Showsight March 2017

THOUGHTS I HAD DRIVING HOME FROM THE DOG SHOW

by CAROLINE COILE

S ometimes we’re so busy wringing our hands about dog show entries going down and judging application processes changing and all the politics of dogs we forget to notice how much things are actually improving. Nowhere is it more evident than in the field of veterinary science and research. Many of these studies were funded by breed clubs, the AKC Canine Health Foundation or even individual dog lov- ers. So I thought I’d go back to my roots of canine science and medicine report- ing and give you an update. The follow- ing advances have been made in only the past few months: NEW FLU

“THE FOLLOWING ADVANCES HAVE BEEN MADE IN ONLY THE PAST FEW MONTHS...”

of protection. The vaccines use geneti- cally engineered live flu virus that rep- licates in the dog’s nose but not lungs. Generating an immune response in the nose, where the virus first enters the body, stops the invader in its tracks. The researchers found the live vaccine was safe and able to induce better immune protection against H3N8 canine influ- enza than a commercially available inactivated vaccine. A second live vaccine was created by removing a protein called NS1 from H3N8 canine influenza virus. Remov- ing this protein significantly weakens flu viruses so they elicit an immune response, but don’t cause illness.

more effective than the only currently available inactivated vaccine.

Reference: Aitor Nogales, et al. “A temperature sensitive live-attenuated canine influenza virus H3N8 vaccine.” Journal of Virology, 2016; JVI.02211-16. NEW TREAT- MENT FOR HEMANGIO- SARCOMA Hemangiosarcoma strikes fear into the

VACCINES FOR DOGS

Scientists at the University of Roches- ter School of Medicine

CURRENT ADVANCES IN heart of any dog owner. It is a cancer of the cells that make up the blood vessel lining. In about half the cases it starts in the spleen, but it also occurs in the heart and liver, and less commonly in the lungs, kidneys, mouth, muscle, bone, brain and bladder. It can also occur in the skin, but is less aggressive in that case. With direct contact to the blood supply, it metastasizes quickly VETERINARY RESEARCH and Dentistry have developed two new vaccines for canine influenza. Current flu vaccines use inactivated or killed flu virus, but provide only short-term, limited protection. The new vaccines are “live-attenuated” vaccines against H3N8 canine influenza virus, which is currently circulating in dogs in the US. These vaccines provide better immune responses and longer periods The group has also created a live- attenuated vaccine for the H3N2 canine influenza virus, which was introduced in the United States in 2015. Early results show the H3N2 live-attenuated vaccine is able to protect against the H3N2 canine influenza virus and is

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