has become aware of the deaths of several horses in the State of Louisiana associated with the use of a product labeled as Clenbuterol HCL. Horse owners and veterinarians should be aware that there are no generic clenbuterol-containing products approved for animals. There is one clenbuterol containing product approved as safe and effective for use in horses, trade name Ventipulmin by Boehringer Ingelheim.

Horse owners and veterinarians who are aware of horse injuries or deaths that may have been caused by Clenbuterol HCL are urged to report to this to the FDA office in their area. This is a link to a listing of FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators -- http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

Update Your Calendars -- ISVMA Regional Meetings Schedule

Eastern Illinois VMA Winter Meeting

WHEN: December 7, 2006

WHERE: Hawthorne Suite Conference Center, Champaign, IL

TIME: Social Hour 6-7 p.m.; Dinner 7-8 p.m.; Speaker 8 p.m.

TOPIC: Managing the Mystery Poisoning Patient

SPEAKER: Dr. Sharon Gwaltney-Brant

Southern Illinois VMA Winter Meeting

WHEN: December 7, 2006

WHERE: Carbondale Civic Center, Carbondale, IL

TIME: Registration 8 a.m.; Program 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

TOPICS: Oncology and Equine Orthopedics

SPEAKERS: Dr. Timothy Fan; Dr. Martin Allen

A copy of the Southern Illinois VMA Winter Meeting Program and Registration Form are available online at http://www.isvma.org/about_us/region1.html.

Mississippi Valley VMA 103rd Annual Meeting

WHEN: March 7 & 8, 2007

WHERE: The Par-A-Dice Hotel, East Peoria, IL

A copy of the Mississippi Valley VMA 103rd Annual Meeting program and registration form is available online at http://www.isvma.org/about_us/region4.html.

Exotic Pets in U.S. May Pose Health Risk

Associated Press released an interesting article that raises concern about the spread of zoonotic disease from exotic animals. The article includes coverage of the three year-old Rockford, Illinois case of monkeypox. The article is available at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061128/ap_on_re_us/threats_from_the_wild_7.

About the Photo in This Issue...

I have treated the Eastern Screech-Owl (Megascops asio) in a previous E-SOURCE Newsletter. I took the photo in this issue over Thanksgiving weekend (2006) and almost as soon as it was posted on my website I received an interesting question from a retired biology professor and novice birdwatcher. He wanted to know if Eastern Screech-owls were easier to see during this time of year.

Eastern Screech-owls actually are easier to see during this time of year. In my years of studying them in the field and, based upon available research literature, I can opine the following reasons for the increase in late Fall sightings:

— A banding study conducted in Northern Ohio concluded that young Eastern Screech-owls disperse in the early fall, with about 75% of them moving more than 10 kilometers by the following spring, the average being 32 kilometers. The dispersal away from nesting sites increases the number of possible roosting sites by 400-500%.

— It may sound elementary, but the reduced foliage on trees makes it easier to see tree cavities and roosting owls.

— Eastern Screech-owls will emerge from cavities in their winter day roosts to face the sun and warm themselves (as in this photo).

I photographed this Eastern Screech-owl near Rochester, IL on November 25, 2006.

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