Primula, a company who primarily produce various flavours of soft cheese, have recently recalled a number of their products due to fears they could contain Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria which can cause botulism. We are aware that many dog owners use these cheese spreads as training aids, as such you may [...]
With the recent ban on menthol (and other flavoured) cigarettes, there is an anticipated uptake in e-cigarette usage in the UK. Along with their increased popularity, these devices are readily accessible to pets. These battery-powered devices simulate tobacco smoking, and provide users with an endless choice in the strength of [...]
National Meadows Day is an annual celebration of wildflower meadows across the UK. The event takes place annually on or around the first Saturday of the month, which this year falls on the 4th July 2020. Around this time of year we tend to get an increase in the number [...]
Over the last couple of months, we have seen more than 5 times the number of enquiries regarding uncooked bread dough ingestion in dogs compared to the same period this time last year. Given the increased demand for bread flour and other baking ingredients reported by supermarkets in the UK, this is [...]
We were planning to attend the congress of the European Association of Poison Centres and Clinical Toxicologists (EAPCCT) in Tallinn, but it was cancelled due to the pandemic. The abstracts for the congress have been published, however, and are available to view online. Our abstracts are: Animal PoisonLine: review of a [...]
In the UK, slugs are active most of the year, but their activity is particularly prominant in the upcoming months- meaning cases of molluscicide posioning are likely to increase. Metaldehyde is a common ingredient of molluscicide preparations and is toxic to dogs. It is most commonly ingested in the form of [...]
As with previous years, VPIS tends to see a spike in calls concerning adders in the spring and, as the weather has been heating up recently, we have definitely seen an increase in adder bite cases being reported to us. The European adder, Vipera berus berus, is the only venomous snake [...]
This year, 1st June marks the beginning of Rabbit Awareness Week (RAW) 2020. The focus of this year’s RAW is to raise awareness around Rabbit Viral Haemorrhagic Disease 2 (RVHD2), an often fatal new variant of RVHD1. Many rabbits are left at risk of this disease, due to owners choosing [...]
We are very grateful to all the vets who are using our services during the pandemic, especially Animal PoisonLine. We hope that our support with triaging these often challenging cases has helped you reduce the number of face to face consultations. Many owners are now aware of APL (and therefore [...]
Metaldehyde toxicosis in dogs is characterised by prolonged seizure activity and it is a common cause of seizures in poisoned dogs. Management can be difficult and often several sedatives or anaesthetic agents are required to control seizures and prevent the onset of complications such as pyrexia and multiorgan failure. Treatment [...]
