Page 6 - Winter 13

BAHVS President’s Letter by Mark Elliott
From a presidential point of view it has been a pretty quiet time, which has been quite a relief after organising the June Conference. Work con- tinues of the BAHVS Research Database, and our ever-enthusiastic sec- retary Stuart [Marston] has done the bulk of the organising for our Spring Meeting in London, as well as keeping the committee working smoothly. Our website attracts some 1200 views a month now, and grows in impor- tance to BAHVS, more work will as always be put into this as keeping things fresh is key to any site’s success.
BSAVA published an article “Homeopathy, an undiluted debate” in its Companion publication of Sept 2013. I protested the one-sidedness of this article to the Editor as no-one with an understanding of Homeopathy was referenced and found myself being interviewed for a piece in the same publication that came out in November. The resulting article, I hope, has done us a lot of good as a community, and I have had some very pleasant feedback since. BSAVA [British Small Animal Veterinary Association] is formulating its position statement on Homeopathy, so it was all somewhat timely, I feel.
Position statements are interesting documents as they set down the current position for a membership organisation, and as a member there is a presumption that you will broadly agree with those. This is why I have made my views clear at the RCVS [Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons], whenever the Homeopathic debate comes up. It is important that BAHVS and Homeopathy is represented and has a voice in the wider profession, and Brendan [Clarke] is similarly on the case at BVA [British Veterinary Association]. Being part of those bodies, one cannot be seen to bang a drum for any one side of a debate without declaring an interest, but that is fine, and just being there and being seen to be part of things is so use- ful. I step down from RCVS in 2015, as I will not be standing for re-elec- tion having done 12 years by then. It would be great if another BAHVS member would stand and be there “just in case” to present an informed view. The commitment in time will be much less onerous, now the reform
of the RCVS is proceeding, maybe 6 or so days per year. If anyone wants to speak to me about maybe standing for election then call me anytime.
Whilst on the matter of positions,
and evidence bases, it’s worth noting
the WSAVA Guidelines on vaccination
being widely publicised, and that part of the panel that has led on this is the current BSAVA President. It’s nice to be vindicated after all the mud that was thrown at those, who signed the letter to the profession in 2003 highlighting the issues. Fascinating, isn’t it, that members of this organ- isation have led on nutraceuticals and similar for years, often taking flak as well, and now the wider profession is embracing these in response to an increasingly informed public, and as the profession cannot compete with the internet/superstores over drug sales and food supply. Many of us actively promote BARF for dogs and cats, and if you haven’t discovered it yet look at www.dogfoodanalysis.com, which has a lot of information on formulations of prescription and other foods marked up as “veterinary approved”. I doubt it will be long, before BARF becomes the norm.
On a less political note, after Geoff’s [Johnson] lecture at Conference 2013 on Cancer, I have been trying the Banerji protocols in routine 10 min appointments in practice with some really positive and pleasing results. Well worth a look if you haven’t already. And if you want lots of CAM comment and links for your Facebook page, just follow Malene, as she does a good job of collecting good posts.
It would be remiss of me to end without mentioning the passing of Francis Hunter, a pioneer for Veterinary Homeopathy and a wonderful person in every respect, he will be missed.
Have a great 2014, and see you in London and Leeds.
Regional Stenosing Eosinophilic Enteritis in a Birman – a case of Vaccinosis? by Jenny White, Austral;ia
“Baskin”, a 5 year old desexed male Birman, was presented for routine vaccination on 8/12/01 and was given a killed Feline 3 vaccine (herpes, calici, panleukopaenia). On 22/12/01 he presented with acute multiple vomiting overnight. On abdominal palpation there was no discomfort and no palpable abnormalities. He hadn’t vomited for several hours and seemed otherwise normal so no treatment was given.
On 24/12/01 “Baskin” was presented, because he hadn’t eaten or drunk for 24 hours and was lethargic. There had been no further vomiting. He was very uncomfortable on intes- tinal palpation and a small mass was palpable in the mid abdomen. An exploratory laparotomy was performed and revealed an intestinal for- eign body proximal to a stenosis in the distal ileum. An 8 cm length of ileum was resected and anastomosed as it was fibrosed and had a very narrow lumen. The foreign body was solid fur. This should have passed easily without the presence of a stenosis.
The histopathological diagnosis was
chronic eosinophilic enteritis with fibrosis and hyperplasia extending into the mesentery. When there is a stenosis, the recommended treatment is surgical excision. There is a high incidence of recurrence, so medical therapy in the form of high dose corticosteroids is recom- mended. The client wasn’t keen on this, so we decided to try a diet of fresh meat and dry “Hairball Control” food to hopefully prevent the fur from accumulating.
“Baskin” was really well until 1/3/02, when he started vomiting and went off his food. An intestinal mass could be palpated, so a laparo- tomy was performed. This time there was no stenosis but there was another furball lodged at the site of the previous anastomosis. An entero- tomy was performed to remove the obstruction. Presumably a short length of ileum had reduced motility allowing the fur to obstruct.
At suture removal 10 days later a single dose of Thuja 1M was given on the basis of this being a probable vaccinosis and also a sycotic disease. This was followed 1week later by Silica
30 daily for 7 days. “Baskin” has a Silica con- stitution (thin, chilly, mild disposition, easily startled, anxious about noise), but in any case, Silica would be a good choice for feline vacci- nosis and for fibrosis.
“Baskin” is now 17 years old and in good health. His diet gradually became quite eclectic with no recurrence of serious intestinal issues. A paraffin based laxative and the occasional dose of Silica was given, if he was a bit off his food. Needless to say, he was never vaccinated again.
This was one of my very early cases. Silica is such a great remedy for novices!
4