The IAAAM leadership recently sent a letter of support to Subsecretario Raul Sunico Galdames of Chile regarding the recent Sei whale mass mortality event.
Click here to read the letter.
The IAAAM leadership recently sent a letter of support to Subsecretario Raul Sunico Galdames of Chile regarding the recent Sei whale mass mortality event.
Click here to read the letter.
International Ketamine Rescheduling: Can You Help Us Protect Veterinary Access to this Drug?
It appears that the World Health Organization (WHO) may be considering another proposed change to the international scheduling of ketamine, and the AVMA is seeking your help in asking the FDA to protect veterinarians' access to this critical drug.
In April, we informed you that the WHO had received a proposal from China to regulate ketamine hydrochloride as a Schedule 1 drug. The AVMA, in cooperation with the World Veterinary Association and the World Medical Association, fiercely advocated against this change, because international regulation of ketamine as a Schedule 1 drug could mean that it would no longer be available to U.S. practitioners. As a result of those advocacy efforts, ketamine was not rescheduled at that time.
But this week, on Oct. 5, the FDA issued a request for comments regarding the abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking and impact of scheduling changes on the availability for medical use of 10 drug substances - including ketamine. The comments will be considered as FDA prepares a response to the WHO regarding the abuse liability and diversion of these drugs.
The AVMA is drafting a letter to the FDA that will outline how critical ketamine use is in veterinary medicine and how important it is that it remain available to U.S. veterinarians as we treat our patients. But our voice is made stronger when it is joined by the voices of individual members. So we're requesting your help during this urgent time to reinforce our message.
Will you consider writing to the FDA yourself to explain how critical ketamine is in veterinary medicine and why it must remain available to veterinarians? We've created a template letter that will allow you to personalize your response to make more impact.
Comments are due to the FDA by Oct. 15 – next week – and the FDA's comments will be provided to the 36th Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), which will meet in Geneva Nov. 16-20.
Among the information requested by WHO is the following:
Please submit your comments by Oct. 15 to the FDA regarding your professional use of ketamine and its importance to patient care. Detailed instructions for submitting comments either electronically or on paper can be found here:
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2015/10/05/2015-25201/international-drug-scheduling-convention-on-psychotropic-substances-single-convention-on-narcotic#h-6
Feel free to copy us on your comments to the FDA, as this can also help guide us as we write the AVMA's response. We will post our own letter with comments to the FDA on our website as soon as it's completed.
Thank you in advance for helping us protect veterinarians' ability to continue using ketamine to treat patients. Your voice will make ours even more powerful and effective in advocating on behalf of our member veterinarians and our patients.
Here is the latest edition of CARIBBEAN WATCH, the Caribbean One Health Newsletter which is published by a group of IAAAM members in conjunction with the the European Union's "One Health One Caribbean One Love" Project.
This bill contains a variety of measures and funding support for wildlife and zoological medicine training in vet schools, encouragement for employment, and education debt relief. It was designed to benefit wildlife veterinarians, particularly younger ones, who will practice on a wide variety of captive and free-ranging species.
Click here to view the Bill: https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2015/5/12/extensions-of-remarks-section/article/e675-3
If you support this bill, now would be a good time to contact your representative.
Dear Colleagues,
The Food and Drug Administration is in the process of revising the rules under which compounding pharmacies operate. Some of their suggested changes may adversely affect the ability of our members in “non-domestic animal medicine” to practice quality medicine. The AAZV will be attending a small stakeholders meeting with the FDA in Washington on 15 or 16 July, and we want to have as much useful information as we can for the meeting. With coaching by the AVMA’s Washington based Government Relations Division, we have developed a survey for veterinarians who practice zoo, wildlife, aquatic, avian and exotic animal medicine.
You may view the survey by following this link:
http://www.aazv.org/surveys/?id=CompoundedAnimalDrugs
We have three specific requests.
The survey is in the public section of the AAZV Web site, so non-members of AAZV may take the survey.
We thank you for your immediate attention to this pressing issue.
Robert Hilsenroth, DVM
Executive Director
American Association of Zoo Veterinarians
rhilsenrothaazv@aol.com
(904)225-3275
The Medway Fund is part of the IAAAM 501(c)3, so all or part of your donation is tax deductible. The fund is still in need of donations to support student research. Please click on the DONATE tab under Education on the main IAAAM website to donate.
"Scientists examining a taxonomically confused group of marine mammals have officially named a species new to science: the Australian humpback dolphin, Sousa sahulensis, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society and Clymene Enterprises."
Click here for the rest of the story...
Since the original killer whale necropsy and disease testing protocol was drafted 2004, considerable advances have been made in defining pathologic processes in stranded killer whales and assessing their potential impact on individual and population health. Case definitions for forensic investigations have been refined and special studies to assess the impact of sound on ear ultrastructural anatomy have been developed. These protocols will be invaluable with suspect blast or sonar related strandings. The killer whale necropsy and tissue sampling protocol was updated to reflect these scientific advancements, further refine and standardize tissue sample collection and identify research personal who may assist with stranding incidents.
The protocol is available for download at: http://www.seadocsociety.org/?s=killer+whale+necropsy
Please take a moment to read over the 2013 IAAAM business meeting minutes prior to the 2014 IAAAM Business Meeting as you will be asked to approve them if correct.
The IAAAM Executive Board and Student Liaison Committee would like to congratulate the following recipients of the 2014 Student Travel Award: