A survey assessing the prevalence of in-hospital violence against veterinary nurses working in small animal hospitals.

Background: In recent years, due to a strong concern about this issue, many studies have been conducted on in-hospital violence directed at medical personnel working in the field of human medicine. However, no such survey has been conducted in veterinary medicine to date. Veterinary nurses play an important role in small animal hospitals. This study aimed to investigate whether in-hospital violence occurred against veterinary nurses in small animal hospitals. Aim: We conducted a questionnaire survey among veterinary nurses working in small animal hospitals to assess their experience of being subjected to in-hospital violence (verbal and physical). Methods: The target period for this survey was 1 year before the completion of the questionnaire. A total of 134 nurses gave their consent to participate in this survey, and 126 survey responses were included in the final analysis (valid response rate: 94.0%). Incomplete responses were excluded from the analysis. Results: It was seen that 51 people (40.5%) reported having experienced incidents of verbal or physical violence or sexual harassment. Conclusion: Based on these results, we suggest measures that will help ensure that the staff can provide veterinary care without worrying about their safety and well-being.

Anti-microbial resistance of Salmonella isolates from raw meat-based dog food in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Salmonella contamination of raw meat-based diets (RMBDs) for pets poses a major public health concern but has not been investigated in Japan. OBJECTIVE: To investigate Salmonella contamination in RMBDs for dogs marketed in Japan and the anti-microbial resistance profiles of the Salmonella isolates. METHODS: Sixty commercial RMBD samples were collected in the Okayama and Osaka Prefectures, Japan, between December 2016 and March 2017. The obtained Salmonella isolates were serotyped, their anti-microbial resistance patterns were determined, and the anti-microbial-resistant isolates were screened for the presence of resistance genes by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica was detected in seven of the 60 RMBD samples. Among them, five isolates were identified as S. Infantis (n = 3), S. Typhimurium (n = 1) and S. Schwarzengrund (n = 1), while the serotypes of two isolates were unable to be identified. All isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, cefazolin, cefotaxime and gentamycin. Two isolates were resistant to more than one anti-microbial agent; one of the S. Infantis isolates was resistant to streptomycin, kanamycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim, while the S. Typhimurium isolate was resistant to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin and chloramphenicol. The S. Schwarzengrund isolate was resistant to tetracycline. Additionally, the S. Typhimurium isolate harboured the anti-microbial resistance gene gyrA with a mutation corresponding to Ser-83→Phe amino acid substitution. CONCLUSION: The study findings suggest that RMBDs for dogs marketed in Japan can be a potential source of Salmonella infection for dogs and humans including infections caused by quinolone-resistant isolates.

Antimicrobial Resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Dogs and Cats in Primary Veterinary Hospitals in Japan.

We collected 200 Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from dogs and cats in primary veterinary hospitals in Japan to investigate their antimicrobial resistance. Resistance rates against ciprofloxacin, cefotaxime, gentamicin, amikacin, and fosfomycin were 9%, 12.5%, 4.5%, 2.5%, and 35.5%, respectively. One strain displayed resistance (0.5%) to ceftazidime. We did not detect any imipenem-resistant or multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa strains as defined by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare Law Concerning the Prevention of Infections and Medical Care for Patients with Infections. In addition, we did not find any P. aeruginosa isolates that produced metallo-ß-lactamase, the aminoglycoside 6'-N-acetyltransferase AAC(6')-Iae, or the aminoglycoside acetyltransferase AAC(6')-Ib.

Rapid detection of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 strains by the polymerase chain reaction.

BACKGROUND: Infection with Salmonella enterica is a major public health concern in developed countries, and multidrug-resistant strains have become increasingly prevalent. S. enterica serovar Typhimurium DT104 (DT104) strains are prevalent in livestock in Japan and include numerous strains of multidrug-resistant S. enterica. Epidemiological analysis of these strains is critical for both agriculture and public health; however, diagnostic tests for these strains have yielded inconsistent results. RESULTS: We developed a rapid, simple, and inexpensive polymerase chain reaction test to detect multi-drug resistant DT104 strains. We designed primers specific to the prophage ST104 sequence encoded by DT104 strains and assessed the specificity of these primers by assaying a panel of 50 S. enterica isolates. Amplification products of the expected size were generated from the genomes of each of the DT104 strains; however, the ST104 primers failed to amplify products from non-DT104 strains of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium or other S. enterica serovars. Furthermore, a probe generated using the ST104 primers detected a restriction fragment encoding the ST104 region of DT104 by Southern hybridization. CONCLUSIONS: The ST104 primers exhibit specificity to DT104 strains and are suitable for epidemiological applications.