Emerging Variants of Canine Enteric Coronavirus Associated with Outbreaks of Gastroenteric Disease.

A 2022 canine gastroenteritis outbreak in the United Kingdom was associated with circulation of a new canine enteric coronavirus closely related to a 2020 variant with an additional spike gene recombination. The variants are unrelated to canine enteric coronavirus-like viruses associated with human disease but represent a model for coronavirus population adaptation.

Identification of seasonal variation in the diagnosis of acute myeloid leukaemia: a population-based study.

Until now, the role that seasonal factors play in the aetiology of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) has been unclear. Demonstration of seasonality in AML diagnosis would provide supportive evidence of an underlying seasonal aetiology. To investigate the potential seasonal and long-term trends in AML diagnosis in an overall population and in subgroups according to sex and age, we used population-based data from a Spanish hospital discharge registry. We conducted a larger study than any to date of 26 472 cases of AML diagnosed in Spain between 2004 and 2015. Using multivariable Poisson generalized linear autoregressive moving average modelling, we found an upward long-term trend, with monthly incidence rates of AML annually increasing by 0.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.2%-0.6%; p = 0.0011]. January displayed the highest incidence rate of AML, with a minimum average difference of 7% when compared to February (95% CI, 2%-12%; p = 0.0143) and a maximum average difference of 16% compared to November (95% CI, 11%-21%; p < 0.0001) and August (95% CI, 10%-21%; p < 0.0001). Such seasonal effect was consistent among subgroups according to sex and age. Our finding that AML diagnosis is seasonal strongly implies that seasonal factors, such as infectious agents or environmental triggers, influence the development and/or proliferation of disease, pointing to prevention opportunities.

Outbreak of Severe Vomiting in Dogs Associated with a Canine Enteric Coronavirus, United Kingdom.

The lack of population health surveillance for companion animal populations leaves them vulnerable to the effects of novel diseases without means of early detection. We present evidence on the effectiveness of a system that enabled early detection and rapid response a canine gastroenteritis outbreak in the United Kingdom. In January 2020, prolific vomiting among dogs was sporadically reported in the United Kingdom. Electronic health records from a nationwide sentinel network of veterinary practices confirmed a significant increase in dogs with signs of gastroenteric disease. Male dogs and dogs living with other vomiting dogs were more likely to be affected. Diet and vaccination status were not associated with the disease; however, a canine enteric coronavirus was significantly associated with illness. The system we describe potentially fills a gap in surveillance in neglected populations and could provide a blueprint for other countries.

Factors Associated with Prescription of Antimicrobial Drugs for Dogs and Cats, United Kingdom, 2014-2016.

Antimicrobial stewardship is a cornerstone of efforts to curtail antimicrobial resistance. To determine factors potentially influencing likelihood of prescribing antimicrobials for animals, we analyzed electronic health records for unwell dogs (n = 155,732 unique dogs, 281,543 consultations) and cats (n = 69,236 unique cats, 111,139 consultations) voluntarily contributed by 173 UK veterinary practices. Using multivariable mixed effects logistic regression, we found that factors associated with decreased odds of systemic antimicrobial prescription were client decisions focused on preventive health: vaccination (dogs, odds ratio [OR] 0.93, 95% CI, 0.90-0.95; cats, OR 0.92, 95% CI 0.89-0.95), insurance (dogs, OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.84-0.90; cats, OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.79-0.86), neutering of dogs (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.88-0.92), and practices accredited by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (OR 0.79, 95% 95% CI 0.68-0.92). This large multicenter companion animal study demonstrates the potential of preventive healthcare and client engagement to encourage responsible antimicrobial drug use.

Demographics of dogs, cats, and rabbits attending veterinary practices in Great Britain as recorded in their electronic health records.

BACKGROUND: Understanding the distribution and determinants of disease in animal populations must be underpinned by knowledge of animal demographics. For companion animals, these data have been difficult to collect because of the distributed nature of the companion animal veterinary industry. Here we describe key demographic features of a large veterinary-visiting pet population in Great Britain as recorded in electronic health records, and explore the association between a range of animal's characteristics and socioeconomic factors. RESULTS: Electronic health records were captured by the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET), from 143 practices (329 sites) in Great Britain. Mixed logistic regression models were used to assess the association between socioeconomic factors and species and breed ownership, and preventative health care interventions. Dogs made up 64.8% of the veterinary-visiting population, with cats, rabbits and other species making up 30.3, 2.0 and 1.6% respectively. Compared to cats, dogs and rabbits were more likely to be purebred and younger. Neutering was more common in cats (77.0%) compared to dogs (57.1%) and rabbits (45.8%). The insurance and microchipping relative frequency was highest in dogs (27.9 and 53.1%, respectively). Dogs in the veterinary-visiting population belonging to owners living in least-deprived areas of Great Britain were more likely to be purebred, neutered, insured and microchipped. The same association was found for cats in England and for certain parameters in Wales and Scotland. CONCLUSIONS: The differences we observed within these populations are likely to impact on the clinical diseases observed within individual veterinary practices that care for them. Based on this descriptive study, there is an indication that the population structures of companion animals co-vary with human and environmental factors such as the predicted socioeconomic level linked to the owner's address. This 'co-demographic' information suggests that further studies of the relationship between human demographics and pet ownership are warranted.

Modular framework to assess the risk of African swine fever virus entry into the European Union.

BACKGROUND: The recent occurrence and spread of African swine fever (ASF) in Eastern Europe is perceived as a serious risk for the pig industry in the European Union (EU). In order to estimate the potential risk of ASF virus (ASFV) entering the EU, several pathways of introduction were previously assessed separately. The present work aimed to integrate five of these assessments (legal imports of pigs, legal imports of products, illegal imports of products, fomites associated with transport and wild boar movements) into a modular tool that facilitates the visualization and comprehension of the relative risk of ASFV introduction into the EU by each analyzed pathway. RESULTS: The framework's results indicate that 48% of EU countries are at relatively high risk (risk score 4 or 5 out of 5) for ASFV entry for at least one analyzed pathway. Four of these countries obtained the maximum risk score for one pathway: Bulgaria for legally imported products during the high risk period (HRP); Finland for wild boar; Slovenia and Sweden for legally imported pigs during the HRP. Distribution of risk considerably differed from one pathway to another; for some pathways, the risk was concentrated in a few countries (e.g., transport fomites), whereas other pathways incurred a high risk for 4 or 5 countries (legal pigs, illegal imports and wild boar). CONCLUSIONS: The modular framework, developed to estimate the risk of ASFV entry into the EU, is available in a public domain, and is a transparent, easy-to-interpret tool that can be updated and adapted if required. The model's results determine the EU countries at higher risk for each ASFV introduction route, and provide a useful basis to develop a global coordinated program to improve ASFV prevention in the EU.

Setting clinically relevant thresholds for the notification of canine disease outbreaks to veterinary practitioners: an exploratory qualitative interview study.

Introduction: The Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network (SAVSNET) has developed mathematical models to analyse the veterinary practice and diagnostic laboratory data to detect genuine outbreaks of canine disease in the United Kingdom. There are, however, no validated methods available to establish the clinical relevance of these genuine statistical outbreaks before their formal investigation is conducted. This study aimed to gain an actionable understanding of a veterinary practitioner's preferences regarding which outbreak scenarios have a substantial impact on veterinary practice for six priority canine diseases in the United Kingdom. Methodology: An intensity sampling approach was followed to recruit veterinary practitioners according to their years of experience and the size of their practice. In-depth semi-structured and structured interviews were conducted to describe an outbreak notification and outbreak response thresholds for six canine endemic diseases, exotic diseases, and syndromes. These thresholds reflected participants' preferred balance between the levels of excess case incidence and predictive certainty of the detection system. Interviews were transcribed, and a thematic analysis was performed using NVivo 12. Results: Seven interviews were completed. The findings indicate higher preferred levels of predictive certainty for endemic diseases than for exotic diseases, ranging from 95 to 99% and 80 to 90%, respectively. The levels of excess case incidence were considered clinically relevant at values representing an increase of two to four times in the normal case incidence expectancy for endemic agents, such as parvovirus, and where they indicated a single case in the practice's catchment area for exotic diseases such as leishmaniosis and babesiosis. Conclusion: This study's innovative methodology uses veterinary practitioners' opinions to inform the selection of a notification threshold value in real-world applications of stochastic canine outbreak detection models. The clinically relevant thresholds derived from participants' needs will be used by SAVSNET to inform its outbreak detection system and to improve its response to canine disease outbreaks in the United Kingdom.

Stakeholder opinion-led study to identify canine priority diseases for surveillance and control in the UK.

BACKGROUND: Many pathogens cause disease in dogs; however, meaningful surveillance in small companion animals is often only possible for the most impactful diseases. We describe the first stakeholder opinion-led approach to identify which canine infectious diseases should be prioritised for inclusion in surveillance and control strategies in the UK. METHODS: Participants were identified through a stakeholder analysis. A multicriteria decision analysis was undertaken to establish and weight epidemiological criteria for evaluating diseases, and a Delphi technique was employed to achieve a consensus among participants on the top-priority canine diseases. RESULTS: Nineteen stakeholders from multiple backgrounds participated in this study. Leptospirosis and parvovirus were identified as the top two endemic diseases of concern, while leishmaniosis and babesiosis were the top two exotic diseases. Respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases were identified as the top two syndromes of concern. LIMITATIONS: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of participants was reduced. Despite this, a representative multidisciplinary sample of relevant stakeholders contributed to the present study. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study are being used to inform the development of a future UK-wide epidemic response strategy. This methodology could provide a blueprint for other countries.

A mixed-methods approach utilising electronic health records to examine antimicrobial prescription surrounding gastrointestinal clinical presentations in dogs and cats.

Introduction: Systemically-administered antimicrobials are often prescribed in canine and feline gastrointestinal clinical presentations. Responsible use of antimicrobials, particularly those considered Highest Priority Critically Important Antimicrobials (HPCIAs) is vital to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Although practice-level prescription guidance is available, further strategies based on a greater understanding of antimicrobial prescription at the population-level are needed. Here, we used a mixed-methods approach, harnessing veterinary electronic health records (EHRs) to characterise the use of antimicrobials in canine and feline gastrointestinal presentations, and to explore justification and reasoning around antimicrobial prescribing, particularly of HPCIAs. Methods: This observational study used 23,337 EHRs complemented with veterinary practitioner-completed questionnaires, from canine and feline gastrointestinal consultations from 225 volunteer UK veterinary practices between April 2014 and September 2018. Results: A total of 83.4% (95% confidence interval (CI) 82.6-84.3) gastrointestinal presentations were reported as mild, with non-haemorrhagic diarrhoea and vomiting the most frequently reported clinical signs. Systemically-administered antimicrobials occurred in 28.6% of canine (95% CI 26.9-30.3) and 22.4% of feline (95% CI 20.4-24.4) gastrointestinal consultations, with HPCIA prescription occurring more frequently in cats. Results of multivariable analysis showed the presence of non-haemorrhagic diarrhoea (canine Odds Ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% CI 1.9-2.3; feline OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5-2.1), haemorrhagic diarrhoea (canine OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.8-4.7; feline OR 3.1, 95% CI 2.4-3.8), and moderate/severe presentations (canine OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.7-2.8; feline OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.7-2.5) were positively associated with receiving a systemically-administered antimicrobial. Thematic analysis of clinical narrative content of 516 gastrointestinal consultations where HPCIAs were prescribed allowed the identification of ten factors underpinning reasoning or decision-making for HPCIA prescription: perceived animal/owner compliance; owner's expectations; perceived risk of infection; clinical signs; recent clinical history; perceived positive previous response to antimicrobial therapy; geriatric patients and euthanasia; concomitant conditions; diagnostic testing and the behavioral trend to trial antimicrobial therapy empirically in gastrointestinal cases. No explicit justification for HPCIA prescription was recorded in 77% of cases. Discussion: Improving recorded justification represents a clear target for stewardship programmes. By utilising a complementary mixed-methods approach to EHRs, this study unlocks previously untapped data recorded within EHRs. These results can help inform targeted interventions, contributing towards enhanced antimicrobial stewardship.

Comparative assessment of analytical approaches to quantify the risk for introduction of rare animal diseases: the example of avian influenza in Spain.

Trade of animals and animal products imposes an uncertain and variable risk for exotic animal diseases introduction into importing countries. Risk analysis provides importing countries with an objective, transparent, and internationally accepted method for assessing that risk. Over the last decades, European Union countries have conducted probabilistic risk assessments quite frequently to quantify the risk for rare animal diseases introduction into their territories. Most probabilistic animal health risk assessments have been typically classified into one-level and multilevel binomial models. One-level models are more simple than multilevel models because they assume that animals or products originate from one single population. However, it is unknown whether such simplification may result in substantially different results compared to those obtained through the use of multilevel models. Here, data used on a probabilistic multilevel binomial model formulated to assess the risk for highly pathogenic avian influenza introduction into Spain were reanalyzed using a one-level binomial model and their outcomes were compared. An alternative ordinal model is also proposed here, which makes use of simpler assumptions and less information compared to those required by traditional one-level and multilevel approaches. Results suggest that, at least under certain circumstances, results of the one-level and ordinal approaches are similar to those obtained using multilevel models. Consequently, we argue that, when data are insufficient to run traditional probabilistic models, the ordinal approach presented here may be a suitable alternative to rank exporting countries in terms of the risk that they impose for the spread of rare animal diseases into disease-free countries.

Effect of an antimicrobial stewardship intervention on the prescribing behaviours of companion animal veterinarians: A pre-post study.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial stewardship is a cornerstone of efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance. We evaluated the impact of a formal discussion of antimicrobial stewardship for dogs and cats on systemic antimicrobial prescribing behaviours among companion animal veterinarians. METHODS: Electronic health records including information about the prescription of antimicrobials were collected from a multisite UK veterinary practice between 2017 and 2020. We undertook interrupted time series analysis using a quasi-Poisson model to compare the pre- and postintervention change in level and slope for multiple outcomes. RESULTS: After the intervention, there were sustained reductions in the prescription rate of cefovecin to cats and metronidazole to dogs and increases in amoxicillin-clavulanic acid prescribing. There was no evidence for an immediate change in overall prescribing rates in either species, although rates increased over the 12 months after the intervention. There was a transient increase in the proportion of dogs who had their weight recorded at the time of prescription. Results suggest decreases in the prescription of off-licence antimicrobials in both species and the likelihood of underdosing in dogs. CONCLUSIONS: Discussion of antimicrobial stewardship is more likely to influence the antimicrobial choice than whether to prescribe or not. Interventions may benefit by focusing on appropriate antimicrobial selection rather than overall prescription frequency.

Temporal, Spatial, and Genomic Analyses of Enterobacteriaceae Clinical Antimicrobial Resistance in Companion Animals Reveals Phenotypes and Genotypes of One Health Concern.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a globally important one health threat. The impact of resistant infections on companion animals, and the potential public health implications of such infections, has not been widely explored, largely due to an absence of structured population-level data. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to efficiently capture and repurpose antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) results data from several veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs) across the United Kingdom to facilitate national companion animal clinical AMR surveillance. We also sought to harness and genotypically characterize isolates of potential AMR importance from these laboratories. METHODS: We summarized AST results for 29,330 canine and 8,279 feline Enterobacteriaceae isolates originating from companion animal clinical practice, performed between April 2016 and July 2018 from four VDLs, with submissions from 2,237 United Kingdom veterinary practice sites. RESULTS: Escherichia coli (E. coli) was the most commonly isolated Enterobacteriaceae in dogs (69.4% of AST results, 95% confidence interval, CI, 68.7-70.0) and cats (90.5%, CI 89.8-91.3). Multi-drug resistance was reported in 14.1% (CI 13.5-14.8) of canine and 12.0% (CI 11.1-12.9) of feline E. coli isolates. Referral practices were associated with increased E. coli 3rd generation ≤ cephalosporin resistance odds (dogs: odds ratio 2.0, CI 1.2-3.4). We selected 95 E. coli isolates for whole genome analyses, of which seven belonged to sequence type 131, also carrying the plasmid-associated extended spectrum ß-lactamase gene bla CTX-M- 15. The plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-9 was also identified for the first time in companion animals. CONCLUSIONS: Linking clinical AMR data with genotypic characterization represents an efficient means of identifying important resistance trends in companion animals on a national scale.

Quantification of the risk for introduction of virulent Newcastle disease virus into Spain through legal trade of live poultry from European Union countries.

Newcastle disease (ND) causes large economic losses in poultry production worldwide. Spain has reported two ND epidemics in poultry farms since 1993, the most recent in 2009. The recent increase in the number of ND epidemics reported in Spain and in other European Union (EU) member countries along with the failure to identify the source of the Spanish epidemics caused concern over the vulnerability that Spain has to the disease. Some of the epidemics recently reported in EU member states were associated with legal introduction of live poultry; the large number of susceptible species annually imported by Spain from the EU suggests that legal imports of poultry may impose a risk for the introduction of virulent ND virus (v-NDV) into the country. This article presents the results of the first quantitative assessment of the risk for v-NDV introduction into an ND-free country via legal trade of live poultry. The geographical variation of the risk and the relative contribution of exporting countries and susceptible poultry species to the risk were also estimated. The model here estimated that if prevailing conditions persist, then it would be expected that ND epidemics caused by legal trade of live poultry will occur, on average, once every 196 years in Spain. These results suggest that the risk for ND epidemics in Spain, and probably the sources of recent epidemics reported in the country, were associated with routes of entry other than legal trade of poultry.

A quantitative assessment of the risk for highly pathogenic avian influenza introduction into Spain via legal trade of live poultry.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is considered one of the most important diseases of poultry. During the last 9 years, HPAI epidemics have been reported in Asia, the Americas, Africa, and in 18 countries of the European Union (EU). For that reason, it is possible that the risk for HPAI virus (HPAIV) introduction into Spain may have recently increased. Because of the EU free-trade policy and because legal trade of live poultry was considered an important route for HPAI spread in certain regions of the world, there are fears that Spain may become HPAIV-infected as a consequence of the legal introduction of live poultry. However, no quantitative assessment of the risk for HPAIV introduction into Spain or into any other EU member state via the trade of poultry has been published in the peer-reviewed literature. This article presents the results of the first quantitative assessment of the risk for HPAIV introduction into a free country via legal trade of live poultry, along with estimates of the geographical variation of the risk and of the relative contribution of exporting countries and susceptible poultry species to the risk. The annual mean risk for HPAI introduction into Spain was estimated to be as low as 1.36 x 10(-3), suggesting that under prevailing conditions, introduction of HPAIV into Spain through the trade of live poultry is unlikely to occur. Moreover, these results support the hypothesis that legal trade of live poultry does not impose a significant risk for the spread of HPAI into EU member states.

Association of chronic enteropathy activity index, blood urea concentration, and risk of death in dogs with protein-losing enteropathy.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with increased risk of premature death in humans with inflammatory bowel disease. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVE: To determine if historical, clinical, and laboratory markers of malnutrition in dogs at the time of histologic diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) caused by chronic enteropathy (CE) or lymphangiectasia are associated with increased risk of death. ANIMALS: Seventy-one client-owned dogs diagnosed with PLE. METHODS: The medical records were retrospectively searched for cases of PLE, diagnosed with CE or lymphangiectasia on the basis of histopathology of intestinal biopsies at a referral hospital. For each case, various variables at the time of diagnostic investigation were recorded and follow-up obtained by telephone contact with the referring veterinarian. RESULTS: A multivariable cox model indicated that canine chronic enteropathy activity index (CCEAI) and blood urea concentration were significantly associated with death (P values <.01). For each unit increase in CCEAI, the hazard of death increased by 22.9% (confidence interval [CI]: 6.9%-41.2%). Dogs with a CCEAI of ≤8 and dogs with urea ≤7 mmol/L survived 256 days longer (P = .001, CI: 106.7-405.4 days) and 279 days longer (P = .009, CI: 70.0-488.7 days) than those with a CCEAI of >8 and urea >7 mmol/L on average, respectively, when followed up for 647 days. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Increased CCEAI and blood urea concentration at the time of diagnosis might be predictive of death in dogs with PLE caused by CE or lymphangiectasia.

A real-time spatio-temporal syndromic surveillance system with application to small companion animals.

Lack of disease surveillance in small companion animals worldwide has contributed to a deficit in our ability to detect and respond to outbreaks. In this paper we describe the first real-time syndromic surveillance system that conducts integrated spatio-temporal analysis of data from a national network of veterinary premises for the early detection of disease outbreaks in small animals. We illustrate the system's performance using data relating to gastrointestinal disease in dogs and cats. The data consist of approximately one million electronic health records for dogs and cats, collected from 458 UK veterinary premises between March 2014 and 2016. For this illustration, the system predicts the relative reporting rate of gastrointestinal disease amongst all presentations, and updates its predictions as new data accrue. The system was able to detect simulated outbreaks of varying spatial geometry, extent and severity. The system is flexible: it generates outcomes that are easily interpretable; the user can set their own outbreak detection thresholds. The system provides the foundation for prompt detection and control of health threats in companion animals.

Pharmaceutical Prescription in Canine Acute Diarrhoea: A Longitudinal Electronic Health Record Analysis of First Opinion Veterinary Practices.

Canine acute diarrhoea is frequently observed in first opinion practice, though little is known about commonly used diagnostic or therapeutic management plans, including use of antimicrobials. This retrospective observational study utilised electronic health records augmented with practitioner-completed questionnaires from 3,189 cases (3,159 dogs) collected from 179 volunteer veterinary practices between April 2014 and January 2017. We used multivariable analysis to explore factors potentially associated with pharmaceutical agent prescription, and resolution of clinical signs by 10 days post-initial presentation. Use of bacteriological and/or parasitological diagnostic tests were uncommon (3.2% of cases, 95% confidence interval, CI, 2.4-4.0), though systemic antimicrobials were the most commonly prescribed pharmaceutical agents (49.7% of cases, 95% CI 46.1-53.2). Such prescription was associated with haemorrhagic diarrhoea (odds ratio, OR, 4.1; 95% CI 3.4-5.0), body temperature in excess of 39.0°C, or moderate/severe cases (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1-1.7). Gastrointestinal agents (e.g., antacids) were prescribed to 37.7% of cases (95% CI 35.4-39.9), and were most frequently prescribed to vomiting dogs regardless of presence (OR 46.4, 95% CI 19.4-110.8) or absence of blood (OR 17.1, 95% CI 13.4-21.9). Endoparasiticides/endectocides were prescribed to 7.8% of cases (95% CI 6.8-9.0), such prescription being less frequent for moderate/severe cases (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4-0.7), though more frequent when weight loss was recorded (OR 3.4, 95% CI 1.3-9.0). Gastrointestinal nutraceuticals (e.g., probiotics) were dispensed to 60.8% of cases (95% CI 57.1-64.6), these cases less frequently presenting with moderate/severe clinical signs (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.5-0.8). Nearly a quarter of cases were judged lost to follow-up (n=754). Insured (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9); neutered (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.3-0.5), or vaccinated dogs (OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.3-0.4) were less commonly lost to follow-up. Of remaining dogs, clinical signs were deemed resolved in 95.4% of cases (95% CI 94.6-96.2). Provision of dietary modification advice and gastrointestinal nutraceuticals alone were positively associated with resolution (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.3-6.1); no such associations were found for pharmaceutical agents, including antimicrobials. Hence, this study supports the view that antimicrobials are largely unnecessary for acute diarrhoea cases; this being of particular importance when considering the global threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

Use of cefovecin in a UK population of cats attending first-opinion practices as recorded in electronic health records.

Objectives The objective was to use electronic health records to describe the use of cefovecin (Convenia; Zoetis UK), a third-generation long-acting injectable antimicrobial, in a UK population of cats attending first-opinion practices, and to compare the use of Convenia with the licensed uses described on the UK Convenia datasheet. Methods Data were obtained as an Excel database from the Small Animal Veterinary Surveillance Network for all feline consultations containing the word Convenia and/or cefovecin from 1 September 2012 to 23 September 2013 inclusive. Entries were classified according to body system treated, confirmation or suspicion of an abscess, evidence of microbiological evaluation being performed, any concurrent therapies given and whether any reason was given for use of Convenia over alternative antimicrobials. Data were exported to IBM SPSS Statistics and descriptive analysis performed. Results In total, 1148 entries were analysed. The most common body system treated was skin in 553 (48.2%) entries, then urinary (n = 157; 13.7%) and respiratory (n = 112; 9.8%). Microbiological evaluation was recorded in 193 (16.8%) entries, with visible purulent material most commonly cited (in 147 [12.8%] entries). A reason for prescribing Convenia over alternative antimicrobials was given in 138 (12.0%) entries; the most cited was an inability to orally medicate the cat in 77 (55.8%) of these entries. Excluding 131 entries where no body system or multiple body systems were described, the use of Convenia complied with a licensed use in the UK datasheet in 710 (69.8%) of 1017 entries. Conclusions and relevance Most administrations were licensed uses; however, most entries did not describe any microbiological evaluation, or a reason for prescribing Convenia over alternative antimicrobials. Further education of the public and the veterinary profession is needed to promote antimicrobial stewardship in the UK. Health records provide a valuable tool with which to monitor, both locally and at scale, the use of important therapeutics like antimicrobials. Information relevant to decision-making should be recorded in individual animal health records.

Unusual pattern of chikungunya virus epidemic in the Americas, the Panamanian experience.

BACKGROUND: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) typically causes explosive epidemics of fever, rash and polyarthralgia after its introduction into naïve populations. Since its introduction in Panama in May of 2014, few autochthonous cases have been reported; most of them were found within limited outbreaks in Panama City in 2014 and Puerto Obaldia town, near the Caribbean border with Colombia in 2015. In order to confirm that Panama had few CHIKV cases compared with neighboring countries, we perform an epidemiological analysis of chikungunya cases reported from May 2014 to July 2015. Moreover, to understand this paucity of confirmed CHIKV cases, a vectorial analysis in the counties where these cases were reported was performed. METHODS: Chikungunya cases were identified at medical centers and notified to health authorities. Sera samples were analyzed at Gorgas Memorial Institute for viral RNA and CHIKV-specific antibody detection. RESULTS: A total of 413 suspected cases of CHIKV infections were reported, with incidence rates of 0.5 and 0.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014 and 2015, respectively. During this period, 38.6% of CHIKV cases were autochthonous with rash and polyarthralgia as predominant symptoms. CHIKV and DENV incidence ratios were 1:306 and 1:34, respectively. A phylogenetic analysis of E1/E2 genomic segment indicates that the outbreak strains belong to the Asian genotype and cluster together with CHIKV isolates from other American countries during the same period. Statistical analysis of the National Vector Control program at the district level shows low and medium vector infestation level for most of the counties with CHIKV cases. This index was lower than for neighboring countries. CONCLUSIONS: Previous training of clinical, laboratory and vector workers allowed a good caption and detection of the chikungunya cases and fast intervention. It is possible that low/medium vector infestation level could explain in part the paucity of chikungunya infections in Panama.

Small animal disease surveillance: GI disease and salmonellosis.

Presentation for gastrointestinal (GI) disease comprised 2.2 per cent of cat, 3.2 per cent of dog and 2.2 per cent of rabbit consultations between April 1, 2016 and March 31, 2017Diarrhoea and vomiting without blood were the most frequently reported GI disease clinical signs (34.4 and 38.9 per cent in cats and 42.8 and 37.3 per cent in dogs, respectively)The mean percentage of samples testing positive for Salmonella in dogs was double that in cats (0.82 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively) from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016In dogs, autumn was associated with a greater proportion of Salmonella-positive sample submissions; no clear suggestion of seasonal variation in cats was observedIn both cats and dogs, isolates belonging to Salmonella enterica group B serotypes were the most common (68.9 per cent in cats and 55.0 per cent in dogs).