Vital Signs — Wednesday, November 4, 2026

05 Nov 2026 — 2 min read

*"If someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, I shall gladly change."* — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

A Wednesday reminder that being corrected is not a setback — it's how the work gets better.

Editor's Pick

FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for Drug to Treat New World Screwworm Infestations in Dogs and Puppies — The FDA authorized Bravecto (fluralaner) chewable tablets for treating screwworm myiasis in dogs and puppies, prescription-only through a licensed veterinarian, with the usual isoxazoline neurologic warnings attached. Why it matters: screwworm reached the U.S. this year and the treatment toolbox is still being built by emergency authorization, so another oral option in the clinic is genuinely useful news.

16,600+ — Australians connected with trained counsellors through Zoetis and Beyond Blue's 11-year rural mental health partnership, which just passed $1.1 million raised. Takeaway: rural veterinary teams face the same isolation and access barriers as the farming clients they serve, so mental health support is a workforce issue, not a side topic.

Texas A&M Launches $4 Million Genetic Investigation to Track New World Screwworm and Detect Drug Resistance — A two-year USDA-funded project will sequence thousands of screwworm genomes from the Honduras outbreak to trace how populations spread and whether drug-resistance markers are present.
Can a New Blood Clotting Test Help Veterinarians Identify Dogs at Risk of Bleeding or Thrombosis? — In 84 hospitalized dogs, ClotPro viscoelastic testing tracked sensibly against conventional coagulation tests, but no single clotting pattern reliably identified a specific disease, so results still need to be read alongside the clinical picture.
Could Insulin Problems Be Changing Horses' Hearts? New Study Finds Early Signs of Cardiac Remodeling — In 19 Warmblood horses, even mild, subclinical insulin dysregulation was linked to thicker ventricular walls and greater left ventricular mass, suggesting equine metabolic disease may reach the heart before laminitis ever shows up.

AI-generated veterinary vaccination records circulating in Utah — The Humane Society of Utah is warning about a rise in AI-generated records falsely claiming pets are vaccinated, noting that using a fraudulent certificate is a third-degree felony in Utah and that a fake veterinarian's name on the document can bring penalties for the organization named too.

Large Animal Veterinarian Shortage Hits Record High as More Than 500 U.S. Counties Struggle to Find Veterinary Care — USDA figures put 2025 food-animal vet shortages at a record high across 500+ counties, and with 69% of designated shortage areas unfilled in the 2024 loan-repayment cycle, the piece argues recruitment alone won't fix a retention and business-viability problem.
Consumers say veterinary care is among the last things they'd cut — Data presented at the AVMA's business and economics forum shows only 19% of surveyed cardholders would cut routine vet care when money gets tight, though 15% have already delayed or skipped preventive care and 18% lean more on financing.

Pregnancy and Fertility Workplace Protections Could Be Rolled Back, Raising Concerns for Women in Veterinary Medicine — The EEOC is reportedly preparing to narrow Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations, potentially removing explicit coverage for fertility treatments and other reproductive health conditions, with a proposed rule expected in November 2026 — but nothing is final yet, so existing protections still stand.

Oklahoma dog Mango walking after recovery setback, rescue says — Mango, the French bulldog found starved and shot twice in the head in August, is walking again after a scary October episode left her struggling with her back legs, and her rescue team says they are taking it one day at a time with her veterinary team.

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