Author Archives: Dr. Annette Jones, California State Veterinarian

Any antibiotic use – in people or animals – can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance, making it vital to recognize and eliminate unnecessary or inappropriate uses of antibiotics. In California, farmers, ranchers and veterinarians share a common goal with their counterparts in human medicine:  A desire to work together to promote the judicious use of antibiotics to preserve …

Animal health is a year-round part of what farmers and ranchers do, but it’s especially important as we gear up for this late summer heat wave. First of all, be sure to protect yourself, your family and your employees from the dangers that extreme and prolonged heat can pose when working outdoors. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health offers …

If you are a fan of pigs, you will be happy to know that, after an in depth disease prevention program review by USDA veterinarians and other scientists in 2017, California has once again been classified as Pseudorabies “free.” While Pseudorabies only impacts the health of swine, it is highly transmissible and can be fatal to pigs.  Maintaining “free” status …

A dangerous disease, west Nile virus, has returned to California this summer. The disease has been detected in four horses – two in Riverside County, one in Tehama County, and one in Shasta County. Two of the horses have died and the other two are recovering. Once again, we remind horse owners to have their animals vaccinated. It offers them …

A major disease event for poultry has landed in the U.S. Highly-pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in a number of states, and while the brunt of the impact has been in the Midwest, and our thoughts are with those poultry farmers, the disease hasn’t been limited to that region. There have been additional detections here in the west, including …

When natural disasters strike, people in their path usually have a very short time to organize their priorities before they’re forced to evacuate. Too often, cherished pets and working animals are left behind to contend with the onrushing catastrophe. Understandably, people can be reluctant to leave without their animals. To help manage those conflicts, the State of California has created the …