Vet Watch update: Do you have normalcy bias?

On this episode of Vet Watch Update, Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, shares more on what it means to have normalcy bias, how it can impact patients at your clinic at risk of New World screwworm (NWSW), plus what veterinary teams can do today to help the fight against NWSW.

Check out Lee's article on NWSW here.

Transcript

Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM: Are you a victim of normalcy bias? This is the Vet Watch update, I'm Christopher Lee.

Normalcy bias is our brain's way of refusing to believe that we're in danger, even when there's ample signs. We ignore all of the warnings until it's too late. Normalcy bias often helps us think, well, nothing horrible will happen because nothing horrible has happened recently, such as when a client thinks that their cat is fine. Well, I mean, because she's been fine for the last 12 years, it's only the last few days that she's not been eating, or when you and your 4 friends decide to split up to look for your lost friend in the haunted house, or when New World screw worm is approaching, if we do not stay vigilant against cochliomyia hominivorax, our patients and their families could pay the price.

So here's what you can do today. One: submit active myiasis cases to your lab for identification if you suspect New World screwworm. Two: learn to recognize screwworm larvae in my article linked below. And 3: protect pets year-round with isoxazines, which effectively kill these beasties. Don't let normalcy bias leave you unprepared. Act now. Your patients are counting on you.