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A survey of veterinarians' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding an emerging disease: Coccidioidomycosis in Washington State.
James, Allison E; McCall, James R; Petersen, Kristen R; Wohrle, Ron D; Oltean, Hanna N.
Afiliação
  • James AE; Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
  • McCall JR; Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, Department of Sociology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
  • Petersen KR; Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA.
  • Wohrle RD; Environmental Public Health Division, Washington State Department of Health, Olympia, WA, USA.
  • Oltean HN; Communicable Disease Epidemiology, Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline, WA, USA.
Zoonoses Public Health ; 67(1): 25-34, 2020 02.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31541564
ABSTRACT
Coccidioides immitis is an emerging fungal pathogen in Washington State (WA). While the geographical boundaries of C. immitis in WA have not been well characterized, human infections have resulted from exposure in the south-central region of the state. Since 2010, only one dog has been identified as a probable locally acquired animal case, despite pilot canine serological surveys from south-central WA revealing a 9.8% seroprevalence. On the suspicion that clinical animal cases may be underdiagnosed and/or underreported, we assessed WA veterinarians' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding coccidioidomycosis. All veterinarians with active licenses in WA were invited to complete a self-administered, web-based survey from November 2018 to January 2019. Four hundred and twenty-five of 2,211 (19.2%) veterinarians returned the survey and were eligible for inclusion in the final analysis. Nearly, all respondents (98.8%) had heard of coccidioidomycosis, but only 31.5% and 25.6% knew that locally acquired animal and human cases, respectively, had been reported in WA. Only half (52.6%) of participants knew that the disease was reportable. Fewer than 20% of respondents reported confidence that their knowledge of coccidioidomycosis was up to date, and 76.9% "never" or "rarely" considered the risk of disease in their patients. A statistically significant predictor of a high knowledge score (≥70%), however, included practicing in endemic counties where the Washington State Department of Health had previously delivered outreach and education services. While the results suggest some success with these activities, it is clear that information on the emergence of coccidioidomycosis is not adequately reaching veterinary practitioners in WA. The data support that more frequent CE opportunities, and dissemination of public health communications through veterinary-specific modalities, would help fill the knowledge gap. In turn, improved diagnosis and reporting of animal cases would assist in our overall understanding the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis in WA.
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Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde / Coccidioides / Coccidioidomicose / Médicos Veterinários / Doenças Transmissíveis Emergentes Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies / Qualitative_research Limite: Animals / Humans País/Região como assunto: America do norte Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde / Coccidioides / Coccidioidomicose / Médicos Veterinários / Doenças Transmissíveis Emergentes Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies / Qualitative_research Limite: Animals / Humans País/Região como assunto: America do norte Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2020 Tipo de documento: Article