A very long second day at the NAVC ! Started at 530am, finished at 7pm… but another great learning experience. My day was filled with talks on infectious diseases (but you guys know, that’s my thing !). Below some of the key take-aways of the day I would like to share with our online community !
On flea prevention
#1 By the time a pet owner notices fleas, immature flea stages have been developping in the environment for 1-2 months ;
#2 Fleas are reproducing machines. Flea control fails if you cannot control their reproductive cycle. When successful, it usually takes 3-8 weeks ;
#3 In the flea population, females emerge first ; you typically find more females than males. When the treatment is successful you will observe a gender shift in the flea population. More males found mean that you are successful with your treatment ;
On GI infectious diseases
#4 The most common clinical manifestation in animals infected by Giardia is NOTHING. Dogs, puppies, kittens can be totally healthy & asymptomatic ;
#5 PCR are great diagnostic tools but sometimes the stools can contain fecal inhibitors that will decrease their sensitivity ;
#6 CAPC statement : Giardia asymptomatic patients may not require medical treatment ;
#7 Tritrichomonas foetus in cats : co-infection with Giardia in 12-20% of the cases ;
#8 Great quote by Dr Micheal Lappin : if you want to look into TF, you need to be able to spell Gookin (from Dr Jody Gookin). Check her website, lots of great info on Tritrichomonas foetus and its management in catteries ;
On new trends on infectious diseases
#9 24% of cats with heartworms have heartworm and fIV ; 14% have heartworm and FelV ; 9% have heartworm + FelV+ FIV : those new associations come therefore with new clinical presentations (like abcesses and oral diseases) ;
#10 Cats should receive heartworm preventatives anywhere heartworm is reported in dogs
DR. EMMANUEL FONTAINE 