Parasites, resistance and unusual cases

This issue covers a range of topics that are sure to be of interest to small animal veterinarians. Parasitology features heavily – from an update of the trends of parasitic infections of cats and dogs in the UK, to a case report about a novel treatment of skin flukes in an Australian hobbyist's koi carp pond.

Parasitic infection remains a problem for many cat and dog owners across the UK (Wright, 2022). Ian Wright's 2023 roundup (p110) discusses the changes that have been seen over the last year, with a focus on climate change and the movement of pets across borders. Hany Elsheikha's roundtable (p116) gives an overview of common internal and external parasites to look out for, as well as their routes of transmission and methods to treat a parasite burden and control the spread of parasites to help prevent resistance.

Another area in veterinary medicine that is facing resistance is antibiotics (World Health Organization, 2020). Previous practices around drug prescription have been more recently found to be potentially contributing to antibiotic resistance – Lucas Pantaleon discusses these, and other factors that veterinarians should be aware of when prescribing antibiotics, in his review on the use of antibiotics in veterinary practice (p146).