Vital Signs — Thursday, October 29, 2026
"Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good." — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
A useful nudge to use today's hours well, in the clinic and at home.
Editor's Pick
- USDA Confirms New World Screwworm Detection in Arizona — A dog in Cochise County is Arizona's first confirmed screwworm case, triggering a 20-km infested zone, movement controls, surveillance, and sterile-fly releases. Why it matters: screwworm has now reached a companion animal in a third state, so any draining or maggot-infested wound deserves a hard look, not a routine clean-and-close.
By the Numbers
- 20 km — the radius of the infested zone set around the Arizona screwworm detection. Takeaway: movement controls reach well beyond a single property, so practices near a detection need a plan for wound checks and reporting, not just treatment.
In the Journals
- Researcher explores innovative treatments for bacterial infections causing pregnancy loss in mares — A University of Kentucky project is testing small-molecule compounds against the bacteria behind ascending placentitis, aiming for alternatives to antibiotics that don't always clear these infections.
- Omeprazole Exposure Before Referral in Dogs with Chronic Inflammatory Enteropathy: A Retrospective Observational Single-Centre Study — Of 151 dogs later diagnosed with chronic inflammatory enteropathy, 55% had received omeprazole before referral, but only about a third of those had a documented reason matching ACVIM consensus guidance.
AI Watch
- VetRec's Full Integration with ezyVet: AI Scribe for Veterinary Clinics — VetRec's full ezyVet integration syncs schedules, pulls patient history before the visit, and pushes AI-drafted notes into the record in about 60 seconds, with no copy-pasting between systems.
The Business End
- Veterinary Practice Partners Becomes the First Veterinary Partnership Community — VPP is pitching co-ownership by doctors and practice managers, not corporate aggregation, as its model, now spanning more than 200 hospitals and 330 doctor co-owners across 35 states.
- COVE Animal Health and Animal Clinic Northview to Reopen Norwalk Veterinary Medical Center, Expanding Access to Integrated Veterinary Care — The closed Norwalk, Ohio hospital will reopen in December under Animal Clinic Northview, keeping its name and AAHA-accredited legacy while restoring local access to general care.
- Tips for safer, more effective venipuncture and IV catheter placement — Technician educator Alyssa Mages, CVT, says the most common catheter mistakes are rushing and overconfidence, and that practice on training models builds the muscle memory that keeps live placements calm and clean.
- Clinical trial career options for veterinary technicians — A veterinary technician specialist in oncology describes moving into a remote clinical research associate role monitoring veterinary trials, a career path that keeps experienced techs in the profession without the physical and emotional load of hospital shifts.
The Fine Print
- Darwin's Natural Pet Products Natural Selections Chicken Recipe for Cats — The FDA is cautioning owners that two lots of this frozen raw cat food tested positive for Salmonella, and with no expiration date on the label, affected bags could still be sitting in freezers.
- UK caps fees veterinarians can charge for written prescriptions — Under the UK CMA's 2026 order, written prescription fees are capped at £21.40 for the first medicine and £12.70 per additional medicine, with published price lists and written estimates also required — a transparency model US owners may soon ask about by comparison.
The Feel-Good Finish
- Sheriff's Deputy Gives Unresponsive Cat Oxygen After Van Rescue — After firefighters pulled an unconscious cat from a burning van in Marina del Rey, a sheriff's deputy gave oxygen until the cat regained consciousness, and after veterinary care the cat was reunited with its owner.
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