News – Page 4 – College of Veterinarians of BC

RHDv Vaccine Update from the BC Chief Veterinary Officer

January 3, 2022

The Chief Veterinarian and the Animal Health Centre in Abbotsford would like to notify you that they will be discontinuing the import and distribution service for Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease (RHD) virus vaccine and will NO longer be placing orders to import the vaccine into Canada. Please note that this vaccine was brought into the Province as an emergency response to the first detection of this emerging disease in British Columbia. Once reopened, The Animal Health Centre will continue to provide testing services for RHD.

If you wish to arrange your own future imports, here are the links to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency sites to apply for an import permit.

Main page link:

https://inspection.canada.ca/animal-health/veterinary-biologics/guidelines-forms/4-12e/eng/1328639619579/1328640363370

Guidelines, forms, applications for importing unlicensed veterinary biologics:

https://inspection.canada.ca/animal-health/veterinary-biologics/guidelines-forms/3-21e/eng/1328632718469/1328632819190

Veterinary Drugs Directorate contacts:

https://inspection.canada.ca/animal-health/veterinary-biologics/contacts/eng/1299162041191/1320704114965

CVBC 2021/2022 Election Update

December 8, 2021

Please check your email for voting information which was distributed on December 6, 2021. If you did not receive an email generated from the domain vote@simplyvoting.com, please contact feedback@cvbc.ca. When you log in to vote, please click on the “view details” link next to each candidate’s name in order to review the biographical information provided by each candidate. Please note that you can review these details and return to vote at a later date as long as you do not click the “submit” button.

Alternately, we have also posted the candidate information on the CVBC registrant page at https://www.cvbc.ca/my-account/for-registrant/ under the heading 2021/2022 Council Election Candidate Bios.

Voting will close on February 7, 2022 and the results of the election process will be announced by February 15, 2022. The CVBC strongly encourages all registrants who are eligible to vote, to take the opportunity to exercise your right!

2021/2022 CVBC Election Process

November 26, 2021

There are 3 veterinary seats up for election on the CVBC Council. On November 22, 2021 the CVBC Nominations Committee declared the following slate of candidates as eligible to serve on Council for the upcoming election cycle.

Dr. James Kirkham
Dr. Justin McLash
Dr. Jane Pritchard
Dr. Dilbag Rana
Dr. Tammi Whelan
Dr. Josh Waddington

Please check your email for voting information on December 6, 2021 as the election process will commence on this date. If you don’t receive information, generated from the domain vote@simplyvoting.com, please contact feedback@cvbc.ca. Voting will close on February 7, 2022 and the results of the election process will be announced by February 15, 2022. The CVBC strongly encourages all registrants who are eligible to vote, to take the opportunity to exercise your right!

Ensuring the Public and Animals are Served by a Competent and Ethical Profession

November 12, 2021

The College of Veterinarians of British Columbia takes allegations of animal abuse very seriously. Our mandate is to regulate the practice of veterinary medicine in B.C. to ensure that the public and animals are served by a competent and ethical standard of practice. The CVBC regulates the conduct and competency of veterinarians according to the complaints and investigation process set out in the Veterinarians Act. As part of this process, the CVBC’s Investigation Committee reviews complaints, authorizes investigations, and takes necessary action to protect the public interest and the animals in their care. Until the Investigation Committee takes action that requires public notification under the Veterinarians Act, the CVBC is not able to comment on any investigation in relation to any specific CVBC registrant.

Health Canada Public Advisory re. Use of Veterinary Ivermectin to Prevent or Treat COVID-19

September 2, 2021

Health Canada is advising Canadians against the unauthorized use of either the veterinary or human drug versions of Ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. Health Canada advises that there is no evidence that ivermectin in either formulation is safe or effective when used for those purposes and that the human version of ivermectin is authorized for sale in Canada only for the treatment of parasitic worm infections in people. Please visit the Health Canada site for full details.

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Alerts

September 2, 2021

Bluetongue Virus

The Chief Veterinarian of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has released an alert regarding Bluetongue virus amongst bighorn sheep and white-tailed deer in the south Okanagan. Please view the entire alert linked here.

Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy

The Chief Veterinarian of the BC Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has released an alert regarding suspect equine herpesvirus encephalomyelopathy in a horse in the western lower mainland. Please see the alert linked here.

Strengthening Governance of the Antimicrobial Resistance Response Across One Health in Canada

July 21, 2021

The AMR Network project has released its final report. This project was funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada to develop options for governance of a One Health pan-Canadian network that will better integrate the diverse stakeholders with responsibilities in addressing antimicrobial resistance in Canada to drive a national effort to mitigate the threat of AMR for all Canadians. The establishment of a new governance model for AMR in Canada will be a key piece to the puzzle required to effectively deliver on the Pan Canadian Action Plan once it is released. The final report of the project, Strengthening Governance of the Antimicrobial Resistance Response Across One Health in Canada can be found at the following links.

Anticipated Animal Euthanasia Drug Shortage

June 9, 2021

The Veterinary Drug Directorate has released a communication regarding the anticipated shortage of euthanasia products for use by veterinarians. Please click here to view.