on Sun, 01 Apr 2007 19:27:00 GMT, Dale Atkin
wrote:

Actually I am very interested in the facts, and I've read quite a bit
outside usenet (including some (although not all) of buglady's links).
I'm quite interested in what is going on, and how people (and
agencies) are reacting to it (see footnote). The problem is, most of
what is being brought up isn't facts, its an interpretation of the
facts, and there are many different possible interpretations.

Ah, well then I misunderstood you. I concluded you were not keeping
current since a couple of the questions you asked were addressed in
published reports. I do agree with you that some/much of what is being
published is not factual, which doesn't help the situation AT ALL.

Lets look at the one with the large national practice that reported a
rise in the number of cats/dogs with kidney failure (unfortunately
that link has scrolled off my news reader here... I'll have another
look at it when I get home).

Fact:

There has been a rise in the number of cats/dogs reported with kidney
failure.

Questions:

1. Over what period was this?
2. Exactly what percentage rise over baseline did this make up?
3. How many animals were examined?
4. How many were brought in with acute symptoms, and how many did the
vets go looking for?

These are all important questions (some of which I believe were
answered in that link... some I'm pretty sure weren't). They all give
some idea of the reliability of their estimate of the number of dogs
and cat impacted.

Why these questions are important:
(1) If its the period leading up to the recall, then this is
indication that the numbers are more reliable.

IIRC, the period leading up to the recall was noted to have a dramatic
rise in cases of kidney disease, but I did not re-check the link and I
may be remembering incorrectly, so take that FWIW.

If its the period following the recall, then I have less confidence in
their numbers (for reasons stated in earlier posts)

snip

I'll agree, to a point. Maybe a small point. There will not be a
significant rise in the number of young, previously healthy animals who
test positive for kidney disease just because they are tested for it.
If they were also consuming the recalled foods, I think it would be fair
to conclude there is a causal relationship in a vast majority of cases.

**Other than the desire to keep myself up to date with what is
happening, I'm also interested as there is I think a pretty good
chance that if I get an interview with the vet college they will ask
me some questions about what is/was going on. (I'm told they like to
ask about current events impacting the veterinary profession, and that
there hasn't been much of interest happening lately other than
this...)

Just curious, are you applying to get into vet school?

--
Lynne