Vital Signs — Thursday, November 5, 2026

05 Nov 2026 — 2 min read

*"The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing."* — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

A clinic day is like that too — you don't choreograph it, you meet it as it comes.

Editor's Pick

AAHA's New 2026 Parasite Guidelines Are Here · ~5 min read — AAHA's new One Health guidelines name 12 emerging parasites of greatest concern and introduce antiparasitic stewardship — six "rights" of prescribing — plus individualized prevention plans built around each patient's lifestyle and what the client can realistically follow. Why it matters: parasites are showing up in new places and shrugging off familiar drugs, so this reframes prevention from a product recommendation into a diagnostic, stewardship, and client-conversation job.

3% down, 3% up — U.S. same-store clinic visits fell about 3% in 2025 while practice revenue still rose about 3%, entirely on price increases. Takeaway: price-led growth has now run four straight years, and with 81% of vets seeing more cost-sensitive clients, winning visits back — not raising fees — is the growth lever that matters now.

Shamonda virus reaches British cattle as farmers urged to stay alert · ~4 min read — The midge-borne Shamonda virus has been confirmed in cattle on two British dairy farms for the first time, with APHA warning of possible abortions and congenital defects in spring calvings, no vaccine and no licensed treatment, and the virus currently not notifiable in the UK.
Bird Flu Claims First U.S. Human Life of 2026 as Dairy Cattle Outbreak Spreads · ~3 min read — A Yakima County resident exposed to infected dairy cattle died November 1, the first U.S. H5N1 death of 2026, as USDA also confirmed the virus's first detection in Indiana dairy cattle through routine milk testing.
Oregon Zoo Veterinarians Race to Save Baby Elephant From Deadly Herpesvirus Despite Experimental mRNA Vaccination · ~8 min read — Young elephant Tula-Tu is battling EEHV-1B despite receiving an experimental mRNA vaccine built for the EEHV-1A strain, and her case — antivirals, plasma transfusions, and early treatment triggered by subtle behavior changes — may teach researchers how much cross-strain protection the new vaccine really offers.

100 million parasite eggs milestone for Micron Agritech as it launches companion animal testing · ~2 min read — Micron Agritech's AI-powered faecal egg-count platform has now detected more than 100 million parasite eggs, and the company is launching Micron Kit +Pet to bring rapid in-house parasite testing to companion-animal practice, with integrated faecal egg count reduction reporting to flag emerging anthelmintic resistance.

Vet Bills Up 60% Since 2014 - How to Spot a Private-Equity Clinic and Pay Less · ~4 min read — Corporate and private-equity owners now hold an estimated 30–50% of U.S. general practices, and UK regulators found corporate clinics charge about 16% more for the same care — a useful explainer for clients who ask why the bill keeps climbing, and a reminder of what independence is worth.
Veterinary Practice Revenue Statistics for 2026 · ~20 min read — A deep compilation of 2025–2026 benchmarks: a companion-animal vet generates a median $595,000 a year, the average gross margin sits near 29.5%, practice owners have fallen from 26% to 21.3% of vets in two years, and AI scribe use among vets jumped from 3.5% to 17.5% in 14 months.

Community Rallies to Save Sweet Snowy – Terrance's 'Moon, Sun and Stars!' · ~3 min read — After a hit-and-run left puppy Snowy with a broken pelvis and femoral head, her young owner Terrance — who couldn't afford the surgery — watched his whole Karoo village fund the operation, and the two were just reunited after her femoral head ostectomy.

Know an independent practice owner? Forward this.