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BACKGROUND: This novel study forms part of a larger research programme seeking an improved understanding of aspects of the owned dog population in Ireland. Dog welfare organisations (DWOs) in Ireland are recognised as an instrumental pillar of the animal welfare sector with some receiving substantial public funding. We conducted a survey of DWOs in Ireland (n = 39) to gain a better understanding of their role and function, including their policies and procedures and the rehoming of dogs to other regions. In addition, we wanted to get a better understanding of the challenges experienced by DWOs in fulfilling their role and their perspectives on potential solutions to these challenges. The survey questions consisted of closed and open-ended items. Closed items were analysed quantitively; open-ended items were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Most DWOs (> 80%) had written protocols for important welfare actions including rehoming procedures, assessment of owner suitability and euthanasia. DWOs sent dogs to Northern Ireland (13%), Great Britain (38.5%) and to other countries outside the United Kingdom (36%, including Germany, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands and Czechia). Reported challenges included a general lack of funding, limited public awareness of the importance of dog welfare and insufficient capacity to handle dog numbers. To address these challenges, the DWOs highlighted the potential contribution of subsidised programmes and access to resources to educate potential owners. In a further qualitative evaluation to capture perceptions of appropriate solutions by DWOs, several themes emerged, relating to legislation, education, an overwhelmed workforce, and funding. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides important insights into the roles and functions of DWOs and challenges they experience in Ireland. It is hoped that the findings from this research will inform future research investigating potential solutions to these challenges as well as the development of policy in Ireland.
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This novel qualitative study identifies challenges and opportunities to improve dog welfare in Ireland, as perceived by dog welfare organisations (DWOs), a previously underutilised stakeholder. This study sought the views of this predominantly voluntary sector of the next steps for policy and action in dog welfare, in light of the effects of the "puppy pandemic", increased costs and COVID-19 restrictions. An integrated online focus group and interview design involving DWOs was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Thematic analysis identified 2 key themes: (1) Key challenges and solutions in general dog welfare and (2) Challenges and opportunities in the welfare organisation sector. DWOs perceived poor public awareness of appropriate dog-husbandry, inadequate legislation enforcement, negative impact of puppy farms, and increased financial and volunteer burden. DWOs helped construct a best practice rehoming pathway, identified how overall standards could be improved and recommendations to enhance dog welfare. The DWOs perceived an increased numbers of households acquiring dogs, difficulties in rehoming, and financial challenges as threatening their viability as organisations and Irish dog welfare. Greater enforcement of legislation, greater communication between organisations and the government, and more media awareness were seen as helpful by the DWOs to improve dog welfare standards and their organisations.
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BACKGROUND: Reliable information about national pet dog populations is an important contributor to informed decision-making, both by governments and national dog welfare organisations. In some countries, there is an improved understanding of aspects of the national pet dog population, but as yet limited published information is available in Ireland. The current study reviews the utility of existing data to inform our understanding of recent changes to the pet dog population in Ireland, including both biological and organisational processes. RESULTS: Based on national data on dog licencing and microchipping registration, pet dog numbers have remained relatively stable in recent years (ie prior to the COVID-19 pandemic). Since 2015, there has been a substantial decrease in the number of dogs managed through dog control centres. Although the completeness of the data are likely variable, there appears to be substantial, and increasing, number of dogs moving from Ireland to other countries, including UK, Sweden, Italy, Germany and Singapore. We also note an increase (albeit much smaller) in the number of dogs being moved into Ireland. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the challenges faced when using existing national data to gain insights into the dog population of Ireland. The linking of existing national databases (individual dog identification, dog licencing, dog control statistics) has the potential to improve both the representativeness and accuracy of information about the Irish pet dog population. In the next phases of our work, we will focus on the work of dog welfare organisations, given both the increased role played by these organisations and the substantial public funding that has been committed in this sector.
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Vaccination of badgers with Mycobacterium bovis Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been shown to protect badgers against tuberculosis in experimental trials. During the 3-year County Kilkenny BCG vaccine field study, badgers were treated orally with placebo (100% in Zone A), BCG (100% in Zone C) or randomly assigned 50%: 50% treatment with BCG or placebo (Zone B). At the end of the study, 275 badgers were removed from the trial area and subjected to detailed post-mortem examination followed by histology and culture for M. bovis. Among these badgers, 83 (30.2%) were captured for the first time across the three zones, representing a non-treated proportion of the population. Analysis of the data based on the infection status of treated animals showed a prevalence of 52% (95% CI: 40%-63%) infection in Zone A (placebo), 39% (95% CI: 17%-64%) in Zone B (placebo) and 44% (95% CI: 20%-70%) in Zone B (BCG vaccinated) and 24% (95% CI: 14%-36%) in Zone C (BCG vaccinated). There were no statistically significant differences in the proportion of animals with infection involving the lung and thoracic lymph nodes, extra-thoracic infection or in the distribution and severity scores of histological lesions. Among the 83 non-treated badgers removed at the end of the study, the infection prevalence of animals in Zone A (prevalence = 46%, 95% CI: 32%-61%) and Zone B (prevalence = 44%, 95% CI: 23%-67%) was similar to the treated animals in these zones. However, in Zone C, no evidence of infection was found in any of the untreated badgers (prevalence = 0%, 95% CI: 0%-14%). This is consistent with an indirect protective effect in the non-vaccinated badgers leading to a high level of population immunity. The results suggest that BCG vaccination of badgers could be a highly effective means of reducing the incidence of tuberculosis in badger populations.
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Doenças dos Bovinos , Mustelidae , Mycobacterium bovis , Tuberculose Bovina , Tuberculose , Animais , Vacina BCG , Bovinos , Mustelidae/microbiologia , Tuberculose/epidemiologia , Tuberculose/prevenção & controle , Tuberculose/veterinária , Tuberculose Bovina/epidemiologia , Tuberculose Bovina/prevenção & controle , Vacinação/veterináriaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Despite much discussion in the epidemiologic literature surrounding the use of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) for inferences, the reporting practices of veterinary researchers have not been examined. We conducted a survey of articles published in Preventive Veterinary Medicine, a leading veterinary epidemiology journal, aimed at (a) estimating the frequency of reporting p values, confidence intervals and statistical significance between 1997 and 2017, (b) determining whether this varies by article section and (c) determining whether this varies over time. METHODS: We used systematic cluster sampling to select 985 original research articles from issues published in March, June, September and December of each year of the study period. Using the survey data analysis menu in Stata, we estimated overall and yearly proportions of article sections (abstracts, results-texts, results-tables and discussions) reporting p values, confidence intervals and statistical significance. Additionally, we estimated the proportion of p values less than 0.05 reported in each section, the proportion of article sections in which p values were reported as inequalities, and the proportion of article sections in which confidence intervals were interpreted as if they were significance tests. Finally, we used Generalised Estimating Equations to estimate prevalence odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals, comparing the occurrence of each of the above-mentioned reporting elements in one article section relative to another. RESULTS: Over the 20-year period, for every 100 published manuscripts, 31 abstracts (95% CI [28-35]), 65 results-texts (95% CI [61-68]), 23 sets of results-tables (95% CI [20-27]) and 59 discussion sections (95% CI [56-63]) reported statistical significance at least once. Only in the case of results-tables, were the numbers reporting p values (48; 95% CI [44-51]), and confidence intervals (44; 95% CI [41-48]) higher than those reporting statistical significance. We also found that a substantial proportion of p values were reported as inequalities and most were less than 0.05. The odds of a p value being less than 0.05 (OR = 4.5; 95% CI [2.3-9.0]) or being reported as an inequality (OR = 3.2; 95% CI [1.3-7.6]) was higher in the abstracts than in the results-texts. Additionally, when confidence intervals were interpreted, on most occasions they were used as surrogates for significance tests. Overall, no time trends in reporting were observed for any of the three reporting elements over the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the availability of superior approaches to statistical inference and abundant criticism of its use in the epidemiologic literature, NHST is substantially the most common means of inference in articles published in Preventive Veterinary Medicine. This pattern has not changed substantially between 1997 and 2017.
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Post-mortem liver inspection results together with production parameters are often used to estimate the impact of liver fluke infection on farm animal populations. However, post mortem liver inspection is an imperfect method of determining the liver fluke infection status of cattle. This work estimates the difference in mean lifetime weight gain at 819 days (ΔLWG819) between steers assigned liver fluke negative (LFN) and liver fluke positive (LFP) status at post-mortem meat inspection, quantifies the potential impact of imperfect sensitivity and specificity on these results and estimates the economic impact of these differences. The study population is 32,007 steers that never moved from their birth herd in the Republic of Ireland and were slaughtered in one of two Irish meat processors in 2014. Individual animal-level data are used to generate 46 county - processor level estimates of ΔLWG819. Standard errors and confidence intervals for these estimates are derived using bootstrapping. A meta-analytic approach is then used to obtain 3 overall estimates of the effect of liver fluke status on the ΔLWG819 in all the county - processor combinations, assuming post - mortem liver inspection Seâ¯=â¯Spâ¯=â¯1, 0.99 and 0.95. A random effects model is used and 95% prediction intervals (95% PI) are calculated. Assuming Seâ¯=â¯Spâ¯=â¯1 for post - mortem liver inspection, the random effects summary estimate of ΔLWG819 (ΔLWG819(RE)) is 36â¯kg (95% PI: -1, 73). There is a minor change in ΔLWG819(RE) (38â¯kg, 95% PI: -1, 77) when Seâ¯=â¯Spâ¯=â¯0.99 is assumed but this increases to 46â¯kg (95% PI: -2, 94) assuming Seâ¯=â¯Spâ¯=â¯0.95. The corresponding cost in euros of these differences between the LFN and LFP steers, assuming a price per kg of 3.90, are 77.01 (95% PI: -2.57, 156.37), 80.65 (95% PI: -3.43, 164.74) and 98.67 (95% PI: -5.15, 202.27) respectively. Our results demonstrate an association between liver fluke infection and reduced weight gain. We show that the effect of liver fluke infection on weight gain in cattle is underestimated due to misclassification resulting from imperfection in post mortem meat inspection. These findings will aid researchers, farmers and veterinary practitioners to make informed decisions on the control of liver fluke on farms.
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Doenças dos Bovinos/diagnóstico , Fasciola hepatica/isolamento & purificação , Fasciolíase/veterinária , Fígado/parasitologia , Aumento de Peso , Animais , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/parasitologia , Doenças dos Bovinos/fisiopatologia , Fasciolíase/diagnóstico , Fasciolíase/parasitologia , Fasciolíase/fisiopatologia , MasculinoRESUMO
We conducted a veterinary clinic-based retrospective cohort study aimed at identifying child-, dog-, and home-environment factors associated with dog bites to children aged 5-15 years old living in the same home as a dog in Kingston, Jamaica (236) and San Francisco, USA (61). Secondarily, we wished to compare these factors to risk factors for dog bites to the general public. Participant information was collected via interviewer-administered questionnaire using proxy respondents. Data were analyzed using log-binomial regression to estimate relative risks and associated 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each exposure-dog bite relationship. Exploiting the correspondence between X% confidence intervals and X% Bayesian probability intervals obtained using a uniform prior distribution, for each exposure, we calculated probabilities of the true (population) RRs ≥ 1.25 or ≤0.8, for positive or negative associations, respectively. Boys and younger children were at higher risk for bites, than girls and older children, respectively. Dogs living in a home with no yard space were at an elevated risk (RR = 2.97; 95% CI: 1.06-8.33) of biting a child living in the same home, compared to dogs that had yard space. Dogs routinely allowed inside for some portion of the day (RR = 3.00; 95% CI: 0.94-9.62) and dogs routinely allowed to sleep in a family member's bedroom (RR = 2.82; 95% CI: 1.17-6.81) were also more likely to bite a child living in the home than those that were not. In San Francisco, but less so in Kingston, bites were inversely associated with the number of children in the home. While in Kingston, but not in San Francisco, smaller breeds and dogs obtained for companionship were at higher risk for biting than larger breeds and dogs obtained for protection, respectively. Overall, for most exposures, the observed associations were consistent with population RRs of practical importance (i.e., RRs ≥ 1.25 or ≤0.8). Finally, we found substantial consistency between risk factors for bites to children and previously reported risk factors for general bites.
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Chronic inhalation of crystalline silica and silicates may lead to severe lung disease in humans, termed silicosis. The disease is an occupational health concern in miners and related professions worldwide. Silicosis is also a strong risk factor for tuberculosis in humans. Due to its subterranean lifestyle, the European badger (Meles meles) is continuously exposed to environmental dust, while this species is also susceptible to tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis. To date, a thorough investigation of mineral dust retention and its possible implication as a risk factor for mycobacterial infection in badgers has not been performed. The aims of this retrospective histological study were (1) to describe the systemic tissue distribution of silica-laden macrophages (SLMs) in badgers; (2) to compare the amount of SLMs in tissues of badgers of differing M. bovis infection status, pulmonary SLM burden and age; and (3) to assess whether inflammation was associated with SLMs. We assessed lung, lymph nodes, liver and spleen of 60 wild-caught badgers of known M. bovis infection status for the presence of SLMs using polarizing light microscopy. SLMs were consistently present within the lungs and were widely distributed throughout the lymphatic system. No inflammatory reaction to SLMs, as occurs in human silicosis, was observed in any tissue. Distribution and amount of SLMs were similar between M. bovis positive and negative badgers, and we were not able to show an association between the amount of SLMs and M. bovis infection status. The amount of SLMs within intra- and extrathoracic lymph nodes was positively associated with the amount of pulmonary SLMs, and with age. This is the first report of substantial and systemic tissue retention of mineral dust particles in a mammalian species lacking associated chronic inflammation (i.e. silicosis). We further highlight different pathogenetic mechanisms underlying silicosis and benign SLM accumulations following siliceous dust inhalation.
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Poeira , Macrófagos/microbiologia , Mustelidae/microbiologia , Mycobacterium bovis/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Dióxido de SilícioRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: To estimate the associations of nationality, university program, donation history and gender, with blood donation barriers experienced by non-donating students on the day of a campus blood drive. This project focused particularly on nationality and the effect of the different blood donation cultures in the students' countries of origin. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 398 North American and Caribbean university students was conducted at St. George's University, Grenada, in 2010. Data were collected from non-donating students on campus while a blood drive was taking place. Log-binomial regression was used to estimate associations between the exposures of interest and donation barriers experienced by the students. RESULTS: North American (voluntary blood donation culture) students were more likely than Caribbean (replacement blood donation culture) students to experience "Lack of Time" (relative risk (RR)â¯=â¯1.57; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19-2.07) and "Lack of Eligibility" (RRâ¯=â¯1.55; 95% CI: 1.08-2.22) as barriers to donation. Conversely, Caribbean students were a third as likely to state "Lack of Incentive" (RRâ¯=â¯0.32; 95% CI: 0.20-0.50), "Fear of Infection" (RRâ¯=â¯0.35; 95% CI: 0.21-0.58), and "Fear of Needles" (RRâ¯=â¯0.32; 95% CI: 0.21-0.48) were barriers than North American students. CONCLUSIONS: University students from voluntary blood donation cultures are likely to experience different barriers to donation than those from replacement cultures. Knowledge of barriers that students from contrasting blood donation systems face provides valuable information for blood drive promotion in university student populations that contain multiple nationalities.
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Doadores de Sangue/psicologia , Estudantes/psicologia , Adolescente , Adulto , Feminino , Granada , Humanos , Masculino , UniversidadesRESUMO
Abattoir surveys and findings from post-mortem meat inspection are commonly used to estimate infection or disease prevalence in farm animal populations. However, the function of an abattoir is to slaughter animals for human consumption, and the collection of information on animal health for research purposes is a secondary objective. This can result in methodological shortcomings leading to biased prevalence estimates. Selection bias can occur when the study population as obtained from the abattoir is not an accurate representation of the target population. Virtually all of the tests used in abattoir surveys to detect infections or diseases that impact animal health are imperfect, leading to errors in identifying the outcome of interest and consequently, information bias. Examination of abattoir surveys estimating prevalence in the literature reveals shortcomings in the methods used in these studies. While the STROBE-Vet statement provides clear guidance on the reporting of observational research, we have not found any guidelines in the literature advising researchers on how to conduct abattoir surveys. This paper presents a protocol in two flowcharts to help researchers (regardless of their background in epidemiology) to first identify, and, where possible, minimise biases in abattoir surveys estimating prevalence. Flowchart 1 examines the identification of the target population and the appropriate study population while Flowchart 2 guides the researcher in identifying, and, where possible, correcting potential sources of outcome misclassification. Examples of simple sensitivity analyses are also presented which approximate the likely uncertainty in prevalence estimates due to systematic errors. Finally, the researcher is directed to outline any limitations of the study in the discussion section of the paper. This protocol makes it easier to conduct an abattoir survey using sound methods, identifying and, where possible, minimizing biases.
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Matadouros , Fasciolíase/veterinária , Animais , Fasciola hepatica/isolamento & purificação , Fasciolíase/epidemiologia , Humanos , Carne , Prevalência , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
A field trial was conducted to investigate the impact of oral vaccination of free-living badgers against natural-transmitted Mycobacterium bovis infection. For a period of three years badgers were captured over seven sweeps in three zones and assigned for oral vaccination with a lipid-encapsulated BCG vaccine (Liporale-BCG) or with placebo. Badgers enrolled in Zone A were administered placebo while all badgers enrolled in Zone C were vaccinated with BCG. Badgers enrolled in the middle area, Zone B, were randomly assigned 50:50 for treatment with vaccine or placebo. Treatment in each zone remained blinded until the end of the study period. The outcome of interest was incident cases of tuberculosis measured as time to seroconversion events using the BrockTB Stat-Pak lateral flow serology test, supplemented with post-mortem examination. Among the vaccinated badgers that seroconverted, the median time to seroconversion (413 days) was significantly longer (p = 0.04) when compared with non-vaccinated animals (230 days). Survival analysis (modelling time to seroconversion) revealed that there was a significant difference in the rate of seroconversion between vaccinated and non-vaccinated badgers in Zones A and C throughout the trial period (p = 0.015). For badgers enrolled during sweeps 1-2 the Vaccine Efficacy (VE) determined from hazard rate ratios was 36% (95% CI: -62%- 75%). For badgers enrolled in these zones during sweeps 3-6, the VE was 84% (95% CI: 29%- 97%). This indicated that VE increased with the level of vaccine coverage. Post-mortem examination of badgers at the end of the trial also revealed a significant difference in the proportion of animals presenting with M. bovis culture confirmed lesions in vaccinated Zone C (9%) compared with non-vaccinated Zone A (26%). These results demonstrate that oral BCG vaccination confers protection to badgers and could be used to reduce incident rates in tuberculosis-infected populations of badgers.
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Animais Selvagens , Vacina BCG , Mustelidae , Mycobacterium bovis , Tuberculose/veterinária , Vacinação/veterinária , Administração Oral , Animais , Tuberculose/prevenção & controleRESUMO
Bovine paratuberculosis is a disease characterised by chronic granulomatous enteritis which manifests clinically as a protein-losing enteropathy causing diarrhoea, hypoproteinaemia, emaciation and, eventually death. Some evidence exists to suggest a possible zoonotic link and a national voluntary Johne's Disease Control Programme was initiated by Animal Health Ireland in 2013. The objective of this study was to estimate herd-level true prevalence (HTP) and animal-level true prevalence (ATP) of paratuberculosis in Irish herds enrolled in the national voluntary JD control programme during 2013-14. Two datasets were used in this study. The first dataset had been collected in Ireland during 2005 (5822 animals from 119 herds), and was used to construct model priors. Model priors were updated with a primary (2013-14) dataset which included test records from 99,101 animals in 1039 dairy herds and was generated as part of the national voluntary JD control programme. The posterior estimate of HTP from the final Bayesian model was 0.23-0.34 with a 95% probability. Across all herds, the median ATP was found to be 0.032 (0.009, 0.145). This study represents the first use of Bayesian methodology to estimate the prevalence of paratuberculosis in Irish dairy herds. The HTP estimate was higher than previous Irish estimates but still lower than estimates from other major dairy producing countries.
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Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Indústria de Laticínios/métodos , Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis/fisiologia , Paratuberculose/epidemiologia , Animais , Teorema de Bayes , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/microbiologia , Ensaio de Imunoadsorção Enzimática/veterinária , Irlanda/epidemiologia , Modelos Teóricos , Paratuberculose/microbiologia , PrevalênciaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Campylobacter jejuni is the leading bacterial food-borne pathogen within the European Union (EU), and poultry meat is the primary route for transmission to humans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study examined the impact of partial depopulation (thinning), season, and farm performance (economic, hygiene, and biosecurity) on Campylobacter prevalence in Irish broilers over a 13-month period. Ten caecal samples were taken per flock, for a total of 211 flocks from 23 farms during the duration of the study. Campylobacter was isolated and enumerated according to modified published ISO methods for veterinary samples. Biosecurity was evaluated through a questionnaire based on risk factors for Campylobacter identified in previous studies. Hygiene compliance was assessed from audit records taken over the course of 1 year. All information relating to biosecurity and hygiene was obtained directly from the processing company. This was done to ensure farmers were unaware they were being monitored for Campylobacter prevalence and prevent changes to their behaviour. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Farms with high performance were found to have significantly lower Campylobacter prevalence at first depopulation compared with low-performance farms across all seasons (P≤0.01). Peak Campylobacter levels were observed during the summer season at first thin in both the high- and low-performance groups. Campylobacter prevalence was found to increase to ≥85% in both high- and low-performance farms across all seasons at final depopulation, suggesting that Campylobacter was introduced during the first depopulation. On low-performance farms, four biosecurity interventions were found to significantly reduce the odds of a flock being Campylobacter positive (physical step-over barrier OR=0.17, house-specific footwear OR=0.13, absence of water body within 0.5 km OR=0.13, two or more broiler houses on a farm OR=0.16), compared with farms without these interventions. For high-performance farms, no single biosecurity intervention was identified as significant as this group had full compliance with multiple factors. High-performance farms had significantly better feed conversion ratios compared with low-performance farms (1.61 v 1.67 (P≤0.01)). No differences in flock mortality rates were observed (P≥0.05). This highlights the impact of season, biosecurity, partial depopulation, and farm performance on Campylobacter prevalence in Irish broilers.
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In contrast to European countries, the overwhelming majority of dogs in the U.S. are neutered (including spaying), usually done before one year of age. Given the importance of gonadal hormones in growth and development, this cultural contrast invites an analysis of the multiple organ systems that may be adversely affected by neutering. Using a single breed-specific dataset, the objective was to examine the variables of gender and age at the time of neutering versus leaving dogs gonadally intact, on all diseases occurring with sufficient frequency for statistical analyses. Given its popularity and vulnerability to various cancers and joint disorders, the Golden Retriever was chosen for this study. Veterinary hospital records of 759 client-owned, intact and neutered female and male dogs, 1-8 years old, were examined for diagnoses of hip dysplasia (HD), cranial cruciate ligament tear (CCL), lymphosarcoma (LSA), hemangiosarcoma (HSA), and mast cell tumor (MCT). Patients were classified as intact, or neutered early (<12 mo) or late (≥12 mo). Statistical analyses involved survival analyses and incidence rate comparisons. Outcomes at the 5 percent level of significance are reported. Of early-neutered males, 10 percent were diagnosed with HD, double the occurrence in intact males. There were no cases of CCL diagnosed in intact males or females, but in early-neutered males and females the occurrences were 5 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Almost 10 percent of early-neutered males were diagnosed with LSA, 3 times more than intact males. The percentage of HSA cases in late-neutered females (about 8 percent) was 4 times more than intact and early-neutered females. There were no cases of MCT in intact females, but the occurrence was nearly 6 percent in late-neutered females. The results have health implications for Golden Retriever companion and service dogs, and for oncologists using dogs as models of cancers that occur in humans.
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Lesões do Ligamento Cruzado Anterior , Doenças do Cão/etiologia , Hemangiossarcoma/veterinária , Displasia Pélvica Canina/etiologia , Linfoma não Hodgkin/veterinária , Sarcoma de Mastócitos/veterinária , Orquiectomia/efeitos adversos , Ovariectomia/efeitos adversos , Fatores Etários , Animais , Cães , Feminino , Hemangiossarcoma/etiologia , Linfoma não Hodgkin/etiologia , Masculino , Sarcoma de Mastócitos/etiologia , Fatores de Risco , Ruptura/veterinária , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
In view of the importance of case-control studies to veterinary epidemiological research, this review article reinforces key aspects of the interpretation of results from these studies. The implications of design elements on inferences are first discussed, followed by a review of three types of case-control study differentiated from each other by the timing of the selection of controls. An hypothetical example of a history of aggression (exposure) and consequent relinquishment (outcome) of pet dogs is used to illustrate and explain the differences between the exposure odds ratio and the outcome odds ratio, and to demonstrate how to interpret exposure odds ratios derived from the three types of case-control study correctly.
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Agressão , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Cães/fisiologia , Medicina Veterinária/métodos , Animais , Estudos de Coortes , Razão de Chances , Seleção de Pacientes , Tamanho da AmostraRESUMO
The aim of this study was to determine whether the effects of selected human-canine interaction/environmental factors on bites occurring when the victim was and was not playing with the dog differed from each other. A veterinary clinic-based retrospective cohort study was conducted in Kingston, Jamaica (709), and San Francisco, USA (513) to compare the effects of selected exposures on non-play bites (161) relative to bites preceded by play with the dog (110) as reported by veterinary clients. Additionally, 951 non-biting dogs were used for a risk factor analysis of bites occurring during play. Using directed acyclic graphs and the change-in-estimate procedure to select and adjust for confounders, modified Poisson regression was used to estimate (a) the ratios of proportions of non-play bites out of all bites comparing exposed to unexposed dogs (proportionate bite ratios) and (b) risk ratios for bites occurring during play for each factor of interest. Proportionate bite ratios ranged from 0.84 to 1.29, with most 95% confidence intervals including one, thus implying a lack of specificity of effects of the examined factors on non-play bites relative to bites occurring during play with the dog. Consistent with this lack of specificity, risk ratios for bites occurring during play were similar in magnitude and direction to risk ratios previously published for non-play bites using the same non-biting dogs as a reference group. No country-specific differences in proportionate bite ratios were detected. Each human-canine environmental factor showed similar levels of association with both types of bites. One possible explanation is that both types of bites have a common causal pathway leading from each factor up to the point of human-canine contact. If the human-canine contact then leads to either play or non-play interactions with dogs and subsequently to both types of bites, the presence of such a common pathway would make the factor non-specific to either type of bite. As some of the examined factors are associated with increased frequencies of both types of bites, this could explain high percentages of bites occurring during play with the dog as reported in various case series of dog bites. If so, dog bite prevention strategies targeting these factors will simultaneously reduce the incidence of both types of bites.
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Mordeduras e Picadas/epidemiologia , Cães , Jogos e Brinquedos , Animais , Estudos de Coortes , Humanos , Jamaica/epidemiologia , Análise de Regressão , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , São Francisco/epidemiologia , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine optimal fecal pool sizes for identification of all Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP)-infected cows in a dairy herd. Two pooling protocols were compared: a halving protocol involving a single retest of negative pools followed by halving of positive pools and a simple protocol involving single retest of negative pools but no halving of positive pools. For both protocols, all component samples in positive pools were then tested individually. In the simulations, the distributions of number of tests required to classify all individuals in an infected herd were generated for various combinations of prevalence (0.01, 0.05 and 0.1), herd size (300, 1000 and 3000), pool size (5, 10, 20 and 50) and test sensitivity (0.5-0.9). Test specificity was fixed at 1.0 because fecal culture for MAP yields no or rare false-positive results. Optimal performance was determined primarily on the basis of a comparison of the distributions of numbers of tests needed to detect MAP-infected cows using the Mann-Whitney U test statistic. Optimal pool size was independent of both herd size and test characteristics, regardless of protocol. When sensitivity was the same for each pool size, pool sizes of 20 and 10 performed best for both protocols for prevalences of 0.01 and 0.1, respectively, while for prevalences of 0.05, pool sizes of 10 and 20 were optimal for the simple and halving protocols, respectively. When sensitivity decreased with increasing pool size, the results changed for prevalences of 0.05 and 0.1 with pool sizes of 50 being optimal especially at a prevalence of 0.1. Overall, the halving protocol was more cost effective than the simple protocol especially at higher prevalences. For detection of MAP using fecal culture, we recommend use of the halving protocol and pool sizes of 10 or 20 when the prevalence is suspected to range from 0.01 to 0.1 and there is no expected loss of sensitivity with increasing pool size. If loss in sensitivity is expected and the prevalence is thought to be between 0.05 and 0.1, the halving protocol and a pool size of 50 is recommended. Our findings are broadly applicable to other infectious diseases under comparable testing conditions.
Assuntos
Doenças dos Bovinos/diagnóstico , Fezes/microbiologia , Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis/isolamento & purificação , Paratuberculose/diagnóstico , Animais , Bovinos , Doenças dos Bovinos/economia , Doenças dos Bovinos/epidemiologia , Análise Custo-Benefício , Método de Monte Carlo , Paratuberculose/economia , Paratuberculose/epidemiologia , Densidade Demográfica , Valor Preditivo dos Testes , Prevalência , Tamanho da Amostra , Sensibilidade e EspecificidadeRESUMO
Four covariate selection approaches were compared: a directed acyclic graph (DAG) full model and 3 DAG and change-in-estimate combined procedures. Twenty-five scenarios with case-control samples were generated from 10 simulated populations in order to address the performance of these covariate selection procedures in the presence of confounders of various strengths and under DAG misspecification with omission of confounders or inclusion of nonconfounders. Performance was evaluated by standard error, bias, square root of the mean-squared error, and 95% confidence interval coverage. In most scenarios, the DAG full model without further covariate selection performed as well as or better than the other procedures when the DAGs were correctly specified, as well as when confounders were omitted. Model reduction by using change-in-estimate procedures showed potential gains in precision when the DAGs included nonconfounders, but underestimation of regression-based standard error might cause reduction in 95% confidence interval coverage. For modeling binary outcomes in a case-control study, the authors recommend construction of a "conservative" DAG, determination of all potential confounders, and then change-in-estimate procedures to simplify this full model. The authors advocate that, under the conditions investigated, the selection of final model should be based on changes in precision: Adopt the reduced model if its standard error (derived from logistic regression) is substantially smaller; otherwise, the full DAG-based model is appropriate.
Assuntos
Simulação por Computador , Métodos Epidemiológicos , Análise Multivariada , Algoritmos , Gráficos por Computador , Intervalos de Confiança , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Modelos Estatísticos , Análise de Regressão , Estatística como AssuntoRESUMO
Few dog bite risk factor studies have been conducted. This veterinary clinic-based retrospective cohort study was aimed at identifying human-canine environmental risk factors for non-play bites in Kingston, Jamaica (660) and San Francisco (SF), USA (452). Data were analysed using modified Poisson regression with confounders selected using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) and the change-in-estimate procedure. Dogs acquired for companionship were more likely (RR=1.66; 95% CI 1.02-2.70) to bite than those acquired for protection. Routinely allowing a dog into the presence of visitors was also positively associated with it biting. A dog sleeping in a family member's bedroom was a risk factor for biting in Kingston (RR=2.54; 95% CI 1.43-4.54) but not in SF, while being able to leave the yard unaccompanied was a risk factor for biting in SF (RR=3.40; 95% CI 1.98-5.85) but not in Kingston. Overall, dogs which were less restricted in their interactions with humans were at elevated risk for biting. An observed association with dog bites in one cultural setting might not exist in another.