Healthy Pets NZ update

CAtH WAtsON, Director, Healthy pets NZ

We’ve got two exciting pieces of news to get 2022 off to a great start. the team at Healthy Pets NZ are very excited to announce our new Principal Partner: NZ pet insurance specialist PD Insurance! Having PD Insurance as a Principal Sponsor allows Healthy Pets New Zealand to focus more on what we’re here to do – research that helps make a difference to what you do in practice every day, helping Kiwi pets. our vision is to lead the advancement of companion animal health and wellbeing in New Zealand. there is no Government funding for companion animal research in New Zealand, so we rely on organisations like PD Insurance that share our values and wish to support our work. PD Insurance is a relatively new pet insurance company in the New Zealand market, having launched in August 2020, though not new to the world of companion animal care internationally. Healthy Pets New Zealand feels PD Insurance makes a great fit as our Principal Partner, as they have a strong focus on companion animal health in New Zealand. Michelle Le Long, Chief operating officer for PD Insurance, describes NZ pets as ‘significantly underinsured’ which means many families are underprepared for the costs of health care for their pets. “Part of the problem is many people just aren’t aware of pet insurance or they are unsure what is covered because policy wording can be so confusing. that is why PD Insurance provides simple, jargon-free plans as a point of difference,” she says. PD Insurance’s goal is to empower pet parents to make easy, quick, care-based decisions on their pet’s health without worrying about cost. they’re also committed to helping those of us that deliver those health care services, and it’s that part of the equation that particularly excites the Healthy Pets New Zealand team. We’re driven to find improvements in veterinary care that are relevant here in New Zealand. Research like this doesn’t come cheap, so having partners like PD Insurance who share our values and are prepared to support the work we do is very important. We look forward to soon announcing our research projects supported by PD Insurance, and to a long and productive relationship with Michelle and the rest of the team at PD Insurance. the second piece of exciting news is that we are thrilled to be funding not one, but tWo new research projects under the CAVsponsored Research in Practice Grant. Dr Joon Seo has been awarded a grant to study feline cardiomyopathy in New Zealand cats. Feline cardiomyopathy is a common heart disease that affects one in every seven cats. the disease is progressive and many cats eventually succumb to sudden death, congestive heart failure, and aortic thromboembolism and die. Despite the high prevalence and the disease resulting in a significant number of deaths in cats globally, the natural disease history of feline cardiomyopathy prior to the development of these clinical outcomes remains poorly described. Furthermore, the cause and environmental factors that would speed the progression of the disease are largely unknown, and there is no known treatment for this disease at present. this project will accurately describe the morphological and functional features of the two most common types of feline cardiomyopathies in New Zealand (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and restrictive cardiomyopathy), using echocardiography by a board certified veterinary cardiologist and provide precise phenotypic description for the planned genotypic studies. three separate feline populations in New Zealand (non-purebred, Sphynx and oriental cat breeds) will be prospectively recruited and scanned. the association between the echocardiographic findings and the genotyping in these three populations of cats will be statistically assessed. It is expected the findings will improve understanding of the natural disease history of feline cardiomyopathy, and provide a foundation for future research to identify and evaluate novel therapeutics agents to effectively treat feline cardiomyopathy. this could enhance our management of cats with cardiomyopathy and significantly enhance their quality of life and longevity. the second CAV Research In Practice Grant has been awarded to Dr Lorna Hardy who is looking to study the cardiac effects of diarrhoea on dogs. Diarrhoea is a common presentation in veterinary emergency practice which can present in a variety of ways ranging from mild dehydration and electrolyte disturbances to profound hypovolaemia, acid base imbalances and even death. It is well recognised in human medicine that volume depletion, electrolyte disturbances and inflammation can affect other organ systems throughout the body including the cardiovascular system. Abnormal cardiac rhythms are frequently identified by general practitioners in dogs presenting with diarrhoea, however the full extent to which the cardiovascular system is affected has never been evaluated. the aim is to determine this by assessing changes to the heart structure and function by performing an assessment of the heart via echocardiogram and by measurement of a cardiac specific biomarker, cardiac troponin I (ctnI). the hypothesis is that the presence of abnormal echocardiographic findings is statistically correlated with elevations in the serum concentration of ctnI. We will also be evaluating how these results correspond to the duration and characteristics of the diarrhoea, the patient’s hydration status, and the definitive or suspected aetiology of the diarrhoea. the outcome of this study will provide emergency veterinarians with a better understanding of the cardiovascular effects of diarrhoea to help them to instigate effective diagnostic and treatment plans for their patients to facilitate a more rapid recovery and reduce mortality. A greater awareness of the interplay between gastrointestinal and cardiovascular disease would not only optimise patient management and improve patient welfare but may also provide us with important prognostic information as has been observed in our human counterparts. the next funding round for grant applications closes on 1 March 2022. If you or your company would like to help support the work Healthy Pets New Zealand does, we love to hear from you healthypetsnz@gmail.com or you can make a donation at http://www.healthypets.org. nz/work#donate