February 8, 2012 - MVMA Winter Continuing Education Conference

DoubleTree Hotel, Westborough, MA

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TRACK 1 

Infectious Diseases 
6 CE Credits 
Catherine Brown, D.V.M.
Lorraine O'Connor, D.V.M.

Rabies Regulations: An Interactive Approach

 Knowing the Commonwealth's laws and regulations about rabies vaccination and exposures is the responsibility of every veterinarian. The session will challenge you, the audience, to see just how good your knowledge base is. Who must be vaccinated? How should rabies exposures be handled? Are the rules the same for small and large animals? How about non-traditional species? They'll ask the questions, you vote on the answers. Then you get to pose your questions to the folks in charge.

Lisa Saaybe. D.V.M., M.B.A.

Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Including

Canine Infuenza Virus

This program will focus on canine infectious respiratory diseases.  The majority of the focus will be on the newly emerging Canine Influenza Virus, H3N8 including:  origination, incidence and prevalence including current influenza activity in the country, clinical signs, the difficulty and limitations of diagnostics, treatment and prevention.  The second portion of the program will briefly discuss three common respiratory pathogens with a focus on prevention and the immune response generated by vaccination.  We will conclude with managing respiratory infections in the clinic and kennel including topics related to ventilation, isolation and sanitation. 

Richard Goldstein, D.V.M., D.A.C.V.I.M.

Canine Leptospirosis: A Practical Approach to Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention

The current state of knowledge regarding this important disease will be conveyed in a practical and interactive way. Raising awareness of who to test and how best to use and interpret the different available tests will be reviewed. New data regarding the treatment and the prevention of this disease will be presented including outlining a practical vaccine protocol. A wide variety of cases will be presented in an interactive final hour. 

  TRACK 2
sponsored by Rx Vitamins

Integrative Medicine 
 6 CE Credits 

Robert Silver, D.V.M., M.S.

Integrative veterinary medicine (IVM) blends the best diagnostics and therapeutics of conventional veterinary medicine with evidence-based complementary therapies to create a single, cohesive approach to your patient.  This “multi-modal” approach can produce improved clinical outcomes through addressing each patient’s innate healing abilities using dietary therapy, nutraceutical and herbal formulas, as well as using modalities such as acupuncture, manipulative therapies, massage and/or homeopathic therapies.

The first hour of this six hour seminar will introduce the concepts and paradigms and terminology commonly used in the practice of integrative veterinary medicine. A discussion and comparison of a few of the various modalities of IVM  will be presented along with case illustrations and citations from the scientific literature as appropriate throughout this lively lecture; Q&A and discussions are encouraged throughout this 6 hour seminar.

The second hour of this seminar will devote itself to a discussion of the “natural’ diet and why it can help to improve your patients’ health. This hour will help you to answer those difficult questions that we get from clients after they have been to the pet food store involving “grain-free” diets and other commonly held nutritional “myths” of holistic medicine.

The third and fourth hours of this daylong seminar will be devoted to better understanding nutraceutical and botanical therapies, how they are categorized and how they are used. Herb-drug interactions will be covered, as well as the evidence basis for the use of these novel medical tools for your patients. These 2 hours of lecture, and the two hours that follow them are very evidence-based and will provide you with information that is immediately accessible for you to start using the first day that you return to your practice.

The final 2 hours of lecture will cover the topic of the digestive system and its role in the development and expression of the immune system. Intestinal permeability plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic diseases such as allergies, asthma, and chronic GI inflammatory diseases; systems of detoxification of the liver and the intestinal brush border play a supportive role in the pathogenesis of these chronic diseases. These two hours will cover the evidence that supports the role of detoxification and intestinal permeability in promoting chronic disease, as well as provide specific clinical protocols for a number of GI problems such as diarrhea, constipation and vomiting.

Track 3 

Small Ruminant and Camelid Medicine, 
Surgery and Production Medicine
6 CE Credits

 Dusty Nagy, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D., D.A.C.V.I.M.

This lecture will focus on all aspects of small ruminant and camelid production, medicine and surgery. The lecture will start with routine entry level material and progress through more advanced medical, surgical and herd concerns. All lectures with the exception of hours 4 and 5 will cover material on both traditional small ruminants and camelids. 

• Hours 1 and 2 will focus on basic husbandry including handling, restraint, and basic procedures. Considerations for basic herd protocols for routine and preventive care will be discussed.

• Hour 3 will focus on the periparturient dam and neonatal care.

• Hour 4 will focus on diagnosis and control of parasites with a major focus on haemonchosis, meningeal worm, and coccidiosis.

• Hour 5 will focus on medical and surgical diseases of camelids.

• Hour 6 will focus on medical and surgical diseases of sheep and goats.