ANIMAL HEALTH
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, May 1993:
Massachusetts SPCA veterinari-
ans Michael G. Aronsohn and Alicia M.
Faggella recently published protocols for
anesthetizing and neutering 6-to-14-week-
old kittens in the Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 202,
#1, pp. 53-62.
The USDA announced April 1
that from now on it will require environ-
mental impact statements filed in connec-
tion with animal disease eradication activi-
ties to include identification of any pesti-
cides that might be used; any chemicals
used for sanitation; and a protocol for dis-
posing of carcasses and contaminated
manure and debris.
A Swedish research team
announced in the March 24 issue of Nature
that they had discovered Lyme disease bac-
teria (Borrelia burgdorferi) in a type of tick
that infests sea birds, on the Baltic Sea
island of Bonden, which has no resident
mammals. The finding indicates that birds
rather than mammals may be the primary
carriers of Lyme disease, which if untreat-
ed can cause severe damage to the joints
and nervous system, and can be debilitating
for a year or more even if it is treated.
Freshmen veterinary students
who begin studies at Mississippi State
University this summer will work on simu-
lated cases right from the start instead of
simply taking courses. The Mississippi vet
school will be among the first in the U.S. to
replace the traditional academic curriculum
with one based on real-life problem solving.
In an unusual turnabout from
the old jokes about horse doctors treating
humans, the Delaware Department of
Health on April 13 ordered chiropractor
Angelo Della Ripa of Enfield to cease treat-
ing animals and instead concentrate on
humans. Della Ripa claimed he only treated
animals with veterinary supervision.
The terrorist bombing of New
York’s World Trade Center in March so
badly rattled the parrots at Nancy Chambers’
Urban Bird shop a few blocks away that,
she told reporters, “They’ve totally stopped
copulating,” disrupting the breeding cycles
of an estimated 150 birds. “And parrots are
monogamous,” Chambers added. “I can’t
just change the pairings.”
About 20 animals were rescued
from an April 10 fire that destroyed the
Flater Animal Hospital in Galesburg,
Illinois.
