Predictors of owner response to companion animal death in 177 clients from 14 practices in Ontario

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of grief and client desires and needs as they relate to pet death. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: 177 clients, from 14 randomly selected veterinary practices, whose cat or dog died between 6 and 43 days prior to returning the completed questionnaire. PROCEDURE: Veterinary practices were contacted weekly to obtain the names of clients whose pets had died until approximately 200 clients were identified. Clients were contacted by telephone, and a questionnaire designed to measure grief associated with pet death was mailed to those willing to participate within 1 to 14 days of their pet's death. The questionnaire measured potential correlates and modifiers of grief and included three outcome measures: social/emotional and physical consequences, thought processes, and despair. Demographic data were also collected. RESULTS: Approximately 30% of participants experienced severe grief. The most prominent risk factors for grief included level of attachment, euthanasia, societal attitudes toward pet death, and professional support from the veterinary team. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bivariate and multivariate analyses highlighted the impact owners' attitudes about euthanasia and professional intervention by the veterinary team had on reactions to pet death. Owners' perceptions of societal attitudes, also a predictor of grief, indicate that grief for pets is different than grief associated with other losses.     

Vaccine use and disease prevalence in dogs and cats

A yearly revaccination of adult pets against distemper, the adenoviral and parvoviral diseases is scientifically unwarranted, professionally obsolete and ethically questionable; other vaccinal antigens, however, may need yearly or even more frequent injections. Base immunisation is redefined: it is complete only after the multivalent booster in the second year of life. A yearly revaccination interview, not necessarily an injection, should become the new standard. This interview is a professional service that must be taught, expertly performed and invoiced. Adult animals should be "vaccinated to measure", taking age, breed, lifestyle, the epidemiologic situation, etc. into account. Post-vaccination serology should become a guide in revaccination decisions. For a solid herd immunity, more animals of the population must be vaccinated. The profession should issue regular updates of the 'code of vaccination practice'. To counteract vaccination antagonism, a concerted action of academia, the veterinary profession and industry is required.     

Antimicrobial drug use and related management practices among Ontario swine producers

A mail survey of swine producers in Ontario was undertaken during 1991 to describe the types, frequency, and motives for antimicrobial use. Two hundred operations that marketed fewer than 350 hogs per year, and 800 that marketed more than 350 per year were sent questionnaires, 63% of which were completed and returned. Most operations (86%) added antimicrobials to starter (weanling pig) rations, while fewer (29%) added these drugs to finisher pig rations. The most commonly used antimicrobials were tylosin, carbadox, and furazolidone in weanling pigs, and tylosin, lincomycin, and tetracycline in finishers. Water medication of grower-finisher pigs was practised on 25% of farms; 80% of farms had injected at least some grower-finisher pigs with antimicrobials in the 12 mo preceding the survey. Approximately 20% of operations that added antimicrobials to finisher rations did so for growth promotion purposes only, while others used them for disease treatment, prevention, control, or a combination of reasons. Among those not using antimicrobials in finisher rations, 83% did not believe they were necessary and 37% were concerned about the potential for residues in marketed hogs.     

Exploration of developmental approaches to companion animal antimicrobials: providing for the unmet therapeutic needs of dogs and cats

AAVPT Workshop White Paper Committee. Exploration of developmental approaches to companion animal antimicrobials: providing for the unmet therapeutic needs of dogs and cats. J. vet. Pharmacol. Therap. 33 , 196–201. The American Academy of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics (AAVPT) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) co‐sponsored a workshop to explore approaches for developing companion animal antimicrobials. This workshop was developed in response to the shortage of antimicrobials labeled for dogs and cats, as there is a shortage of approved antimicrobials for the range of infectious diseases commonly treated in small animal practice. The objective of the workshop was to identify alternative approaches to data development to support new indications consistent with the unmet therapeutic needs of dogs and cats. The indications for currently approved antimicrobials do not reflect the broader range of infectious diseases that are commonly diagnosed and treated by the veterinarian. Therefore, the labels for these approved antimicrobials provide limited information to the veterinarian for appropriate therapeutic decision‐making beyond the few indications listed. Industry, veterinary practice, and regulatory challenges to the development of new antimicrobial indications were discussed. The workshop resulted in short‐ and long‐term recommendations. Short‐term recommendations focus on the use of additional data considerations for product labeling. Long‐term recommendations center on legislative or regulatory legal initiatives. The workshop recommendations will need collaboration from industry, academia, and regulatory authorities and a legal shift in the drug approval and availability processes.     

Descriptive epidemiological study of the use of antimicrobial drugs by companion animal veterinarians in New Zealand

Abstract

AIM: To describe the patterns of use of antimicrobial drugs by veterinary surgeons treating commonly presented bacterial infections in companion animals in New Zealand.

METHODS: A postal survey of 800 randomly selected companion animal veterinarians practicing in New Zealand was conducted between August and December 2008. Data were collected regarding the antimicrobials prescribed for recent cases of skin, ear and urinary tract infections; the use of culture and susceptibility testing; and veterinarian characteristics such as proportion of time spent treating companion animals and recent attendance at continuing professional development (CPD) events. Potential associations within the data were explored using extended mosaic plots and multivariable regression models.

RESULTS:Completed surveys from 393 respondents were available for analysis, providing data on systemic antimicrobial drug use for 1,799 cases of presumptive bacterial infections. The most frequently prescribed drugs were amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (864 cases, 48%), cephalexin (558, 31%), and fluoroquinolones (198, 11%). Of 359 cases of canine superficial pyoderma, 157 (44%) were treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and 155 (43%) were treated with cephalexin with median reported treatment durations of 7 and 10 days, for these two drugs respectively. Culture and susceptibility tests had been used in 376 of 1,984 (19%) of all reported cases and 160 (43%) of these were suspected urinary tract infections. Practitioners that spent 100% of their time treating companion animals and who had attended a CPD course related to companion animals within the 12 months prior to completing the survey were more likely to submit a sample for culture and susceptibility testing and to prescribe longer courses of antimicrobials for the treatment of canine pyoderma than practitioners who spent less than 100% of their time treating companion animals and had not attended a CPD course in the last 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Broad-spectrum drugs considered by the World Health Organisation to be critically important for human health, such as fluoroquinolones and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, are amongst the most frequently prescribed antimicrobials in companion animal medicine, and these drugs are often prescribed without submitting a sample for culture and susceptibility testing.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Many cases of superficial pyoderma were treated for less than the recommended duration of 21 days, which may contribute to a higher rate of recurrent pyoderma and the development of drug resistance within the causal bacteria. Veterinarians should be aware that the use of fluoroquinolones, in particular, should be based upon the results of a culture and susceptibility test.     

Survey and molecular characterization of Cryptosporidium and Giardia spp. in owned companion animal, dogs and cats, in Japan

Compared with other countries, surveys of these parasites have been rarely performed in companion animals of Japan in spite of their significance for public health. Here, we investigated pet dogs and cats in Japan for the first time, and genetically analyzed the isolates to evaluate the risk of zoonotic infections. Seventy-seven fecal samples were collected from privately owned dogs and 55 samples from owned cats in Osaka city, Japan. Cryptosporidium oocysts were identified in 3/77 dogs (3.9%) and 7/55 cats (12.7%), and Giardia infection in 2/77 dogs (2.6%) and 1/55 cats (1.8%). Amplification of the target regions for genotyping was successful, Cryptosporidium isolates in dogs and cats were identified as C. canis and C. felis, respectively, and those of Giardia in dogs and cats were G. intestinalis Assemblages D and F. The discharge period of the oocysts varied within 3-16 weeks and that of the cysts was 12 weeks. To date, zoonotic types of both parasites have been identified in other animals in Japan, and further large-scale studies are needed to determine the distribution of zoonotic genotypes in these animals, especially those closely associated with humans.     

Housing of dogs and cats in animal shelters]

The results of an examination of 10 animal shelters was, that anyone was unical. The everyday and fundamental problems in administration, housing animals and animal care were the same: Most of them employ laity, which do their job with a lot of commitment but without knowledge. Therefore they come into conflict with the demands of animal protection. Veterinary surgeons, responsible authorities and communities are strongly asked to take steps against the situation. The reason for the fact, that such steps are missed, is, that there is no guideline or recommendation available for these persons, which handles animal shelters relative to "animal justice" and the right housing of animals. The results of the survey helps to make a guideline for animal home owners and builders, veterinary surgeons, veterinary authorities and communities, which gives suggestions to build, equip and run animal shelters for cats and dogs responsible regarding the individual circumstances and in the best way for animals.     

Questionnaire on the incidence and control of fleas in dogs and cats presented to German small animal practices

2590 small animal practitioners in Germany have been asked by a questionnaire from which 1694 (65.4%) replied. 1186 of these veterinarians (70%) often see ectoparasite infestation. Fleas are predominant and occur on cats (1016/60%), followed by dogs (424/25%), small mammals and birds (254/15%). Flea infestations on dogs and cats are observed throughout the year, but the prevalences are generally higher during the summer season. The results reveal that topically administered spot-on formulations is the most popular method used for flea control. The most common applied antiparasitic substances both in dogs and in cats were fipronil (535/31.6%; 690/40.7%), imidacloprid (290/17.1%; 417/24.6%) and selamectin (267/15.8%; 319/18.8%). Due to 771 (45.5%) of the answering veterinarians the animal owner himself, and according 694 (41%) respectively 229 (13.5%) of the replies the veterinarian or the veterinary technician applies the antiparasiticide onto the skin. 1457 veterinarians (86%) administer compounds against adult fleas and their developmental stages also in the animal's environment.     

Antimicrobial drug susceptibility of bacteria isolated from disease processes in cattle, horses, dogs and cats

Results are presented of antimicrobial disc diffusion susceptibility testing on commonly isolated bacterial pathogens made at the Ontario Veterinary College Diagnostic Bacteriology Laboratory in 1981 and 1982. Nearly 2 000 isolates from horses, cattle, dogs and cats were tested. Comparison of resistance in the same bacterial species isolated from different animal species showed significant differences between some of the same antibiotics.