Southern Regional Meeting

An update on the common and not so common medical conditions was debated at the southern regional meeting at Arundel.

 

The well attended meeting provided much discussion and a lively forum for the interactive talk given by Professor Josh Slater.

 

Georgette Kluiters , who has recently undertaken the equine grass sickness surveillance scheme at the Animal Health trust, gave a valuable historical perspective and an update on the current aetiological agents and epidemiological factors.

 

Dr Tim Brazil followed with the first of his two talks on the investigation of weight loss, providing a methodical practical approach to diagnosis, highlighting the most rewarding tests and the usefulness of gastroscopic examination and duodenal biopsies.

 

The second of Dr Brazil’s lectures was on inflammatory airway disease. This started with the take home message , never to underestimate the importance of environmental management in the control of such conditions . This case based talk provided a useful update on both investigation protocols and current therapies, including discussions on the use of the nebulising apparatus and agents.

 

Finally the evening was brought to a close with a well received interactive talk on Strangles by Professor Josh Slater. This relatively novel type of presentation provided lively discussion on real case scenarios and the usefulness of serological diagnosis. It was concluded that serology is a valuable test when used in conjunction with nasopharyngeal swabs and guttural pouch lavages in the control and management of the disease.

 

Pauline Williams