Development and validation of a questionnaire to assess owner and canine quality-of-life and treatment satisfaction in canine allergic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Animal and owner quality-of-life (QoL) is pivotal in treatment decisions. Accurate measurement of owner-reported QoL and treatment satisfaction (TS) supports disease burden and treatment benefit evaluation. OBJECTIVES: Develop and evaluate an owner-completed canine dermatitis QoL and TS questionnaire (CDQoL-TSQ) in allergic dogs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The CDQoL-TSQ was drafted following review of existing measures and expert input. Content validity was assessed through interviews with owners of allergic dogs. Psychometric properties of the QoL domains (Canine QoL, Owner QoL) were evaluated. Score interpretation was derived. RESULTS: Twenty dog owners were interviewed. Item wording was amended following the first 10 interviews. Data from 211 owners were used in the psychometric evaluation. The Canine QoL domain demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.89), test-retest reliability (ICC2,1 = 0.844), moderate convergent validity (r = 0.41) and moderate-high known-groups validity (effect size 0.37-0.64). The Owner QoL domain demonstrated strong internal consistency (α = 0.73), high convergent validity (r = 0.63) and moderate-high known-groups validity (0.43-0.63). Test-retest reliability approached moderate strength (ICC2,1 = 0.490). Group-level interpretation analysis showed minimal important difference of 7.0-13.6 points for dogs and 13.0-13.6 for owners. For individual dogs a change of 6.3 or 12.5 points for dogs, and 12.5 or 18.8 for owners indicates a response. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The CDQOL-TSQ is a two-part assessment to evaluate QoL and TS in canine allergic dermatitis. The QoL questionnaire demonstrated validity and reliability, and interpretation of scores was derived, making it suitable for use in research and practice. The TS module is suitable for clinical setting use to improve owner-veterinarian communication.

A quantitative risk assessment of bovine theileriosis entering Luapula Province from Central Province in Zambia via live cattle imports from traditional and commercial production sectors.

Theileriosis or East Coast Fever (ECF) is an important livestock disease widespread in Zambia except for some provinces such as Luapula. This freedom status has been achieved due to strict livestock movement regulations that only authorise cattle imports from commercial farms implementing strict ECF control regimens. Recent increases in both the demand and price of beef in Zambia are stimulating a policy change towards a more inclusive inter-provincial trade in live cattle. This may also encourage the introduction of breeding cattle from high production pastoral sectors such as Central Province to stimulate the beef industry in disease free low production areas such as the Luapula Province. To estimate and compare the risks linked with those potential introductions of cattle from the traditional or commercial production sectors of the Central Province, a quantitative risk assessment model was developed. This risk comparison was necessary because the traditional livestock production sector accounts for over 79% of breeding cattle trade in Central Province but is characterised by minimalistic tick-borne disease control and a higher prevalence of ECF. We estimate that should the importation of breeding cattle from Central into Luapula Province be permitted, we could expect to import ECF by the introduction of infected animals at a median rate (5th and 95th percentiles) of every 0.44 years (0.12, 2.60), from the traditional sector compared to every 3.57 years (0.37, 103.6) from the commercial sector. Infected ticks would be expected to enter every 3.46 (0.66, 43.8) years via traditional cattle imports. These risks are strongly influenced by the prevalence of infection, performance of pre-transport screening tests, and the effectiveness of pre-transport tick cleansing. This assessment is expected to provide a model for tick borne disease risk assessments in similar settings, as well as inform ECF control, cattle trade, and stock movement policies in Zambia.

A qualitative assessment of the risk of introducing peste des petits ruminants into northern zambia from Tanzania.

A qualitative risk assessment was performed to evaluate the risk of introducing Peste des petits ruminants virus into northern Zambia from Tanzania via live goat trade. Data was collected during a mission to Tanzania and northern Zambia and also from literature and interviews with experts. The risk of PPRV introduction was evaluated as a function of the probability of hazard (PPRV) release, exposure of susceptible hosts, and the consequences of spread using the following parameters: prevalence of infection, volume of trade, C-ELISA and quarantine screening missing an infected animal, PPRV viability (remaining infective) in transit, and the virus potential for infection. The magnitude of the consequences was derived from the probability of transmission and spread and the impact of PPRV introduction and establishment. Accordingly, the probability of occurrence of PPRV in northern Zambia from Tanzania was rated as "high" and the economic consequences were also rated as "high." Finally, the overall risk of introducing PPRV into northern Zambia from Tanzania at the time of the assessment was rated "high." It was concluded that import of goats and sheep be prohibited until efficient and adequate measures to reduce the risk have been put in place.

Cost benefit analysis of tuberculosis control in wildlife-livestock interface areas of Southern Zambia.

This paper presents the results of an economic simulation model evaluating the costs and benefits of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) control in a wildlife-livestock interface area of Southern Zambia over a 10 year period, using test and slaughter in livestock and promotion of milk pasteurization amongst livestock keeping communities to reduce the zoonotic transmission of bTB through milk. Expected benefits included increased productivity and health in village resident and transhumant cattle, and averted human bTB treatment costs after the fourth year of the project. In monetary terms, at different bTB prevalence estimates in cattle, the simulation outcome showed that the costs of control never exceeded the few benefits considered over the simulated period. However, the benefits are likely to outweigh the costs if wider implications of bTB in humans (infirmity-related productivity losses), livestock and wildlife (reduced productivity and herd value in cattle and diminished tourism potential from bTB-related wildlife mortalities) are taken into account.

Effectiveness of Rose Bengal test and fluorescence polarization assay in the diagnosis of Brucella spp. infections in free range cattle reared in endemic areas in Zambia.

The effectiveness of Rose Bengal test (RBT) and fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) in diagnosing cattle brucellosis in endemic areas was assessed and RBT and FPA test agreement was compared (n = 319). The sensitivity of RBT and FPA in detecting low Brucella titres were evaluated in paired sera (n = 34). A logistic regression model was constructed to predict cattle test result in FPA using RBT as the main predictor and incorporating bio-data and animal history. There was 79.3% agreement between the RBT and FPA (Kappa = 0.59; Std error = 0.05; p = 0.000) and a high correspondence between high RBT scores and positive FPA results suggesting that sera with high RBT score may not require confirmation with tests such as competitive-ELISA or CFT. High FPA cut-off points were more likely to miss animals with low antibody titres. The RBT had a reduced ability in detecting low antibody titres compared to the FPA. FPA test interpretation was improved if a priori information, such as sex and age was used. Under the challenging disease surveillance conditions prevailing in rural Africa, field-testing methods that are sensitive and specific; allow single animal contact, low technical skills in data interpretation are suitable.

Mortality and commercial off-take rates in adult traditional cattle of Zambia.

A cohort study was conducted in the livestock-wildlife interface areas of Zambia to determine cattle mortality and commercial off-take rates among adult cattle as well as factors influencing them. A total of 416 animals from 43 herds were followed up for one year and animals were individually identified and their fate was indicated as sold, slaughtered, dead or present as appropriate. The overall mortality incidence risk was estimated at 7.5%. Cattle in Kazungula were at a greater risk of dying compared to those in Blue Lagoon and Lochnivar. Annual off-take was estimated at 13.7% (8.1-19.3%), unadjusted values, and 16.4% (8.1-24.5%) after adjusting for sampling fraction in primary sampling units (herds) and area stratification. Area variations were observed with Kazungula recording the highest in both instances, which was attributed to a contagious bovine pleural pneumonia (CBPP) outbreak. Herd size and gender were observed to influence cattle mortality rates. Cattle in the middle-sized herds (50-150 cattle) recorded high mortality rates (OR = 3.91) compared to smaller herds (10-50) and so were females compared to males (OR = 4.16). The logistic regression model showed that cattle death was influenced by managerial factors and that off-take rates tend to increase in the face of disease outbreaks.