RESUMEN
Use of animals for therapeutic purposes, animal assisted therapy or AAT is a method for improving quality of life for long-term inpatients. The object of this paper was to evaluate dog companionship as a form of AAT and its effects on perception of loneliness in geriatric nursing home residents. The participants were involved in a six-month program of dog companionship three times weekly for 90 minutes. There were 21 residents included in the program, with a mean age of 80 years. Loneliness was measured by the short version of the UCLA Scale of loneliness. Comparison of test results before and after participation in the program showed that dog companionship reduces the perception of loneliness.
Asunto(s)
Terapia Asistida por Animales/métodos , Enfermería Geriátrica/métodos , Soledad/psicología , Casas de Salud , Calidad de Vida , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Animales , Croacia , Perros , Femenino , Humanos , MasculinoRESUMEN
Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated in two dog populations. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralising antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, samples for viral isolation and PCR were unavailable. Still, seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.