News Archives, Office of Advancement, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois
News Archives
Summer 2005
- PET ESCAPE ARTISTS
- WCIA Channel 3 (Aug. 29) -- Dr. Allan Paul was a guest on the Morning Show, talking about ways pet owners can be ready to respond in the event that their dog or cat escapes.
- "STRAY" BOA CONSTRICTOR
- WCIA Channel 3 6 o'clock news (Aug. 25) -- Dr. Julia Whittington was interviewed today about a boa constrictor brought to the teaching hospital last night after a local couple discovered it curled up on their car's engine. Unfortunately, it sustained head injuries, and is receiving care here.
- PETS AND CANCER
- Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill., Aug. 24) -- Many pet owners are willing to pay whatever it takes to help an animal they consider part of their family, say Louis Phillippe de Lorimier and Timothy Fan, professors in the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine.
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsliving/241ldcov.htm
- WEST NILE VIRUS AND EAGLES
- The Courier News (Elgin, Ill., Aug. 21) -- In Illinois, county health
departments receive state funding to collect only mosquitoes, American
crows and blue jays - birds that are known to not have built up immunity to
the West Nile virus, causing them to be more likely to die. Positive cases
found in those birds are good indications that the virus is in a certain
area, and therefore it's unnecessary to collect and test all dead bird and
animal species, said Robert Novak, a U. of I. entomologist. In Illinois, an
estimated four bald eagles, including one from a zoo, have died from West
Nile virus in the past four years, said John Andrews, director of the
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Illinois. Losing bald eagles to the
virus is especially disappointing, Novak said, because of the national
symbol's status as a threatened species.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/e21eagle1.htm
- CANINE KNEE PROBLEMS
- The News-Gazette (August 20) -- Dominique Griffon, a professor in the
College of Veterinary Medicine, is trying to find out what makes Labrador
retrievers and some other dog breeds prone to cranial cruciate ligament
deficiency using technology available at the University of Illinois Human
Dynamics and Controls Lab.
http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=18820
- WEST NILE VIRUS AND ZOOS
- The Beacon News (Aurora, Ill., Aug. 19) -- Scientists test wild birds for West Nile and release them before the test results can be read, said John Andrews, the director of the U. of I. veterinary diagnostic laboratory. More than 50 percent of birds are found to carry antibodies for West Nile Virus when tested, according to Andrews' estimate. But that doesn't mean they are sick. "When the flu goes around, you may or may not get sick from it but you would develop antibodies," Andrews said. Even a bird sick with West Nile Virus is unlikely to infect someone. The bird must have a high level of the virus and it must be bitten by a certain kind of mosquito during a specific window of time for a human bitten by the same mosquito to contract the virus, Andrews said.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/city/AU19_EAGLESIDE_S1.htm
- CANINE LYME DISEASE
- Daily Southtown (Tinley Park, Ill.; Aug. 19) -- Roberto Cortinas, a research associate in the department of veterinary pathobiology at Illinois, says ticks, a carrier of the bacteria that causes canine lyme disease, have been found all around the northern Illinois area. Cortinas is working with Yale and Michigan State universities on a nationwide survey to locate high populations of ticks. "It will have an impact on canine lyme disease, Cortinas said. "It's pretty extensive ... our goal is to develop new risk maps for physicians and vets."
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsliving/191ldcov.htm
- LAB LAMENESS
- WCIA Channel 3 (Aug. 17) -- Dr. Dominique Griffon is conducting a clinical trial to investigate cranial cruciate ligament deficiency in Labrador retrievers. She and doctoral student Ayman Mostafa are using the Human Dynamics and Controls Lab, directed by Engineering faculty member Elizabeth Hsiao-Wecksler, to evaluate dogs with and without the condition.
- EMERGENCY RESPONSE
- RFD Illinois Radio (Aug. 8) -- Dr. Larry Firkins spoke about the Illinois Veterinary Emergency Response Team on the RFD Today talk show, a production of the Illinois Farm Bureau.
- WILDLIFE MEDICAL CLINIC
- WILL-AM 580 (Aug. 4) -- Leaders of the Wildlife Medical Clinic talk about their work. An August 11 talk by Joan Embery, hosted by the College, is also mentioned.
http://www.environ.uiuc.edu/EA/EA_2005_8_4.html
- HEREDITARY DISEASE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
- The Statesman (India, Aug. 2) -- Rex Hess and Paul Cooke, professors of veterinary biosciences at Illinois, comment on the results of a Washington State University study that documented epigenetic changes in lab rats.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=a567c1f93b20a3ed69d510be8c7d3ba3&wchp=dGLzVzz-zSkVA&...
- PETS AND VACATION
- The News-Gazette (Aug. 2) -- Dr. Allan Paul, assistant dean for Public Engagement, is quoted in a story about planning for pet care during vacations.
- ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- The News-Gazette (July 28) -- Thomas Gillespie studies how the health of the ecosystem in a Ugandan tropical forest affects the health of its primate residents. He and Tony Goldberg will co-direct a new Emerging Disease & Ecosystem Health program starting in August.
http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=18679
- GENETICS AND CANINE HEART DISEASE
- The News-Gazette (July 24) -- Dr. Mark Oyama and his colleague at the Center for Functional Genomics at the State University of New York at Albany used new technology to study thousands of genes at once and compare differences in the genes of sick and healthy dogs.
http://www.news-gazette.com/localnews/story.cfm?Number=18659
- JOAN EMBERY
- Pet Central on WGN Radio (Saturday, July 16, at 7:30 pm) -- Joan Embery spoke with host Steve Dale about coming to the College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana in August to help promote the College's conservation medicine programs, including Envirovet and the Wildlife Medical Clinic.
- DEPARTMENT HEAD
- The News-Gazette (July 13) -- Dr. Dan Rock, who joined the faculty in March as head of the Department of Pathobiology, was profiled.
- VETERINARY RECRUITING EVENT
- Channel 3 (WCIA) News at 5 (July 12) -- A group of 40 high-achieving high school students from across the nation visited the College to learn more about careers in science and medicine. The group is part of a National Youth Leadership Forum based in Chicago. Kara Osterbur, Class of 2008, was filmed talking about a resident bird of prey from the Wildlife Medical Clinic. The NYLF visit also included a presentation from the Veterinary Student Outreach Program, a talk by Dr. Yvette Johnson, and tours of the teaching hospital.
- STATE BIOSECURITY PLAN
- Channel 3 (WCIA) Morning Show (July 11) -- Dr. Larry Firkins discussed the Illinois Veterinary Emergency Response Team program, a program of the Illinois Department of Agriculture that has provided training to more than 170 veterinarians. Dr. Firkins has worked with the Department of Agriculture on response plans for foreign animal diseases for 7 years.
- WEST NILE VIRUS
- The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill., July 8) - Tests conducted at the College's Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirm the presence of West Nile Virus in a dead crow found in Normal, Ill.
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/070805/new_20050708007.shtml
- CARDIOLOGY
- Innovations Report (Germany, July 6) - Researchers have developed the first molecular portrait of multiple gene activity in diseased heart tissue taken from dogs near death from dilated cardiomyopathy, a disease of large breed dogs. "By better understanding which genes are turned on and which genes are turned off, we can begin to think about manipulating the sequence of events to stop or reverse the disease," said Mark A. Oyama, professor of veterinary clinical medicine.
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-46220.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/07/050709002304.htm
- WEST NILE VIRUS
- Daily Southtown (south suburban Chicago, June 29) -- A three-year research study by the University of Illinois and Michigan State University, funded by the National Science Foundation, seeks a better understanding of why West Nile virus hit south Cook County especially hard in 2002. College faculty Marilyn Ruiz and Uriel Kitron are quoted.
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/yrtwn/swest/291swyt1.htm
- SUMMER PET TIPS
- WKMG-TV (Central Florida, June 23): In a story on preparing pets for dog days of summer, U. of I. veterinary diagnostic lab director John Andrews commented on the country's first case of encephalitis stemming from West Nile virus in a dog last summer in Illinois. Andrews said he suspects most dogs are safe from the disease, but elderly dogs may be at risk.
http://www.local6.com/family/2225425/detail.html
- CONSERVATION MEDICINE
- Science Daily (June 15): Twenty-eight years after intense selective logging stopped in the region now known as Uganda's Kibale National Park, the red-tailed guenon (Cercophithecus ascanius) is a primate still in decline. The results of a study led by Thomas R. Gillespie, a postdoctoral fellow in veterinary pathobiology at Illinois, indicate the logging practice changed the ecological balance for these monkeys, leading to behavioral changes and opening the door for multiple parasitic infections.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/06/050614234805.htm
Also in
http://www.rednova.com/news/science/156039/logging_changed_ecological_balance_for_monkeys_damaged_he...
- ASK THE VET
- Focus 580 (WILL-AM radio, June 6) -- Drs. Steve Marks and Julie Whittington spoke about their work at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and answered callers' questions about companion animal and wildlife care.
- DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORY
- The Blood Horse (The Associated Press, June 2) -- Extra precautions are being taken to ensure Belmont Park is safe for horses running in the June 11 Belmont Stakes because of a suspected case of the contagious respiratory disease strangles. Officials said tests on horses quarantined since May 23 have been conducted by a local laboratory and one at the U. of I. and have come up negative for the disease which is seldom fatal but can sideline a horse for several weeks.
http://news.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=28399
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CBS Sports
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Fox Sports
Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Fla.)
Lexington Dispatch (Ky.)
London Free Press (Ontario, Canada)
Los Angeles Daily News
News Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
Philadelphia Daily News (Pa.)
San Diego Union Tribune (Calif.)
San Francisco Chronicle (Calif.)
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