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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 4d

New World Screwworm (NWS).

Nasty, gross, re-emerging, but fortunately it doesn't like Canadian weather.

A NWS primer for Canadians.

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/10/arti...

New World screwworm...a primer for Canadian vet

I remember the first fly my myiasis (fly strike, maggot infestation) case in general practice. I was a very new grad called to look at a lamb owned by

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 8d

I don't usually put up my talks (in part since I hate watching myself) but here's a quick one from a @walrus event about the complexities and nuances regarding antibiotics in animals, and the need to focus on health.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dL5...

Dr. Scott Weese: Antibiotics are Overused in Animals

YouTube video by The Walrus

www.youtube.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 11d

Oh Darwin's...why do we have to do this again?

FDA has yet again issued an advisory about Salmonella and Listeria contamination of Darwin's raw pet food.

The company has, yet again, not recalled the diet.

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Darwin’s Pet Food Contamination…again

Oh Darwin’s….here we go again. Yet again, the FDA has issued a “Do not feed certain lots of Darwin’s Natural Pet Products” warning. It’s a pretty regular

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 12d

More details and thoughts, along with preventive measures, in the full post.

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

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H5N1 in cats fed raw pet food…again

The H5N1 influenza situation in North America has been quieter lately (apart from ostriches, but that’s a different story). There’s been less spillover

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 12d

Fatal H5N1 influenza in 2 more cats fed a commercial raw diet.

Diet investigation is underway but it's the logical source for indoor cats.

Rare issue or rarely diagnosed? Probably a bit of both but I assume the known cases are the vast minority.

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 18d

3/3
www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Salmonellosis in people linked to pet food and/or treats, Canada

I’ve had a lot of questions about the somewhat (and understandably) vague Public Health Agency of Canada Public Health Notice about salmonellosis linked

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 18d

Risk order for those is probably dehydrated diets > freeze dried treats > kibble but all are possible and no common product or manufacturer has been identified.

Take home message?
Same as ever. Avoid higher risk diets/treats and use good hygiene are food/feces.
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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 18d

Salmonellosis in people linked to pet food and/or treats, Canada .

PHAC warning about S. Oranienburg in 27 ppl, with 6 hospitalizations (and presumably a few hundred undiagnosed).

Tentative link to pet food or treats...kibble, dehydrated diets and/or freeze dried treats
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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · 25d

Gave a keynote address✔️
Met a British royal✔️
Got in the middle of a dog attack✔️
Talked to Birmingham police.✔️

Eventful 48h trip to the UK. More details below, with a focus on the dog bite aspect, obviously.

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Dog Attack in the UK

Yesterday, I was in Birmingham, UK, giving a keynote address at the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress (and HRH Princess Anne was in the

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Sep 4

The company letter and my critique are here...

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

Raw food contamination, deflection and denial

I recently wrote about an FDA notice about H5N1 contamination of RAWR pet food that killed a cat (and likely sickened others, but that’s a guess). A sharp

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Sep 4

FDA issues notice about fatal H5N1 flu infection in a cat linked to a raw diet and the company responds.

Apologetic?
Not really.

Accept that there’s an issue?
No.

Indicate what they are doing in response to this problem to prevent problems in the future?
No.

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Sep 4

Another cat death linked to H5N1 contaminated raw pet food.

Not surprising, unfortunately, and it's likely that other cats were affected since multiple lots were involved.

Raw food associated H5N1 infection is deadly but preventable.

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/09/arti...

H5N1 in raw pet food…out of sight but still killing

H5N1 avian influenza has dropped of the media radar lately (apart from the BC ostrich debacle, but that’s a separate story). That doesn’t mean it’s gone

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 29

We can't eradicate feral cats. If you kill all the cats in this colony, new ones will move in. Depopulation doesn't work for this type of situation. Improving vaccine coverage and human interactions will be more effective.

Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 29

Depopulation is rarely the answer for healthy animals. The colony didn't have rabies, 1 cat (that's dead) did. If we kill those cats, they will be replaced v quickly. Vaccinating them is more effective.

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 28

Rabies in an unmanaged cat colony.

No human cases but a large investigation.

Cat colonies aren't going away so we should manage them better. The amount of $ spent for this investigation could have covered a lot of spay/neuter/vaccination.
www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 28

New update for Firstline OVC-CPHAZ...open access antimicrobial prescribing guidance for dogs and cats.

firstline.org/ovc-cphaz/

OVC-CPHAZ

Acknowledgements This initiative was based on the Stewardship of Antimicrobials for Veterinarians Initiative (SAVI), led by the Cana...

firstline.org

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 26

Raw pet diets containing what we expect raw pet diets to contain...pathogens.

But, this one was found so there's a recall.

Viva Raw diets.

www.fda.gov/safety/recal...

Viva Raw Issues Voluntary Recall of Two Lots of Dog an Cat Foods Due to Salmonella and Listeria Monocytogenes Contamination

August 25, 2025 – Viva Raw LLC, Charlotte, NC is voluntarily recalling two lots of dog and cat foods due to contamination with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. The recall is for Lot 21495 (Viva...

www.fda.gov

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 25

CFIA could likely allow them to leave if the US would accept them. It would be interesting to see if the US would import birds from a quarantined farm.

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 25

Who's liable when someone gets a raw milk-associated infection?

Raw milk is well known to be high risk, but if it's legal (bizarrely in many US states), who bears the responsibility?

Lots of people?
No one?

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

Raw milk infection lawsuit

I suspect that people in every decade since the 1940s have said “we really shouldn’t have to talk about why raw milk is bad anymore, should we”. But, we

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 23

..pretty much every far right claim and whine.

I'd been dodging questions about the farm for the past few months since I'm sick of the 'feedback' from this crowd but relented.

👇

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

Universal Ostrich farm and H5N1; a mess nearing an end?

Universal Ostriches. It’s been a ride. I was involved early in their H5N1 answering some questions about the situation and potential options. I wrote a

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 23

The Universal Ostriches fiasco may be nearing an end as the farm as lost its appeal of the cull order issued in January after an H5N1 outbreak.

The order led to legal challenges, blatant quarantine breaches, a convoy campout, claim of murder drones and....

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 22

Tritrichomonas diarrhea is a frustrating disease in cats, and it's currently even more frustrating since we have a hard time accessing effective drugs.

What can we do?
👇 www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

Tritrichomonas infections in cats, a treatment dilemma

Tritrichomonas blagburni (formerly T. foetus) is a frustrating cause of diarrhea in cats. This parasite causes chronic diarrhea that will most often

www.wormsandgermsblog.com

Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 21

www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2025/08/arti...

Baylisascaris infections in humans: sources of infection

A couple days ago, I mentioned that Jason Stull and I had done a scoping review of human Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm) infections. The

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 21

Pica (inappropriate ingestion) was a leading source, as expected.
Contact with raccoon latrines was not surprisingly implicated.
Pet raccoon too (duh!)

But some cases lacked clear exposure beyond raccoons in the area, creating a messaging risk.

More details 👇

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Scott Weese @scottweese.bsky.social · Aug 21

Baylisascaris procyonis, the raccoon roundworm....rare but potentially nasty cause of disease in people (and one that causes oversized angst in some ppl).

One part of our recent scoping review identified reported sources of infection.

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