Tessera

Quick update on Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in dogs in Ontario. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/07/arti...

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever update, Ontario, 2026

Last year around this time I had a lot of posts about Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) in dogs (and people) in Ontario. Prior to last summer, we didn’t

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The ethics of treating (vs euthanizing) Brucella canis infection in dogs TLDR I’m not a fan of ‘thou shalt euthanize or lock the dog”. I want to prevent disease but I also want to make sure we’re considering the bigger picture and putting things into proper context Full story👇

Scott Weese@scottweese.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Update...nitenpyram has now also been given Emergency Use Approval in the US for dogs and cats over 2 pounds and 4 weeks of age.

With the (unsurprising) finding of New World screwworm in a dog in New Mexico, there's more attention being paid to antiparasitic drug options for dogs/cats. Good news: we have a variety of products. 1/n

New World Screwworm prevention and treatment options in dogs and cats

While completely expected given the steady march of New World screwworm (NWS) from Central America into Texas, the recent finding of an infected dog in

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rophylaxis for veterinary (dog/cat) dentistry. TLDR: There's very little data. Very low certainty evidence but nothing supports a need for antimicrobial prophylaxis for routine veterinary dentistry. 1/2

Why release millions of mosquitoes to reduce mosquito-borne disease? Biology. Google is proposing to release millions of Wolbachia infected male mosquitoes. When those mate with uninfected females, no viable offspring result. If they mate with an infected female... 1/n

Raw pet food associated Listeria outbreak. Contaminated food ✔️ FDA recall request ✔️ Company ignores request✔️ More animals get sick ✔️ Company (5 months later) issues a recall ✔️ Unfortunately, this is not unique or surprising when it comes to raw pet diets www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/05/arti...

Raw pet food recall for Listeria (after months of ignoring an FDA recall request and more sick dogs)

I wasn't very quick to write about this because while some incidents of contamination of raw pet food prompt recalls, it's a largely expected event that

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Should you be worried about your dog/cat getting hantavirus? Should you be worried about getting hantavirus from your dog/cat? TLDR: Infection of dogs/cats is uncommon but happens in areas where hantaviruses are present. Whether it causes disease is still unclear. 1/n

New CDC podcast on CPE (carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales) in animals. Unfortunately, we're going to have to deal with these highly resistant bacteria more in animals and people in coming years. tools.cdc.gov/medialibrary... www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/05/arti...

Public Health Media Library

tools.cdc.gov

Suspected cat-to-human (veterinarian) transmission of H5N1. No apparent disease, which is good. The fact that it happened is still concerning, since more inter-species transmission leads to more risk of adaptation and recombination. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/05/arti...

Cat to human transmission of H5N1

As H5N1 continues to spread in birds, and spillover into a wide range of animals, zoonotic risks are hard to message. Historically, H5N1 has had reported

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Here's the program for our annual CPHAZ Symposium, May 12. Free, online. Registration here: www.eventbrite.ca/e/2026-cphaz...

Look to Winnie the Pooh for guidance on subclinical bacteriuria New study of cats with chronic kidney diseases provides peer reviewed support for his theory...subclinical bacteriuria doesn't typically need to be treated (and, we probably cause more harm than good by trying) 1/n

Nice abstract the @escmid.bsky.social Global conference describing Brucella canis in a British vet Source was likely imported dogs, probably from contact during reproductive procedures Disease was pretty severe, but fortunately was diagnosed and treated with multiple antibiotics for 6 months

Consensus definitions for infectious urinary tract disease in dogs and cats. Speaking the same language is critical for consistent and accurate surveillance, communication and guidelines, but some terminology is pretty loose and variable. 1/n

Does bathing/swimming mean wash off topical antiparasitics for dogs/cats? Do dogs that swim a lot need more frequent treatment? tl:dr: No. Depending on the product, keeping them out of water for a few hours to a few days may be needed, but after that, they're fine. 1/n

I'll give the anti-vaxxers credit, they're determined. They keep sending me bills because I haven't stopped vaccination of people in Canada (who knew I was that powerful) The 'escalator clause per the third book of Moses is a killer I don't think @uofg will let me expense this

Splitting vaccines in dogs/cats is sometimes done with a hope of reducing vaccine reactions. But does it help (or harm)? We don't have good data but should think about it more. Yes, giving fewer vaccines at one visit decreases the risk...at that visit... But.. 1/n

We just released an update to Firstline-OVC/CPHAZ....free online antimicrobial prescribing guidance (canine and feline guidelines). Nothing major in this update, but I've added a few new diseases and drugs, and some minor updates. firstline.org/ovc-cphaz/

OVC-CPHAZ

Acknowledgements This initiative was based on the Stewardship of Antimicrobials for Veterinarians Initiative (SAVI), led by the Cana...

firstline.org

A while ago, we launched WormsAndGermsMap, for crowd-based reporting of infectious diseases in companion animals It didn't really work out, in large part because the tech wasn't ready (at least in our $ range) But, since tech (and diseases) have advanced, we're trying again 1/n

UK study of commercial raw pet food diets....unsurprisingly concerning. 380 diets were tested. 1+pathogenic bacteria in 35% Salmonella: 21% Multidrug resistant Salmonella: 9% Campylobacter: 14% (and 21% of C. jejuni were multidrug resistant) 1/n

Registration for the 2026 free online Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses symposium, May 12 from 9-4 Eastern time, is now open. www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-cphaz...

2026 CPHAZ Symposium

2026 CPHAZ Symposium, a virtual symposium by the University of Guelph's Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses

eventbrite.com

"Antiviral resistance in cats….let’s not screw up our game changing drugs" The title sums it up. Antivirals have saved countless cats with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), but does increased (non-evidence-based) use for other things pose a risk? 1/n

Close to 50% of imported dogs with rabies vaccine certificates didn't have adequate titres. Many had no detectable antibodies. Surprising? Not really. Concerning? It should be. More details below www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/03/arti...

(Inadequate) Rabies titres in imported dogs

Many countries have import requirements for dogs and those are largely based on concerns about rabies. Usually, that focuses on a history of rabies

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First finished batch of the season.

Human intestinal infection with the canine hookworm Ancylostoma caninum. Rare. Probably of limited healthy concern. But maybe overlooked. www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2026/03/arti...

Human intestinal infection with canine hookworm

A lot of case reports get published in human medical and veterinary journals. I always take case reports with a grain of salt…not that I don’t trust the

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