As post-performance drug testing methods become more sensitive, racehorse and show horse owners, veterinarians, handlers, and trainers have become more aware that positive drug tests could be the result of inadvertent contamination of the horse with chemicals present in the environment. Cynthia Kollias-Baker, DVM, PhD, director of the Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida, recently

The introduction of antimicrobial drugs to veterinary medicine has made a dramatic improvement in the health of our horses, but it’s alarming when infections do not respond to these drugs. “It is not a new phenomenon, but there has been ever-growing concern about antimicrobial resistance,” said Josie Traub-Dargatz, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, of Colorado State University, in her presentation at the

Three farm-raised alligators from Central Florida have tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV), according to officials at the University of Florida (UF) College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). This is the first time the virus has affected U.S. reptiles. Multiple agencies were involved in the diagnosis, including the CVM, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Florida

The American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) has recently revised and redesigned 21 client education brochures with the support of Bayer Animal Health and Purina Mills. The brochures are available to veterinarians and come in packages of 25 at a low cost. According to Dana Roberts, AAEP’s Owner Education Coordinator, several other brochures are in the works and will be available in

Government veterinary officials recently designated West Nile virus (WNV) as an endemic disease in the United States. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Veterinary Services (VS) previously had considered WNV a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD), since it had never been detected in the United States prior to 1999. (Read more about WNV at