In Short
CDC bans dogs from Egypt because of rabies concerns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a temporary ban on dogs imported to the U.S. from Egypt on May 10, effective immediately. In a Federal Register notice, the agency cites an increase in the instances of dogs that contracted rabies in Egypt being brought to the U.S. during recent years.
The suspension will remain until "appropriate veterinary controls" have been established in Egypt to prevent the export of rabid dogs, according to the notice.
The ban includes dogs originating in Egypt that are imported from third-party countries if the dogs have been present in those countries for less than six months.
In 2017, Operation Dog Catcher was launched after agents from Customs and Border Protection and the CDC and Department of Agriculture veterinarians identified more-frequent large shipments of puppies at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. The operation discovered smuggling operations where dogs from overseas "puppy mills" are shipped to the U.S. as rescue dogs, then sold to the public online or on social media under false or misleading information claiming they were bred in the U.S., according to a CDC blog post.
The CDC estimates that each year 100,000 dogs are imported from countries with a high risk of variants of canine rabies virus. Since 2015, three rabid dogs have been imported into the United States, and all were from Egypt, some with falsified health paperwork.
Elanco buys drug maker, expands specialty sales
Elanco is buying pet drug developer Aratana Therapeutics with plans to make and sell a canine lymphoma drug developed by VetDC, according to an April 26 announcement.
Along with those agreements, Elanco is forming a team to sell products to specialty veterinary practices.
The stock-based purchase of Aratana will be worth between $234 million and $245 million, depending on product sales by the end of 2021, according to an Elanco announcement. In a 2016 agreement, Elanco secured rights to make and sell Aratana's canine nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Galliprant, and the purchase of Aratana will give Elanco control over two more products: Entyce, an appetite stimulant for dogs, and Nocita, a local anesthetic for treating post-surgical pain in dogs and cats.
In December 2016, Food and Drug Administration officials gave conditional approval for VetDC's chemotherapy drug Tanovea-CA1, a rabacfosadine product for treating lymphoma in dogs.
Education council schedules site visits
The AVMA Council on Education has scheduled site visits to six schools and colleges of veterinary medicine for the remainder of 2019.
Comprehensive site visits are planned for Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Oct. 13-17; Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Nov. 3-7; Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, Nov. 17-21; and the University of Montreal Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Dec. 8-12.
Consultative site visits are planned for the University of Liverpool Institute of Veterinary Science, Sept. 29-Oct. 3, and University of Cambridge Department of Veterinary Science, Dec. 1-5.
The council welcomes written comments on these plans or the programs to be evaluated. Comments should be addressed to Dr. Karen Martens Brandt, Director, Education and Research Division, AVMA, 1931 N. Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, IL 60173. Comments must be signed by the person submitting them to be considered.
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