Helping to find the culprit in livestock attacks.

With dog attacks on livestock on the rise, Josh Loeb discusses a new DNA test that could help identify the dog responsible or rule out an innocent one.

Prevalence of tail damage and ear lesions in docked and undocked pigs during trials to find alternatives to tail docking on Spanish commercial farms.

BACKGROUND: Tail docking is widely used to control tail biting in pigs, but it is a painful and stressful procedure. The impact of non-docking trials on tail damage (TD) and ear lesions (EL) from weaning to slaughter was assessed on four commercial farms. METHODS: A total of 898 docked pigs (396 DP) or undocked pigs (502 UP) were assessed for tail damage and ear lesions at the beginning and end of the weaner stage, during fattening and at the abattoir during slaughter. RESULTS: The percentage of UP with shortened tails increased significantly from weaning to fattening, but the percentage of non-inflamed tails and tails without fresh lesions increased. In terms of severity of lesion, a lower percentage of pigs scored as 'no visible lesion' at the end of weaning compared to fattening, both for UP and DP (p < 0.05). DP always had a lower percentage of TD, whereas UP had a lower percentage of EL at the end of weaning. LIMITATION: It was not possible to statistically compare different preventive strategies trialed on farms as alternatives to docking. CONCLUSION: This study highlights that combining tail length and lesion score at slaughter could be a reliable on-farm welfare indicator.

Effect of light intensity on behaviour, health and growth of growing-finishing pigs.

The effect of light intensity has been explored in relation to endocrine functions and reproduction in pigs, but effects on health and behaviour are scarcely documented. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different light intensities on behaviour, health and growth of growing-finishing pigs. An experiment was conducted on a commercial farm equipped with light-emitting diode-based luminaires creating four light intensity treatments: low (45 lux), medium (198 lux), high (968 lux) and spatial gradient of intensity (from 71 lux to 330 lux). Per treatment, 112 pigs were studied in two batches of eight pens. Once every two weeks behaviours such as exploration, positive and negative social interactions, play and abnormal behaviours were observed. Health issues were assessed weekly and included biting lesions, skin lesions, leg and respiratory disorders. The average daily gain over the experiment was calculated and after slaughter carcasses were inspected. Generalised linear mixed models were used for the analysis of behaviours, binary health scores, carcass abnormalities, ordinal logistic regression for multilevel health scores, and linear mixed models for average daily gain. Interactions between intensity and week were found for some behaviours (i.e., exploration, negative social interactions and abnormal behaviour) and health issues (i.e., tear stains, conjunctivitis, body lesions, bursitis and tail lesions). However, none of the treatments consistently outperformed another one. Light treatments did not affect pig growth and carcass abnormalities. These variable results support studies suggesting that pigs are adaptable to light intensities, and inconsistencies over weeks might have been caused by environmental factors that could not be controlled in a commercial farm setting. To conclude, tested light intensities had no clear effects on pig behaviour, health and growth.

Using natural language processing and patient journey clustering for temporal phenotyping of antimicrobial therapies for cat bite abscesses.

BACKGROUND: Temporal phenotyping of patient journeys, which capture the common sequence patterns of interventions in the treatment of a specific condition, is useful to support understanding of antimicrobial usage in veterinary patients. Identifying and describing these phenotypes can inform antimicrobial stewardship programs designed to fight antimicrobial resistance, a major health crisis affecting both humans and animals, in which veterinarians have an important role to play. OBJECTIVE: This research proposes a framework for extracting temporal phenotypes of patient journeys from clinical practice data through the application of natural language processing (NLP) and unsupervised machine learning (ML) techniques, using cat bite abscesses as a model condition. By constructing temporal phenotypes from key events, the relationship between antimicrobial administration and surgical interventions can be described, and similar treatment patterns can be grouped together to describe outcomes associated with specific antimicrobial selection. METHODS: Cases identified as having a cat bite abscess as a diagnosis were extracted from VetCompass Australia, a database of veterinary clinical records. A classifier was trained and used to label the most clinically relevant event features in each record as chosen by a group of veterinarians. The labeled records were processed into coded character strings, where each letter represents a summary of specific types of treatments performed at a given visit. The sequences of letters representing the cases were clustered based on weighted Levenshtein edit distances with KMeans+ + to identify the main variations of the patient treatment journeys, including the antimicrobials used and their duration of administration. RESULTS: A total of 13,744 records that met the selection criteria was extracted and grouped into 8436 cases. There were 9 clinically distinct event sequence patterns (temporal phenotypes) of patient journeys identified, representing the main sequences in which surgery and antimicrobial interventions are performed. Patients receiving amoxicillin and surgery had the shortest duration of antimicrobial administration (median of 3.4 days) and patients receiving cefovecin with no surgical intervention had the longest antimicrobial treatment duration (median of 27 days). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates methods to extract and provide an overview of temporal phenotypes of patient journeys, which can be applied to text-based clinical records for multiple species or clinical conditions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach to derive real-world evidence of treatment impacts using cat bite abscesses as a model condition to describe patterns of antimicrobial therapy prescriptions and their outcomes.

Prospects for dog rabies elimination in Nigeria by 2030.

The attainment of the global target of zero dog-mediated human rabies by 2030 depends on functional rabies programmes. Nigeria, a rabies-endemic country, and the most populous country in Africa has a very poor rabies control strategy with a score of 1.5 out of 5 based on the Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE). In this article, we report a scoping review that we conducted to highlight the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well as situational analysis of rabies control in Nigeria and suggest a timeline for key activities that are needed to ensure zero by 30. Our findings reveal that rabies is grossly under-reported as only 998 human and 273 dog-suspected rabies cases were reported across Nigeria between 2017 and 2022. Our literature review also demonstrates a paucity of information on rabies in both human and animal health sectors. A total of 49 studies on dog rabies in Nigeria, with a predominance of reports from the North Central geopolitical region (48%, n = 23) were therefore included in this study. Currently, only 16.2% (n = 6/37) of Nigerian states have available data related to the estimated dog populations, the dog ownership rates, the vaccination status of dogs or the incidence of dog bites. Based on a dog-to-human ratio of 1:16.3, we estimated that the dog population in Nigeria was 12,969,368 (95% CI: 12,320,900-13,617,836). Thus, to attain herd immunity and dog rabies control in Nigeria, at least 9.1 million dogs must be vaccinated annually. Our review reveals that, despite the strengths and available opportunities to achieve rabies control in Nigeria by 2030, the weaknesses and challenges will make the attainment of zero by 30 very difficult or impossible. Nigeria's best-case scenario by the year 2030 is SARE stage 3-4 (control-elimination) out of 5. Otherwise, the rabies control programme might not surpass SARE stages 2-3. To attain zero by 30, Nigeria must re-strategize its current rabies control programme by funding and implementing the national strategic plan for rabies control, creating a rabies desk office in the 37 states (FCT inclusive), rigorously conducting mass vaccination campaigns, providing post-exposure prophylaxis, prioritizing mass enlightenment with a focus on responsible pet ownership and conduct baseline national rabies surveillance in the animal and human health sectors.

An increase in animal-related occupational injuries at a veterinary medical center (2008-2022).

OBJECTIVE: To characterize animal-related injuries in veterinary medical center staff at a veterinary medical center. SAMPLE: 706 hospital staff injuries. METHODS: Deidentified injury reports were submitted to Human Resources from 2008 through 2022. Injury data collected included the injury description, date of injury, occupation, and worker's compensation claim information. Data were summarized by year, cause of injury, total cost associated with injury, and occupation. RESULTS: There was an increase in injuries reported in recent years when compared to past years, with the plurality of injuries being bite injuries, specifically occurring on the hand, finger, and wrist area. Bite injuries had a higher average total worker's compensation cost paid to staff than striking injuries. There were more injuries reported by staff who had less experience working with animals. More injuries occurred during the summer months (June through September). There was not an unusual trend in the reporting of injuries due to COVID-19. Other injuries (eg, needlesticks and falls) were reported from only 2019 to 2022, but constituted a substantial burden for staff. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings can help stakeholders at teaching hospitals and veterinary clinics to take steps toward creating a safer workplace environment for employees. It is important to identify work hazards and provide proper training and prevention methods to reduce the risk of injuries, especially among less experienced employees. Proper prevention methods will help reduce worker's compensation costs for the teaching hospital and reduce the number of workdays missed by staff.

Management of penetrating thoracic wounds from a dog attack in a Nigerian dwarf goat: A case report.

Pet goat ownership has gradually increased in popularity and veterinarians are expected to provide gold-standard treatments for these animals. As in small-animal practice, decision-making regarding thoracic bite injuries is challenging because of the variability in clinical, radiographic, and surgical findings. Mortality rates from dog bite wounds in small animals range between 15.3 and 17.7%, and these cases represent 10% of all traumatic injuries referred to an emergency service; such information is not available regarding pet goats. The aim of this report is to describe a thoracic dog bite wound in a goat. It details the clinical, radiographic, and surgical findings and the repair, and reports the successful outcome, all to provide information to small-ruminant practitioners for treatment or referral. Future retrospective studies will help to determine prognostic factors for outcomes in goats with thoracic dog bite wounds. Key clinical message: Thoracic bite wounds are a challenge to manage, considering the potential severe underlying pathology and the absence of clear external injuries or clinical signs. Referring veterinarians and owners should be advised that goats with the presence of flail chest, pneumothorax, or rib fractures may require a higher level of intervention.

Prise en charge des plaies thoraciques pénétrantes consécutives à une attaque de chien chez une chèvre naine nigériane : rapport de cas. La possession de chèvres de compagnie a progressivement gagné en popularité et les vétérinaires devraient fournir des traitements de référence pour ces animaux. Tout comme dans la pratique des petits animaux, la prise de décision concernant les morsures thoraciques est difficile en raison de la variabilité des résultats cliniques, radiographiques et chirurgicaux. Les taux de mortalité par morsure de chien chez les petits animaux varient entre 15,3 et 17,7 %, et ces cas représentent 10 % de toutes les blessures traumatiques référées à un service d'urgence; ces informations ne sont pas disponibles concernant les chèvres de compagnie. Le but de ce rapport est de décrire une morsure thoracique de chien chez une chèvre. Il détaille les résultats cliniques, radiographiques et chirurgicaux ainsi que la réparation, et rend compte du résultat positif, le tout dans le but de fournir des informations aux praticiens des petits ruminants pour un traitement ou une référence. De futures études rétrospectives aideront à déterminer les facteurs pronostiques des résultats chez les chèvres présentant des morsures thoraciques de chien.Message clinique clé :Les morsures thoraciques sont un défi à gérer, compte tenu de la pathologie sous-jacente potentiellement grave et de l'absence de blessures externes ou de signes cliniques évidents. Les vétérinaires référents et les propriétaires doivent être informés que les chèvres présentant un volet thoracique, un pneumothorax ou des fractures des côtes peuvent nécessiter un niveau d'intervention plus élevé.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Exploring the spatial pattern of animal bites in Iran (2021-2022).

OBJECTIVE: Knowledge of the spatial pattern of animal bites can be helpful for targeted resource allocation and to develop and deliver effective intervention programs. The aim of this study was to explore the spatial pattern of the animal bites in Iran during 2021-2022. METHODS: Animal bite cases from all provinces and counties in Iran were obtained from a nationally based registry. Global Moran's I was applied to check spatial autocorrelation. The spatially adjusted standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were estimated using the Besag, York, and Mollie (BYM) model. Spatial clusters were identified by local indicators of spatial association (LISA) and purely spatial scan statistic. RESULTS: A total of 260,470 animal bites were registered during the study period. There was a positive spatial autocorrelation (global Moran's I=0.27, p-value=0.001). The majority of SIRs greater than 1.00 was found in counties in the northern belt of Iran (e.g., observed greater than expected animal bites). LISA found that approximately 7% of counties in the north and northeast, 18% in the west and south, and 3% in the central part of Iran were significant hot spots, cold spots, and spatial outliers (p-value≤0.05). Spatial scan statistic detected primary hot spot cluster in the counties in the Mazandaran and Alborz provinces (Relative Risk=2.56, p-value<0.001), while primary cold spot cluster involved counties in Kurdistan and Kermanshah province (0.37, <0.001). CONCLUSION: Animal bites were unevenly distributed in Iran. Further prevention and control programs as well as appropriately resource allocation are needed in order to reduce the observed animal bites spatial disparity.

Porcine ear necrosis: characterization of lesions and associated pathogens.

Porcine ear necrosis (PEN) is characterized by ulcerative lesions of the ear auricle. To investigate that problem, three farms with PEN in nursery pigs were included, and the study aim was to characterize PEN and the potential role of pathogens and mycotoxins. Within each farm, one batch of weaned piglets was included and the prevalence and severity of PEN were monitored for 6-7 weeks. Within each batch, 30 PEN-affected/non-affected animals were randomly selected. Blood samples were taken from these animals, to assess the systemic presence of pathogens and mycotoxins, as well as punch biopsies from the ear auricle for histopathological examination. From 10 animals, scrapings and swabs from the lesions were subjected to nanopore metagenomic sequencing and bacteriological cultivation, respectively. In all three farms, lesions appeared within 3-4 weeks post-weaning. The prevalence at the end of the nursery was 33%, 24%, and 46% for farms A, B, and C, respectively. Most affected pigs had mild to moderate lesions. Blood samples revealed low to very low levels of pathogens and mycotoxins. Different bacteria such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Mycoplasma, and Clostridium species were identified by sequencing in the scrapings. The first two pathogens were also most often identified in bacterial cultures. Mycoplasma hyopharyngis was only found in PEN-affected pigs. Histopathological changes were primarily observed in the outer layer of the epidermis. The results suggest that PEN lesions develop by damage to the outer part of the skin e.g. by ear suckling or biting, followed by multiplication of opportunistic pathogens.

Dog bites more prevalent on hot and sunny days.

Georgina Mills reports on new research that looked into a link between dog bite incidents and the weather.

Canine rabies: An epidemiological significance, pathogenesis, diagnosis, prevention, and public health issues.

Rabies is a zoonotic disease caused by rabies virus of the genus Lyssa virus and family Rhabdoviridae. It affects all mammals and is prevalent throughout the world and endemic in many countries except in Islands like Australia and Antarctica. It is highly fatal, but preventable. Disease causes threat to public health because rabid dogs bite humans, resulting in thousands of deaths every year. Around 59,000 people die every year from rabies in the world. Dogs play a vital role in most of the human exposure in rabies endemic areas. Transmission of virus occurs through the bite of an infected dog. Disease is manifested by fatal nervous symptoms leading to paralysis and death. Direct fluorescent antibody technique is the gold standard for the diagnosis of the disease in animals and humans. Prevention of rabies involves the vaccination of dogs and humans before or after an exposure. This review describes the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, its prevention and control strategies.

ACVECC-Veterinary Committee on Trauma registry report 2017-2019.

OBJECTIVE: To report summative data from the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Veterinary Committee on Trauma (VetCOT) registry. DESIGN: Multi-institutional registry data report, April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019. SETTING: VetCOT identified and verified Veterinary Trauma Centers (VTCs). ANIMALS: Dogs and cats with evidence of trauma. INTERVENTIONS: Data were input to a web-based data capture system (Research Electronic Data Capture) by data entry personnel trained in data software use and operational definitions of data variables. Data on demographics, trauma type, preadmission care, trauma severity assessment at presentation (modified Glasgow Coma Scale and Animal Trauma Triage score), key laboratory parameters, interventions, and case outcome were collected. Summary descriptive data for each species are reported. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Thirty-one VTCs contributed data from 20,842 canine and 4003 feline trauma cases during the 33-month reporting period. Most cases presented directly to a VTC (82.1% dogs, 82.1% cats). Admission to hospital rates were slightly lower in dogs (27.8%) than cats (32.7%). Highest mortality rates by mechanism of injury in dogs were struck by vehicle (18.3%), ballistic injury (17.6%), injured inside vehicle (13.2%), nonpenetrating bite wound (10.2%), and choking/pulling injury (8.5%). Highest mortality rates by mechanism of injury in cats were struck by vehicle (43.3%), ejected from vehicle (33.3%), nonpenetrating bite wound (30.7%), ballistic injury (27.8%), and choking/pulling injury (25.0%). The proportion of animals surviving to discharge was 93.1% (dogs) and 82.5% (cats). CONCLUSIONS: The VetCOT registry is a powerful resource for collection of a large dataset on trauma in dogs and cats seen at VTCs. Overall survival to discharge was high indicating low injury severity for most recorded cases. Further evaluation of data on subsets of injury types, patient assessment parameters, interventions, and associated outcome are warranted. Data from the registry can be leveraged to inform clinical trial design and justification for naturally occurring trauma as a translational model to improve veterinary and human trauma patient outcome.

Management of a stingray barb laceration and suspect envenomation in a dog.

This case report describes the successful management of a stingray laceration and suspected envenomation using a combination of opioid analgesia, heat compression, antimicrobial therapy, surgical debridement and closure. Stingray envenomation in the dog is a rare clinical presentation and is yet to be documented in the Australian veterinary literature. Envenomation can be markedly painful and may cause swelling and local tissue necrosis. No consensus on treatment guidelines has been published. Diagnostics and treatments performed are outlined with recommendations on a management plan for future cases.

Animal Trauma Triage Score, Modified Glasgow Coma Scale, age, and weight were associated with outcome in feline bite wounds (1,065 cases): a VetCOT registry study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify associations between admission variables, Animal Trauma Triage (ATT) score, and Modified Glasgow Coma Scale (MGCS) score with need for transfusion or surgical interventions and survival to discharge in cats with bite wounds. ANIMALS: 1,065 cats with bite wounds. PROCEDURES: Records of cats with bite wounds were obtained from the VetCOT registry from April 2017 to June 2021. Variables included point of care laboratory values, signalment, weight, illness severity scores, and surgical intervention. Associations between admission parameters, terciles of MGCS, quantiles of ATT scores, and death or euthanasia were assessed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: 872 cats (82%) survived to discharge, while 170 (88%) were euthanized and 23(12%) died. In the multivariable model, age, weight, surgical treatment, ATT and MGCS scores were associated with nonsurvival. For every 1 year of age, odds of nonsurvival increased by 7% (P = .003) and for every 1 kg of body weight, odds of nonsurvival decreased by 14% (P = .005). Odds of dying increased with lower MGCS and higher ATT scores (MGCS: 104% [95% CI, 116% to 267%; P < .001]; ATT: 351% [95% CI, 321% to 632%; P < .001). Odds of dying decreased by 84% (P < .001) in cats that underwent surgery versus those that did not. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This multicenter study indicated association of higher ATT and lower MGCS with worse outcome. Older age increased the odds of nonsurvival, while each kilogram increase in bodyweight decreased odds of nonsurvival. To our knowledge, this study is the first to describe associations of age and weight with outcome in feline trauma patients.

Clinical and epidemiologic features of persons accessing emergency departments for dog and cat bite injuries in California (2005-2019).

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and epidemiologic features of persons with dog and cat bite injuries who presented to emergency departments. SAMPLE: Records of 648,492 dog and cat bite-related emergency department visits in California from 2005 to 2019. PROCEDURES: Visits were selected by standardized International Classification of Diseases, Ninth or Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes that indicated a bite as an external cause of injury in the medical record. Incidence rates were calculated for patient demographics, location and month of bite incident, characteristics of bite injury, infection, patient outcome/disposition, and expected source of payment. Cross-sectional descriptive analysis was performed. RESULTS: The average annual incidence of dog bites was highest in children aged < 10 years and males, while that of cat bites was highest in adults aged ≥ 80 years and females. Bites were more likely to occur in rural settings, in private residences, and during the summer. The median household income for zip codes in which animal bite patients resided was lower than the statewide median household income. Both dog and cat bite injuries were more likely to occur to upper limbs. Bacteria were isolated from 3% of dog bite injuries and 21.5% of cat bite injuries at initial presentation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Epidemiologic findings about persons presenting to emergency departments for animal bite injuries can inform bite prevention efforts by identifying at-risk populations. Effective animal bite prevention demands an ongoing multisectoral program of veterinarians and other health professionals, collaborating with community and governmental organizations, to develop and implement integrated strategies within the context of other socially contributory factors.

A statewide, cross-sectional evaluation of the knowledge and level of concern of rabies among South Carolina residents.

Animal rabies cases have increased steadily in South Carolina (SC) for the past decade. An understanding of the population's awareness and understanding of the disease is needed to tailor public health interventions. A marketing list-serv of SC residents' email addresses was used to recruit anonymous respondents for a Knowledge Attitudes and Practices (KAP) electronic survey. A total 516 South Carolinians completed the 31-question survey. Quantile regression and a Pearson's correlation evaluated potential associations between respondent's rabies knowledge and their attitudes and practices. Knowledge was assessed on topics of rabies biology, state animal case counts and rabies pet-related laws. Level of concern and level of knowledge were positively correlated. Additionally, statewide hotspot analysis revealed geographic areas warranting targeted public health interventions; counties with low public concern juxtapositioned with high animal rabies case counts. This study demonstrates the utility of statewide KAPs to gauge populations rabies perception and related preventative actions to tailor appropriate educational programs to limit human-animal rabies exposures.

[Canine leishmaniosis: an update regarding diagnostics, therapeutic approaches, and monitoring]. / Ein Update zur Leishmaniose des Hundes: Diagnostik, Therapie und Monitoring.

Canine infections with Leishmania (L.) infantum are gaining significance in Germany due to rising numbers of dogs imported from endemic countries, frequent travel and changing of climatic conditions in Central Europe. Dogs without any clinical signs suspicious for vector-borne infections imported from other countries to Germany should be tested immediately after import and 6 months later. In dogs with clinical signs suspicious for leishmaniosis, direct and indirect detection methods of the pathogen as well as hematology, biochemistry, serum protein electrophoresis and C-reactive protein are recommended. For treatment and monitoring of canine leishmaniosis, the LeishVet-guidelines are highly recommended. Different therapeutic options include first-line, second-line, and third-line drugs. For dose adjustments of allopurinol, the "step plan" should be taken in consideration. Due to climatic changes, habitats of sandflies as transmitting vectors of leishmaniosis are expanding. Next to vectorial transmission mating, transplacental infections, bite wounds, and blood transfusions were described in canine leishmaniosis. Additionally, L. infantum is a zoonotic vector-borne infectious pathogen, which is important regarding the "One-health"-aspect.