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Letters Companion Animal Surveillance System (VetCompass; www.rvc.ac.uk/VetCompass), a collaborative not-for-profit research project led by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC). The VetCompass project collates and analyses anonymised clinical record data to create studies that are directly relevant to veterinary general practitioners and support the practice of evidence-based medicine. The VetCompass DMVD study aims to identify factors associated with survival in the practice setting by evaluating basic clinical measurements and cardiac biomarker levels (NT-pro-BNP and cardiac troponin I) in dogs with DMVD. The results will be of direct relevance to veterinary surgeons working in primary care and will greatly enhance our advice to clients when managing dogs with DMVD. Practices with recent versions of RxWorks, Teleos, ezVetPro and Vet-One practice management systems should be able to share de-identified animal data with the VetCompass project and participate in the DMVD study. To recruit dogs with DMVD into this study, veterinary surgeons at participating practices simply obtain owner consent, take a blood sample for the new Idexx cardiac assays (provided free of charge to participating practices) and record baseline measurements such as heart rate and murmur intensity at the time of study entry. The DMVD diagnosis can be based on clinical examination alone and does not need to be confirmed by echocardiogram. Sampling can be done at any disease stage; from dogs with asymptomatic murmurs to those with severe disease receiving long-term treatment. The clinical notes of recruited dogs will be regularly uploaded to the secure VetCompass database at the RVC, allowing the clinical progress of these dogs to be followed over time. In addition to making a valuable contribution to research, benefits of participation will include free analysis of the new Idexx cardiac biomarker assays, free RVC CPD and regular updates on the study. Practices will be provided with leaflets and posters to promote their involvement to clients. Participation within VetCompass will also facilitate clinical audit and practice-based research. No personal client or financial information is shared; all

data collection is fully compliant with data protection legislation. The RCVS endorses the aims of the VetCompass project. More information is available from Maddy Mattin using the details below.

LANGUAGE

Maddy Mattin, Adrian Boswood, David Church, Dave Brodbelt, Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA e-mail: [email protected] telephone: 07757 750492, 01707 667168 doi: 10.1136/vr.f7075

A CAPTION to a photograph in a recent disease surveillance report referred to schistosomus reflexus in a calf (VR, November 16, 2013, vol 173, p 470). This grammatical error should grate with anyone who has had a classical education and this I pointed out in your Letters column a generation ago. During my years at university I tried to convince the staff but was ridiculed for pedantry. Shistosoma is from the Greek where all nouns ending in –oma are neuter and the plural schistosomata. Being neuter, and if one must use a Latin adjective to describe a Greek noun, its gender must agree: hence the correct term should be ‘schistosoma reflexum’ and the adjectival plural ‘reflexa’. This may not seem to many of great importance, but exactitude is important, as the following example shows. A client’s pedigree beef herd suffered a brucellosis breakdown after buying in a group of pregnant crossbred heifers. During this period the client’s brother wished to import to his ranch in South America one of his pedigree bulls. In the export documents was the question, ‘Has any endemic disease occurred in the herd during the past six months?’ This was discussed with the Ministry Export Division because the answer is ‘No’. As the risk to the importing herd was very small the bull duly went. Why? Because the author of the document should not have used ‘endemic’ but ‘enzootic’, in which latter case the export would have been barred. Pedantry OK. Ergo caveat compositor (so writer beware)!

RABIES

Reporting rabies risk LET us suppose it is 10 minutes past six on a Friday evening in Kent and I have been presented with a five-month old bichon puppy showing neurological signs. The pup was purchased in a market in Belgium the day before. It has an ID chip with an unfamiliar array of digits and no supporting passport or vaccination record. What can I do to keep the community safe from a rabies risk when the three rather unkempt men who presented the dog have angrily stormed off with the pup because I wouldn’t ‘just give it an injection’? Who should I call? How quickly will they respond? Will anyone respond? M. V. Dale, Brooksden, High Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3DT doi: 10.1136/vr.f7077

RABIES

Pre-exposure vaccination against rabies I WOULD like to express my gratitude to the many colleagues who wrote to me following the inclusion of my Viewpoint article on the subject of pre-exposure rabies vaccinations for vets (VR, October 12, vol 173, pp 348-349). I was particularly surprised and delighted to receive a letter from the office of Professor the Lord Trees, informing me that he wished to take the matter further and, to that end, he had tabled two questions in Parliament for written answers from Her Majesty’s Government. Jude Dawson, Commercial Street, Rothwell, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS26 0AW

doi: 10.1136/vr.f7083

532 | Veterinary Record | November 30, 2013

Grammatical exactitude

T. W. Brodrick, The Watch House, 1 The Suttons, Camber, Rye, East Sussex TN31 7SA e-mail: [email protected] doi: 10.1136/vr.f7079

Correction Mycobacterium bovis in an Egyptian mongoose (VR, October 19, 2013, vol 173, pp 376-377; doi: 10.1136/vr.f6231). The name of M. L. Pinto was omitted from the list of contributing authors on this letter. The error is regretted.

doi: 10.1136/vr.f7078

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Pre-exposure vaccination against rabies Jude Dawson Veterinary Record 2013 173: 532

doi: 10.1136/vr.f7083 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/173/21/532.4

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