news – Vets on the Balkans - an online journal for veterinarians from the Balkans

BSAVA Congress 2021, one of the world’s largest small animal veterinary events goes live

January 22, 2021

15 January 2021 – The full programme for the 2021 Virtual Congress of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) is now live.
This year’s edition of one of the world’s largest event for the small animal veterinary sector will be held from Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 March. It is set to deliver everything people expect of BSAVA Congress – and more:
Excellent International speakers, more than 130 hours of CPD and an extensive range of practice resources to take away.

A new, more interactive formula

With more than 100 speakers and a new format that blends clinical, practical and interactive content across a massive number of topics, Congress is highly relevant for every member of the practice. Shorter sessions and the introduction of new two-speaker sessions on day-to-day topics will focus on the information vets need to know in primary care practice with regular opportunities for delegate engagement and questions.

“Following months of meticulous planning we are thrilled that the programme is now live,” said Professor Ian Ramsey, President of the BSAVA. “The sheer range and high quality of our speakers and content, together with our new, more dynamic format takes webinar learning to a new level.”

Who’s who of the veterinary world

The list of speakers is akin to an international ‘who’s who’ of the veterinary world. As a small taster of what’s in store, Holger Volk (Germany) will present on aspects of neurology on a shoestring, including a case-based panel discussion. Bianca Hettlich (Switzerland/Germany) will present a case-based interactive session to help general practitioners decide if a lameness case is of orthopaedic or neurological origin and will be busting some myths. The USA’s Ernie Ward will be speaking about recruitment and retention.

The speakers – including Mike Willard (USA), Jens Ruhnau (Denmark), Daniel Pang (Canada) and Milinda Lommer (USA) – will give short ‘live’ presentations, often in joint sessions, allowing ample time for discussion allowing a dynamic interaction.

The list of UK speakers includes Rebecca Geddes (kidney medicine and nursing), Nicki Reed (feline nursing), Sarah Heath (behavioural alopecia), Adrian Boswood (asymptomatic cardiac patients), Jane Ladlow (BOAS surgery), Penny Watson (liver biopsies, feline triaditis), Dick White (the surgical team); Tim Nuttall (atopic dermatitis), John Chitty on several rabbits, small furries and exotics topics, and many more.

130 hours of CPD available on the platform for two months

Four simultaneous live streams will deliver 80+ live sessions covering 24 module topics, together with a library of 100 on-demand webinars and other resources for the practice to bring delegates more than 130 hours of CPD. Many modules have relevant presentations woven in to make them suitable for the whole practice team from clinical directors to practice nurses and managers. There will also be a dedicated exhibitor stream every day. BSAVA Congress headline sponsors include Idexx and Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

The live and on-demand content will be available to delegates on the platform for 60 days, and then via the BSAVA Library.

“Delegates will be able to develop their skills and knowledge on topics they see regularly in practice,” said Professor Ramsey. “To make things even easier we will be providing practical resources such as client handouts for delegates to take back to their clinics. This, coupled with many speakers sharing their own notes and practical resources means less note-taking and a quicker and easier way for delegates to share what they have learnt with their colleagues.”

Great value with rates starting at just £99 +VAT

On the social side the focus is on bringing people together on-line to share light-hearted entertainment and laughter. Delegates can throw some shapes with a virtual disco, exercise their bodies as well as their minds with yoga and unwind with some restorative meditation practices.

“This year’s BSAVA Congress is going to be the most innovative ever and deliver like never before,” said Professor Ramsey. There is plenty of relevant and engaging CPD for every practice professional, with all the convenience of a virtual event. If you haven’t already taken a look at the programme and registered, I urge you to do so now. With prices starting at just £99 (approx. €110) +VAT for BSAVA and FECAVA members*, it represents really great value.” The Congress will be held in English.

To register now visit https://www.bsavaevents.com/bsavacongress2021/en/page/home

*As FECAVA member, proof of membership of one of FECAVA’s member associations may be required. To check, please visit https://www.fecava.org/associations. Veterinarians who are members of WSAVA through their national organisation can claim a 10% discount on the BSAVA non-member rate.

For information on how to become a BSAVA member visit: https://www.bsava.com/Membership/Member-categories

Regulatory Convergence Key to Improve Access to Veterinary Medicines say Global Veterinary Associations

October 19, 2019

Eleven global veterinary associations have signed a Position Statement calling for increased regulatory convergence and harmonization in order to ensure that veterinarians globally can access the medicines they need to treat their patients. The Statement, initiated by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), is the latest step in its campaign to secure more equal access to vital veterinary medicines for companion animal veterinarians around the world.

Restricted access to veterinary medicines because of regulatory issues in regions of the world including Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, is a long-standing problem and limits the efforts of many veterinarians to provide optimal care to their patients. Sometimes, even essential medicines, such as those required to properly manage pain, are difficult to access, causing immense and unnecessary suffering.

The WSAVA recently formed a Therapeutics Guidelines Group (TGG) to spearhead its work in this area and to campaign to ensure more open access to these medications. Its new Position Statement is designed to raise awareness of the problems around regulation and to call on governments and regulatory bodies to act. The Statement has been endorsed by:

It follows a 2018 Position Statement from the WSAVA outlining a range of factors which restrict global access to veterinary medicines and the significant impact on animal health and welfare this causes. This statement also received wide support from the veterinary sector, including those associations listed above.

In a survey of its members conducted by the WSAVA during 2016-2017, 75% of respondents confirmed that that problems in accessing veterinary medical products hampered their ability to meet the needs of their patients and 20% assessed the impact of this issue as resulting in a severe restriction on their ability to provide a high level of care. During its 2019 World Congress in Toronto, Canada, in July, the WSAVA’s Therapeutics Guidelines Group convened a summit meeting of global veterinary associations and stakeholders to discuss potential solutions. The new Position Statement was one of the outputs from this meeting.

Dr Walt Ingwersen

Commenting, Dr Walt Ingwersen, WSAVA Past President, said: “Difficulty in accessing therapeutics to treat patients is a critical issue for companion animal veterinarians in many parts of the world. It causes huge frustration and means that many, if not most, companion animals globally do not receive optimum care. It’s a situation which requires urgent change and, working in partnership with our colleagues across the veterinary sector, we are focused on bringing this about.

“While a number of issues impact the supply of veterinary medicines, duplication of the regulatory medicines approval process in various regions of the world is one of the biggest and the focus of our Joint Position Statement on Regulatory Convergence. The WSAVA Therapeutics Guidelines Group has been working hard on the issue of access to and availability of veterinary medicines and will shortly be announcing the first of a set of practical tools to support veterinarians and their associations to lobby their own governments and regulatory bodies.

“To support them, we, as a global veterinary community, will continue to demand change at a global level and our Position Statements are proving effective in increasing understanding and prompting action.”

He added: “We thank our colleagues in other veterinary associations for standing with us and we will continue to collaborate closely to ensure that all veterinarians have access to the drugs they need to treat their patients.”

The WSAVA represents more than 200,000 veterinarians worldwide through its 113 member associations and works to enhance standards of clinical care for companion animals. Its core activities include the development of WSAVA Global Guidelines in key areas of veterinary practice and lobbying on important issues affecting companion animal care worldwide.

FECAVA announced Didier-Noël Carlotti Award Laureate: Assistant Professor Dr. Bogdan-Alexandru Vitalaru from Romania

August 12, 2019

The Didier-Noël Carlotti Award (DCA) is named after a veterinary surgeon who initiated, planned and inspired FECAVA and who served as its first President for four years. The Didier-Noël Carlotti Award is presented annually for ‘outstanding service in the fields of inter-professional communication and/or continuing education for companion animal veterinarians in Europe’.

In 2019, the DCA award will be received by Assistant Professor Dr. Bogdan-Alexandru Vitalaru from Romania.

He was selected for the Award by the DCA Committee and will receive it at the opening ceremony of the 25th FECAVA EuroCongress in St. Petersburg.

Assistant Professor Bogdan Alexandru Vitalaru graduated the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest in 2004, PhD since October 2009, and he has participated since then in numerous national and international conferences, both as a doctor and as a lecturer. Since January 2016 he became Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest.

Over the years he has written more than 100 scientific papers on topics related to oncologic surgery, dialysis, hemodialysis and emergencies. His 4 books about emergencies were sold in more than 2000 copies in Romania in the last 4 years. His last book it is completely dedicated to peritoneal dialysis in small animals and it has been released also in English in Italy, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Ukraine and Poland starting February 2018.

Since January 2014, in collaboration with BBraun Romania, within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, he opened the first Veterinary Hemodialysis Clinic in Romania and one of the few in Eastern Europe.

Starting 2013, he established the Romanian Association of Veterinary Nephrology, Hemodialivet, who’s Chairman he is.

In the last 10 years, Dr. Vitalaru has been a lecturer for Hills Romania and KTL in Romania and Europe regarding urology, nephrology and renal replacement therapies. He is also leading the Emergency Department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest since 2015.

Starting 2014, Dr. Vitalaru has initiated a program of workshops and seminars regarding renal patients all over Romania (București, Iași, Cluj, Timișoara, Brașov, Constanța), Bulgaria (Varna, Stara Zagora), Poland (Krakow, Warsaw), Croatia (Zagreb), Italy (Perugia, Pisa) and in Turkey (Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya). He was awarded with the Continuing medical education prize – AMVAC/RoSAVA, Sinaia 12-14 November 2015 and SPEAKER OF THE YEAR – Romanian College of Veterinarians, Bucharest, 17 December 2015. He is a member within the board of some of the most prestigious publications in Romania: Cat life, 2015, Romanian Journal of Veterinary Orthopedics and Imagistic, 2015, Romanian Journal of Veterinary Medicine & Pharmacology, 2016, Romanian Cardiology Review. In 2016, Dr. Vitalaru has received the Special Prize for the best veterinary initiative of the year in Romania – Innovation in Health.

Since November 2017 he is a board member of AMVAC (Small Animal Romanian Practitioners Association), FECAVA Director for Romania and since October 2017, Dr. Vitalaru is FECAVA Ambassador and ROVECCS Ambassador (Romanian EVECCS partener).

His passions are mountain hiking, fishing and nature and as a result of this, he has initiated in 2017 a Vet Camp in the Romanian mountains with vets all around Romania.

The greatest achievements of his life are Silvia his wife and his two beautiful daughters: Natalia and Sofia.

New opportunity! Learn and Travel with Dr Ana Nemec!

February 27, 2019

Such a honor to have Ana Nemec, DVM, PhD, Dipl. AVDC, Dipl. EVDC at our project LEARN AND TRAVEL with Vets on The Balkans.
More about Dr Ana Nemec: https://www.ananemec.si/en/about-me/
We would like to express our gratitude as well to The University of Ljubliana, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Slovenia for the opporunity! https://www.vf.uni-lj.si/

who recognizes the need to educate students but also vets in veterinary dentistry!

Because of the huge interest about our new opportunity and limitated places, we decide to make a game! So in that way to choose who will attend the program with Dr Ana Nemec!
Send your clinical case and you can be the vet who will spend one week with such a teacher
We are waiting for you at gancheva.vet@gmal.com till 30 of April!
So your case should not be high level of knowledge and something specific. Can be regular case, avaible in you everyday practice. We would like to see only you are passionate about veterinary dentistry!

Success to all of you!

SAVAB Congress 2018 and how Balkans were part of it!

March 19, 2018

Vets on the Balkans has got 2 free registrations with accommodation from SAVAB (Small Animal Veterinary Association of Belgium) this year. It was a huge gesture to our region and our journal. They support the willing and desire of the veterianrians from East Europe to grow and improve their knowledge.

‘ The CATalogue’ cats, cats and more cats, in Wemmel ( near to Brussels) was on 9th to 10^th of March this year.

They had as speakers: Hans Kooistra, Gerry Polton, Penny Watson, Pascale Smets , Sara Van Cauwelaert .

One of the vets, Dr Yordan Yordanov, who was able to be there, share with us:

“I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the Belgian congress for small animals, I am extremely impressed by the high level of lectures, the hospitality of the organizers Anne Kriegel, Bob Prossmasms and Mark Vanghelwell, and the good organization of the event. I’ve made many new acquaintances, and I hope other colleagues like me will discover the benefits of SAVAB.”

After something like this we are strongly believe that hand by hands we all be better and we live in a wonderful world. We would like to express our gratitude to SAVAB for such a great opportunity and you should know that you are big part of our Balkan family!

THANK YOU SAVAB and Dr Ann Criel!!!

Digestive Endoscopy and Surgery Center on The Balkans! Such a nice place!

September 17, 2016 Leave a Comment

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Dr Constantin Ifteme

When we see something like this on The Balkans, we are so proud. 1^st September was the grand opening of the biggest Digestive Endoscopy and Surgery Center on The Balkans. The guest was Dr Fausto Brandao who is emblematic vet in VeterinaryEndoscopy.

The owner and the main vet is Dr Constantin Ifteme who is 36 years old and it is really impressive, so young and so successful. He creates his own team, full of professional and passionate to veterinary medicine. This clinic and Dr Constantin Ifteme are the evidence that veterinary medicine on The Balkans go straight ahead. They also include in their practice laparoscopic surgery, laser surgery and they have Fluoroscopy machine.

Fluoroscopy is an imaging technique that uses X-rays to obtain real-time moving images of the interior of an object. In its primary application of medical imaging, a fluoroscope allows the doctor to see the internal structure and function of a patient, so that the pumping action of the heart or the motion of swallowing, for example, can be watched. This is useful for both diagnosis and therapy and occurs in general radiology, interventional radiology, and image-guided surgery.

The good news is in the center have space for courses and workshops and I am sure most of you will visit this wonderful place and have a nice time with Dr Ifteme and his such a nice team.

The best news is that Dr Constantin Ifteme will support our Endoscopy section and as well the center is included in our project Learn and Travel with Vets on The Balkans.

The team of Vets on The Balkans express their gratitude to Dr Ifteme and his beautiful and kind wife for their support of the journal, for the real friendship and hospitability.