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Sweden
Box 12 709 SE-112 94 President: Dr. Brodil Strom Holst WSAVA Representative Membership: 522 (March 2007) ______________________________ Swedish Small Animal Veterinary Association (SSAVA) Annual Report (July 2011) Board activity: Meeting 3-4 times a year to discuss and plan upcoming issues. In between these meetings the board has approximately 2-3 telephone meetings. Since my last report Sweden has celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Swedish Veterinary Associations in the Stockholm City Hall (where the yearly Nobel Prize dinner is held). This well visited gala dinner took place on October 6th 2010. The Annual National Veterinary Congress 2010 was as usual held in Uppsala in November. The topic last year was diagnostic imaging with several different speakers covering most of the common DI procedures performed. The lectures were much appreciated by the many attending small animal veterinarians. This year the congress which will take place on the 10-11th of November. The topics are Inflammation and Haemostasis and we will listen to several prominent national speakers as well as our guest speakers Mads Kjelgaard-Hansen and Annemarie Thuri Kristensen from the University of Copenhagen. Most of the lectures will be held in English so for those interested please contact the Swedish Veterinary Associations office at: office@svf.se .The parallel sessions are shorter presentations or lectures in different topics. This fall the thorough work from the national committee on the policy documents in veterinary health hygiene will be presented. The earlier produced Swedish policy document on the use of antibiotics is now available in English through the Swedish Veterinary Association Webpage. It is free to download at: http://www.svf.se/Documents/Sällskapet/Smådjurssektionen/Policy%20ab%20english%2010b.pdf . SSAVA is very active in Europe regarding efforts to improve veterinary health hygiene as well as responsible use of antimicrobials through the FECAVA Working Group on Hygiene and the Use of Antimicrobials in Veterinary Practice. As usual there have been many opportunities for continuing education for Swedish veterinarians. Sweden has several companies specializing in this field. Swedish veterinarians travel quite a lot and many visit international congresses and courses. The interest for the degree Steg I “Swedish specialist in diseases of dogs and cats” is still very high. The discipline specific degree, Steg II, is also growing and the first examinations is soon to take place. The Swedish Veterinary Association followed this initiative in June 2011 by arranging a similar meeting with all clinical veterinarian disciplines and also invited the largest pet insurance companies. Sweden has a very high percent of pets insured (approximately 80% of dogs and 50% of cats). During the last year there have been a quite lively discussion among Swedish veterinarians and pet insurance companies regarding the cost of pet care and where to draw the line. This of course involves the ethic discussion and who should decide to what extent we should provide pet health care. Is it up to the pet owner or should the veterinarians decide? Or is it up to the insurance company? The next ethics meeting is planned for this coming fall. This is an interesting and important discussion and it need to be kept alive. SSAVA has since a few years also appointed a group called the Ethics and Policy group. They look at different conditions and / or treatments available and give their recommendation regarding these. This group serve as a reference group to Swedish veterinarians. Yours Sincerely, ______________________________ Swedish Small Animal Veterinary Association (SSAVA) Annual Report (Updated Feb 2010) Board activity: Meeting 3-4 times a year to discuss and plan upcoming issues. The annual national veterinary congress 2009 was as usual held in Uppsala in November. Our speakers this year was Dr Sigitas Cizinauskas from Finland and Dr Frank Steffen from Switzerland. They lectured on neurology. There was a general stream as well as an advanced stream (concerning vestibular disease). The lectures were much appreciated by the many attending small animal veterinarians. The congress also has since a couple of years a parallel session with shorter lectures in different topics in a “what´s new” spirit. This year the main subject was to present the two important policy documents that have been produced. One is the upcoming policy in veterinary health hygiene. The chairman of this group Dr Ulrika Windahl presented the guidelines and the scientific data behind them. The other policy document is actually not a new one but rather a much needed update on the old Swedish policy on the use of antibiotics from 2002. The different subgroups in this policy was presented. As a general rule the Swedish Veterinary Association is aiming for a much more restricted use of antibiotics. Prophylactic antibiotics is considered rarely indicated and the “gold standard” in Sweden is to only use antibiotics when a bacterial infection is confirmed or is highly suspected AND where it is confirmed or considered unlikely that the bacterial infection will heal without antibiotics. Other antimicrobial therapy is encouraged (for example topical treatments like shampoo and wound dressings). SSAVA is still very active in the European work on these matters in the FECAVA Working Group on Hygiene and the Use of Antimicrobials in Veterinary Practice. SSAVA has initiated some important work together with the Swedish Kennel club regarding breeding standards in some breeds. This is to aim for a more healthy breeding in for example English Bulldogs and other brachiocephalic breeds, in Sharpeis and in Basset hounds just to mention a few. Some of the aims that breeders are premiered for is to have dogs that can breathe normal, reproduce and give birth without aid and that are generally sound. On the 6th of November 2010 Sweden celebrates the 150th anniversary of the Swedish Veterinary Associations in the Stockholm City Hall (where the yearly Nobel Prize dinner is held). SSAVA Director Swedish Small Animal Veterinary Association (SSAVA) Annual Report (Posted May 2009) Board activity: Meeting 3-4 times a year to discuss and plan upcoming issues. The annual national meeting 2008 was held in Uppsala in November. Our speakers this year was Dr Berit Wallin Håkanson and Dr Nils Wallin Håkanson, Referral Animal Hospital of Strömsholm, Sweden. They lectured on opthalmology. The lectures were much appreciated by the many attending veterinarians. The coming meeting 2009 we are very glad to have Dr Sigitas Cizinauskas as our head speaker. The topic is on neurology. There will be a general stream as well as an advanced stream. The meeting has since quite a few years been thought to cover one subject as a two-day course for the small animal vets. Since 2007 SSAVA have extended the meeting. There is now also a parallel session with shorter lectures in different topics in a “what´s new” spirit. This is to try and cover as many different interest as possible among the small animal veterinarians. This have been much appreciated. There have been many opportunities for continuing education. The interest for the degree Steg I “Swedish specialist in diseases of dogs and cats” is still very high . The organ and/or discipline specific degree, Steg II, is also growing. There are many organizers that hold CE courses in both medicine as well as surgery throughout Sweden. The Swedish veterinary association has recently hosted the FVE General Assembly meeting in Stockholm. SSAVA is has initiated several working groups: *There is a committee on ethical aspects of the veterinary profession. They deal with different issues on request from members. For example the need for sedation when ID-tattooing puppies, treatment of dogs bitten by vipers among other issues. *There is a permanent vaccination group that continue update the need for vaccinations in dogs and cats. *A standardization group putting up guidelines for veterinary health hygiene is formed. *Guidelines for the use of antimicrobials is being updated SSAVA is planning to translate the veterinary health hygiene guidelines as well as the guidelines for the use of antimicrobials in English to make the work accessible to other countries as this work is very important in the emerging problems with increasing bacterial resistance. SSAVA is also active in the European work on these matter as SSAVA has initiated the FECAVA Working Group on Hygiene and the Use of Antimicrobials in Veterinary Practice. SSAVA Director Dr Alexandra Vilén _________________________________
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