Animal care in times of Coronavirus

[dturm]

We've gotten a lot of information from national organizations (AAHA, AVMA), state organization (IVMA) and local health dept. There are webinars going on daily. What your vet does probably depends on local severity and state regulations but we've been in contact with Dr. Hall (now runs our former hospital) and these are the new normal conditions:

No client is allowed in the hospital.

Animals are retrieved from the car by a hospital employee.

All communications are done by phone.

Routine surgeries have been cancelled.

As many problems are being solved via telemedicine as possible, many things can be addresses by phone with extensive q&a between doctor/tech and client.

The state mandates that if any hospital personnel turns up positive for corona, the hospital must close for 2 weeks, personnel self quarantine and thorough hospital disinfection performed (that's done usually twice daily anyway with individual exam room disinfection after each patient).

This all means that veterinarians are going to have to work together between hospitals in case one has to close. It also means that people are going to have to be cooperative in dealing with these new normals.

BTW, it looks like I'm going to be called back to help work through the surgery backlog as soon as things lighten up a little. I guess things could be worse.

Dr. Doug

[Cristian123]

liamricci wrote:
In times of ticks it is not less easy...

It's true. Every summer I worry about fleas and ticks though I buy Advantage Multi on the Pet express site for my cat.
As for times of Coronavirus, we were keeping the cat out of the wife's isolation area as we didn't need a sick cat with anyone well enough to take her to the vet.

[liamricci]

In times of ticks it is not less easy...

[dturm]

We're pretty much back to normal with all employees wearing masks. Clients are encouraged to wear them, but not required. As with many businesses, veterinarians are dealing with difficulties in finding employees.

[BCSnob]

High speed internet (in Maryland) is an issue for my ability to work from home; my best option is using my cellphone as a hot spot. My employer is considered essential; starting tomorrow I’ll be working from home on the days I’m not in the lab collecting data.

[colliehauler]

Lwiddis wrote:
On line learning for those families with high speed internet and a computer?

The school furnishing the laptop. High speed is a issue in some low population counties they are trying to address with hotspots.

[pasusan]

Thanks for your explanation, Dr. Doug.

That is weird about rabies... Didn't even know it was a virus.

[dturm]

I guess a little short course in infectious disease, virology and zoonosis would be helpful.

For the most part viruses are species specific, meaning that they can only cause disease in that species or very close relatives. Dog viruses are dog viruses and don't infect cats or people. One major exception is rabies, it can infect just about every warm blooded animal.

When a virus from one species that normally doesn't infect another species mutates it can jump from one species to another. That's probably what happened here. Right now the suspect is the pangolin. They way that they figure these things out is by genetic mapping. They can compare the genetic composition and how it's changed.

They can actually trace back human to human transmission of the virus by statistically evaluating mutation rates and changes in the genome (this is way beyond my training and knowledge, but I know it's done).

I don't know enough about bats to add to this discussion, but it is true that bats carry rabies for long periods.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

pasusan wrote:

Since it is thought that this virus started with bats and/or those armadillo-like animals in Asia... What is different about them that they can have it and supposedly our pets can't?

IMWTK...

I'm not a Vet - but have read that bats don't have the normal immune response "inflammation/attack by antibodies" to "germs" that most mammals have, because inflammation = swelling = weight gain; and then they wouldn't be able to fly. So this is why bats can carry rabies, and not get sick from it? I can't address pangolins (the armored anteater-like animals). And of course we are lucky to have other people on this forum who know a LOT more about this than I do....

[pasusan]

Thanks for the update on veterinary hospitals.

I have a question about pets and if they are able to get this.

Since it is thought that this virus started with bats and/or those armadillo-like animals in Asia... What is different about them that they can have it and supposedly our pets can't?

IMWTK...

[Toolguy5]

The Governor of Ohio has been giving updates everyday as well as the Head Doctor of the state. Here in Ohio we have about 250 reported cases, but testing is limited.

[Lwiddis]

On line learning for those families with high speed internet and a computer?

[colliehauler]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
“very few cases in KS”

Because test kits are still in short supply everywhere.

Yeah, Colliehauler - don't be lulled by numbers. I just found out that Brevard County ("Space Coast") in FL JUST started testing this week - and had only done 21 tests by Thursday. We went from zero to 658 as of today - simply because they finally have test kits available. And the Spring Breakers will be bringing home more than a suntan for all their partying....

Sorry for highjacking the thread, Dr Doug. 8-month old Augie is happy to hear that he will be keeping his testicles for a while.....

We have one advantage over the East and West coast population density is less here. We still have the same protocol as the large cities. In fact KS was the first state to cancel school for the rest of the year and go to online learning.

[dturm]

No fears about hijacking threads, we all need a place to share fears or information.

Regarding numbers of cases, one of my posts else where has documented our county statistics (Lake County, IN) In the matter of a week, we went from 1 to 3 to 6 to 7 yesterday. That's with no testing except for the stringent previous CDC guidelines. One suspect waiting for results was a school bus monitor and letter to two or three elementry schools were sent out.

This is why vet hospitals are taking drastic actions.

BTW, I caught the tail end of a report where a veterinary hospital (Probably Angell Memorial in Boston) had donated or lent all their ventilators to Tufts Medical Center.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Lwiddis wrote:
“very few cases in KS”

Because test kits are still in short supply everywhere.

Yeah, Colliehauler - don't be lulled by numbers. I just found out that Brevard County ("Space Coast") in FL JUST started testing this week - and had only done 21 tests by Thursday. We went from zero to 658 as of today - simply because they finally have test kits available. And the Spring Breakers will be bringing home more than a suntan for all their partying....

Sorry for highjacking the thread, Dr Doug. 8-month old Augie is happy to hear that he will be keeping his testicles for a while.....