Abbey Veterinary Centre is part of the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET), a joint initiative set up by the University of Liverpool and the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA). By surveying our consultations it allows us to monitor trends in diseases as well as different treatment outcomes at both a practice and national level. We are pleased to report that we have received a certificate of contribution to the most recent publication from SAVSNET.
As some of you may know, last year in the early spring an outbreak of prolific vomiting in dogs swept through the UK. As a practice we noticed a substantial increase in consultations for vomiting and were hearing reports from colleagues in other practices that the same thing was happening there too. SAVSNET picked up on this upward trend immediately and the true extent of it was realised. Numbers were up to five times the normal amount as it was ultimately established that a canine enteric coronavirus (completely unrelated to that which causes COVID-19) was the underlying cause.
By gathering data from veterinary practices across the UK, SAVSNET were then able to advise us on how to recognise this from other causes of vomiting and how best to treat it. In this case, most animals were vomiting upwards of five times in a 12 hour period. Luckily, patients only required minor treatment to help alleviate their symptoms (rather than intensive hospitalisation) and made excellent recoveries. By having this data it enabled us to make appropriate decisions in our treatment plans and ensured responsible prescribing of medications.
As a practice we are delighted that our contributions to the investigation of this outbreak have been acknowledged. We will continue to be a part of SAVSNET going forward to ensure early recognition and intervention with any future outbreaks, as well as using the data collected to enable us to provide the best standard of care for our patients.
