News Archives, Office of Advancement, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

U of I logo College of Veterinary Medicine

News Archives

Winter 2004 Spring 2004 Summer 2004 Fall 2004
Winter 2005 Spring 2005 Summer 2005 Fall 2005
Winter 2006 Spring 2006 Summer 2006 Fall 2006
Winter 2007 Spring 2007 Summer 2007 Fall 2007
Winter 2008 Spring 2008 Summer 2008 Fall 2008
Winter 2009 Spring 2009

Winter 2007

'MYSTERY' BUCK
Chicago Sun-Times (Feb. 21) -- A non-typical buck shot in Vermilion County was brought to the U. of I. and examined by Dr. Cliff Shipley.
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/outdoors/265561,CST-SPT-oside21.article

ELBOW DYSPLASIA
Champlain Islander (Vermont, Feb. 9) -- According to Dominique Griffon, a professor in the department of veterinary clinical medicine at Illinois, the elbow joint in a dog is a very mobile joint and is utilized by dogs for many movements other than walking.
http://champlainislander.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2646&Itemid=58

VETERINARY OPHTHALMOLOGY
WCIA TV Morning Show (Feb 5) -- Dr. Carrie Breaux discussed the role of the veterinary ophthalmologist in animal health.

CHOOSING A DOG TRAINER
News-Gazette (Jan. 30) -- Dr. Marcella Ridgway is quoted extensively on her suggestions for evaluating a prospective dog trainer. "People need to realize that no dog comes ready-made for you," she said. "I'm amazed at how many people get a dog and expect it to be trained already."

ECOLOGY OF DISEASE
New Scientist (London, Jan. 27) -- Tourists on chimpanzee safaris appear to be sharing more than fleeting glances with the apes. A study in western Uganda provides what the researchers say is the strongest evidence yet that humans are passing potentially dangerous intestinal bacteria to the chimps. A team led by Thomas Gillespie, a professor of pathobiology at Illinois, found bacteria resistant to antibiotics used by humans in fecal samples collected from chimps.
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg19325885.000

PhysOrg.com (Amsterdam, Netherlands, Feb. 23) -- U. of I. scientists have found that people employed in chimpanzee-focused research and tourism in a park in western Uganda are exchanging gastrointestinal bacteria - specifically Escherichia coli - with local chimpanzee populations. And some of the E. coli strains migrating to chimps are resistant to antibiotics used by humans in Uganda, says Tony Goldberg, a professor of veterinary pathobiology and the principal investigator of the study.
http://www.physorg.com/news91374218.html
*Also:
HULIQ.com (Hickory, N.C., Feb. 23)
http://www.huliq.com/12221/e-coli-bacteria-migrating-between-humans
Biology News Net (Quebec City, Quebec, Feb. 23)
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2007/02/23/e_coli_bacteria_migrating_between_humans_chimps_in_ug...
Medical News Today (Bexhill-on-Sea, England, Feb. 26)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=63676
United Press International (Feb. 26)
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/E_coli_migrating_between_chimps_humans/Science/20070226-093629-1862r/

'ONE MEDICINE' PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN VETERINARIANS AND PHYSICI
WILL-AM 580 (January 22) -- On Monday, January 22, at 10 am, Dr. John Herrmann, veterinary clinical medicine, and Dr. Laura Kahn, a general internist and a member of the research staff in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, were guests on Focus 580, a call-in radio show on WILL-AM 580. Dr. Herrmann was an organizer and Dr. Kahn a speaker at the colloquium on "One Medicine: The Interface of Human, Animal & Public Health" held January 9 and 10.

CAT STUDY EXAMINES PARASITES
News-Gazette (Jan. 21) -- College faculty and students Milt McAllister, Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, and Emily Jewell are cited in a story about a study conducted by the Illinois Natural History Survey to examine free-ranging cats to track the spread of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/u_of_i/2007/01/21/on_the_trail_of_cats_and_a_parasite_that_can_be_s...

The Associated Press dispatch of this story also appeared in:
Waukegan (Illinois) News-Sun (Feb. 12)
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/253208,5_1_WA12_ILLCATSTUDY_S1.article
Journal Gazette and Times-Courier (Mattoon and Charleston, Ill.)
Northwest Indiana Times (Munster)
The Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, Ill.)

DAIRY LECTURES
FarmWeek (Bloomington, Ill., Jan. 17) -- Properly managed and maintained free stalls are essential to ensure cow comfort and cleanliness, and to reduce injuries, according to Richard Wallace, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at Illinois, who spoke at the recent Illinois Dairy Days program held in Eureka.
http://farmweek.ilfb.org/viewdocument.asp?did=9888&drvid=114&r=0.5626795

HOUSE-TRAINING OF DOGS
The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill., Jan. 9) -- Dr. Julie Byron, veterinary clinical medicine, is cited as a source of information on house-training dogs.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/01/09/life/doc45a3c8ba99fab680269950.txt

PET THERAPY
Central Illinois Health Magazine (January) -- Linda Case, adjunct professor, is quoted in the cover story about the benefits for nursing home residents when companion animals visit.

DOG OBESITY
Chicago Tribune (Jan. 5) -- Thomas Graves, the head of small animal medicine in the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine and a consultant to Pfizer on Slentrol, first U.S.-approved prescription weight-loss drug for dogs, called it a very encouraging development "because obesity is such an important medical issue for dogs."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/chi-070105fat-dogs,1,4591219.story?coll=chi-news-...

'ONE MEDICINE'
Freeport Journal-Standard (Dec. 30) -- John Herrmann, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at Illinois, says as recognition of the interconnections between human and animal health has grown, so has the call for greater collaboration between the veterinary and human medical communities and for the return to a concept of "one medicine." The U. of I.'s College of Veterinary Medicine is now taking the lead in creating the Illinois Center for One Medicine, which will combine excellence in research, training and public engagement for issues associated with animal, ecosystem and human health.
http://www.journalstandard.com/articles/2006/12/31/opinion/opinion99.txt

HEAVY METAL CONTAMINATION
The Nation (Kenya, Dec. 29) -- An old dumpsite within the Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya is suspected to be the source of chromium and other heavy metals blamed for the death of some birds and mammals. According to research findings compiled by the Department of Veterinary Biosciences at the University of Illinois, elevated trace elements in soil, vegetation and animal tissues at the Lake Nakuru National Park were consistent with pollution where considerable dumping took place in the 1970s before the area was annexed to the park.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=4680e8d0ab0244346927870aba1c89aa&wchp=dGLbVzW-zSkVA&...

PETS AND HOLIDAYS
WICD TV Channel 15 News (December 21) -- Tune in tonight to hear Dr. Marcella Ridgway advise owners on ways to keep their pets healthy and happy over the holidays.

WILDLIFE MEDICAL CLINIC
WCIA TV Morning Show (December 20) -- Stacy Burdick, a second-year veterinary student who is a co-manager of the Wildlife Medical Clinic, brought two patients, a northern saw-whet owl that has nerve damage in one wing and a red-eared slider turtle that had a fractured shell and limb paralysis, on the Morning Show.

HORSE OBESITY
WCIA TV Morning Show (December 19) -- Angela Yates, a veterinary student who serves as co-president of the Illinois student chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, spoke about the problem of horse obesity.

POINSETTIAS AND PETS
The Pantagraph (Bloomington, Ill., Dec. 18) -- Petra Volmer, the director of the veterinary clinical toxicology program at Illinois and a U. of I. professor of veterinary biosciences, says it's an urban myth that poinsettias and Christmas catcus are deadly, but they will make a pet sick. "If your pet does ingest these plants, back them off food for a day to calm their stomachs," she said.
http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2006/12/18/life/doc45870e177416d948384140.txt

FROG FACTS
Compendium (December 2006) -- The "Web Sights" section of this publication mentions the Enviromvet program and cites Dr. Val Beasley's interview about the decline in amphibian populations at the Web site www.midwestfrogs.com.
(Available online only to subscribers at http://www.compendiumvet.com/)

COMPANION ANIMAL Q & A
WILL-AM 580 (December 13) -- Drs. Julie Whittington and Julie Byron, both from the small animal medicine section of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, took calls from listeners on Focus 580.

SURGERY RESEARCH
AAHA NEWStat (Dec. 13) -- A study initiated by Kathleen Ham, DVM, a surgical resident at the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital, will gauge the efficacy of an assay used preoperatively to localize abnormal parathyroid glands with ultrasound. Once location of the malfunctioning gland is identified, doctors remove it and use the assay again to measure hormone levels in the blood.
http://newsmanager.commpartners.com/aaha2/issues/2006-12-13/index.html

PET SAFETY
InsideBayArea.com (Calif., Dec. 11) -- The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at Illinois's college of veterinary medicine, lists tips for keeping pets out of danger during the holiday season.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_4814917

HOLIDAY PET SAFETY
WCIA TV Morning Show (December 4) -- Dr. Melissa Riensche, small animal internal medicine resident, advised pet owners on ways to keep pets healthy and happy over the holidays.