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The animal sheltering industry lacks standardized methods of data collection and analysis. The resulting lack of available data limits our understanding of the homeless animal population. The objective of this study was to better understand record-keeping practices and attitudes toward shelter statistics among Massachusetts shelter and rescue organizations and to identify barriers to data collection and analysis. A survey of 119 participants at Massachusetts sheltering organizations revealed that the animal welfare community held favorable attitudes toward data management and sharing, but desired additional resources and training to manage data more efficiently and effectively. While a large proportion of homeless dogs and cats in Massachusetts are handled by a small number of large organizations, there are also hundreds of smaller shelters, rescues and animal control officers in the system. Public agencies were the least likely to use electronic data-keeping means, and often cited lack of resources as a barrier. These results should prove useful not only in Massachusetts but for other regions hoping to improve data collection practices and for the evaluation of shelter statistics systems nationwide.

© 2019 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. Some conservationists believe that free-ranging cats pose an enormous risk to biodiversity and public health and therefore should be eliminated from the landscape by any means necessary. They further claim that those who question the science or ethics behind their arguments are science deniers (merchants of doubt) seeking to mislead the public. As much as we share a commitment to conservation of biodiversity and wild nature, we believe these ideas are wrong and fuel an unwarranted moral panic over cats. Those who question the ecological or epidemiological status of cats are not science deniers, and it is a false analogy to compare them with corporate and right-wing special interests that perpetrate disinformation campaigns over issues, such as smoking and climate change. There are good conservation and public-health reasons and evidence to be skeptical that free-ranging cats constitute a disaster for biodiversity and human health in all circumstances. Further, there are significant and largely unaddressed ethical and policy issues (e.g., the ethics and efficacy of lethal management) relative to how people ought to value and coexist with cats and native wildlife. Society is better served by a collaborative approach to produce better scientific and ethical knowledge about free-ranging cats.

Free-roaming dogs and rabies transmission are integrally linked across many low income countries, and large unmanaged dog populations can be daunting to rabies control program planners. Dog population management (DPM) is a multifaceted concept which aims to improve the health and well-being of free-roaming dogs, reduce problems they may cause, and may also aim to reduce dog population size. In theory, DPM can facilitate more effective rabies control. Community engagement focussed on promoting responsible dog ownership and better veterinary care could improve the health of individual animals and dog vaccination coverage, thus reducing rabies transmission. Humane DPM tools such as sterilization could theoretically reduce dog population turnover and size, allowing rabies vaccination coverage to be maintained more easily. However, it is important to understand local dog populations and community attitudes towards them in order to determine whether and how DPM might contribute to rabies control, and which DPM tools would be most successful. In practice, there is very limited evidence of DPM tools achieving reductions in the size or turnover of dog populations in canine rabies endemic areas. Different DPM tools are frequently used together and combined with rabies vaccinations, but full impact assessments of DPM programs are not usually available and therefore evaluation of tools is difficult. Surgical sterilization is the most frequently documented tool, and has successfully reduced dog population size and turnover in a few low income settings. However, DPM programs are mostly conducted in urban settings and are usually not government funded, raising concerns about their applicability in rural settings and sustainability over time. Technical demands, costs, and the time necessary to achieve population level impacts are major barriers. Given their potential value, we urgently need more evidence of the effectiveness of DPM tools in the context of canine rabies control. Cheaper, less labor-intensive tools for dog sterilization will be extremely valuable in realizing the potential benefits of reduced population turnover and size. No one DPM tool will fit all situations, but if DPM objectives are achieved dog populations may be stabilized or even reduced, facilitating higher dog vaccination coverages that will benefit rabies elimination efforts.

The major premise of One Health is engagement of multiple disciplines to address shared problems spanning human, animal, and ecosystem health. The current model of academic specialization encourages development of isolated disciplines within the university setting, thereby creating barriers to resource sharing and academic collaboration. The aim of this project was to develop a systematic approach to mapping university assets that could be harnessed to advance One Health education. Asset in this context was defined as a course, program, or faculty expertise relevant to a particular One Health problem. The approach adopted comprised the following steps: (1) identify a current problem that would benefit from an integrated, interdisciplinary perspective (e.g., EIDs [emerging infectious diseases]); (2) identify individual disciplinary teaching areas pertinent to the problem (e.g., health communication, wildlife ecology); (3) identify competencies expected to be attained by graduates who will address the problem (e.g., respond to outbreaks); (4) survey faculty members on their teaching areas and curricular offerings that address these competencies; and (5) compile responses in a database that is searchable by teaching area and competency. We discuss our recent experiences mapping the assets at Tufts University that are relevant to the problem of EIDs with emphasis on zoonotic-disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and outbreak response. Using 13 teaching areas and 16 competencies relevant to applied epidemiology, we identified and characterized previously untapped resources across the university. Asset mapping is thus a useful tool for identifying university resources and opportunities that can be leveraged to support interdisciplinary education for One Health.

To describe therapeutic antibiotic use patterns in dogs at a small animal teaching hospital.A retrospective case analysis of randomly sampled antibiotic prescriptions in dogs from May 20, 2008 to May 20, 2009, deemed to be for therapeutic use, was performed. Records were reviewed to determine if there was documentation of confirmed, suspected or no evidence of infection. The five most frequently prescribed antibiotics were identified and analysed for their distribution in these categories.In 17% of therapeutic antibiotic prescriptions there was confirmed infection, in 45% suspected infection, and in 38% there was no documented evidence of infection. Amoxicillin-clavulanate was the most frequently prescribed antibiotic, followed by cefazolin/cephalexin, enrofloxacin, ampicillin/amoxicillin and doxycycline. Doxycycline was the most frequently prescribed with no documented evidence of infection, and amoxicillin-clavulanate was the most frequently prescribed with either confirmed or suspected evidence of infection.Clinicians use a variety of tools when deciding whether or not to prescribe an antibiotic and which antibiotic to use. As in human medicine, there is likely overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics in veterinary medicine. Veterinarians should engage in discussions regarding clinically applicable guidelines for appropriate antibiotic use.

A systematic literature review was performed to summarize the nature, implementation, outcomes, and long-term impacts of previously instituted interventions and programs aimed at educating veterinary public health providers. A logic model was developed to direct the literature search strategy, provide a framework for evaluating the relationship between veterinary public health professional education and their associated population health outcomes, and guide future training development and recommendations for the education of veterinary health professionals. Our literature review indicates that there is a relative lack of published literature that connects veterinary public health educational interventions to population health outcomes. Reasons for the lack of evidence to connect educational programs and population health outcomes include the evaluation of outcomes on a short-term rather than intermediate- or long-term basis, a lack of experimental studies, and infrequent grounding in population health or educational theory. Future intervention recommendations as suggested in the reviewed articles are also summarized.

The Combined Master of Public Health program at Tufts University unites medical and veterinary medical students in a four-year curriculum that integrates students’ clinical studies with simultaneous studies on population health. Thirty years ago, Tufts University adopted a “One Medicine” approach to teaching health professionals. That perspective has been updated as “One Health” and is now being applied in a university environment that emphasizes interdisciplinary education, a global outlook, and civic engagement.

OBJECTIVE—To evaluate the performance, in settings typical of opportunistic and community screening programs, of screening tests currently recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) for detecting undiagnosed diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—Volunteers aged ≥20 years without previously diagnosed diabetes (n = 1,471) completed a brief questionnaire and underwent recording of postprandial time and measurement of capillary blood glucose (CBG) with a portable sensor. Participants subsequently underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test; fasting serum glucose (FSG) and 2-h postload serum glucose (2-h SG) concentrations were measured. The screening tests we studied included the ADA risk assessment questionnaire, the recommended CBG cut point of 140 mg/dl, and an alternative CBG cut point of 120 mg/dl. Each screening test was evaluated against several diagnostic criteria for diabetes (FSG ≥126 mg/dl, 2-h SG ≥200 mg/dl, or either) and dysglycemia (FSG ≥110 mg/dl, 2-h SG ≥140 mg/dl, or either). RESULTS—Among all participants, 10.7% had undiagnosed diabetes (FSG ≥126 or 2-h SG ≥200 mg/dl), 52.1% had a positive result on the questionnaire, 9.5% had CBG ≥140 mg/dl, and 18.4% had CBG ≥120 mg/dl. The questionnaire was 72–78% sensitive and 50–51% specific for the three diabetes diagnostic criteria; CBG ≥140 mg/dl was 56–65% sensitive and 95–96% specific, and CBG ≥120 mg/dl was 75–84% sensitive and 86–90% specific. CBG ≥120 mg/dl was 44–62% sensitive and 89–90% specific for dysglycemia. CONCLUSIONS—Low specificity may limit the usefulness of the ADA questionnaire. Lowering the cut point for a casual CBG test (e.g., to 120 mg/dl) may improve sensitivity and still provide adequate specificity.

THE recent article by Cleaveland and others (2014) presents a case for an integrated One Health strategy to control and eliminate rabies in low-income countries. We agree with most of the authors' arguments but felt a comment was warranted on the statement that concurrent dog sterilisation programmes would not be helpful in reducing rabies incidence solely because ‘rabies transmission does not depend on dog population density’. First, the way in which dog density is calculated raises serious issues about the validity of the parameter. Does one calculate …

Epidemiologic studies to assess the prevalence of infectious disease in small ruminants in the Sahel have been limited. Previous work by Abu Elzein (1985) on bluetongue and Zain Eldin, Elkhawad and Kheir (1985) on toxoplasmosis has established that these two diseases have contributed significantly to the morbidity and mortality of ruminants in the Sudan. To date, however, few studies have been done to assess the prevalence of either disease among small ruminants as far west as Niger. The present study was conducted to assess antibody prevalence for bluetongue and toxoplasmosis in a flock of 70 sheep in south-western Niger. Sera were tested for the presence of antibodies to bluetongue by the agar gel immunodiffusion method and a commercially prepared test for toxoplasma antibody usingant igen covalently bound to latex particles by an indirect agglutination microtitre method was supplied by TechAmerica Inc. (Kansas City, MO 64141). Seropositivity for bluetongue in the study region reached 22% while that for toxoplasmosis was 14%. While both diseases can deplete flock numbers and seriously affect production, neither were determined to be significant enough a threat to animal health to warrant a full scale control programme in that country.

BACKGROUND. An investigation of the relationship between incident human cases of Lyme disease and seroprevalence of antibodies to B. burgdorferi in dogs was undertaken in order to determine whether dogs might serve as sentinels for Lyme disease. METHODS. 3011 canine serum samples were analyzed by ELISA for antibody to B. burgdorferi. Records of incident human cases of Lyme disease were obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. RESULTS. Regression analyses of the relationship between the log10 (mean incidence in people 1985-1989) and canine seroprevalence from July 1988-August 1989 revealed that canine seroprevalence was highly predictive of incidence (R2 = 0.86, p less than .0001). A logistic regression model that incorporates the altitude of the town where each dog was resident, the date of sampling, and information on each dog's age, sex, and breed adequately explained the risk of canine seropositivity. Dogs resident at altitudes less than 200 feet, of sporting or large mixed breeds, and greater than two years of age were five times, four times, and almost three times more likely, respectively, to exhibit seropositivity than were other dogs. CONCLUSIONS. Estimates of the prevalence of antibody to B. burgdorferi in dog populations offers a sensitive, reliable, and convenient measure of the potential risk to people of B. burgdorferi in the environment. Risk factors for canine seropositivity may directly or indirectly illuminate certain aspects of the epidemiology of human Lyme disease.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), indirect immunofluorescent-antibody assay (IFA), and Western immunoblot were used to test serum samples from 128 dogs for the presence of antibody to Borrelia burgdorferi. Sera included 72 samples from dogs suspected of having Lyme disease, 32 samples from dogs residing in areas in which Lyme disease was not considered endemic, and 24 samples from dogs with clinical and serologic evidence of immune-mediated disease (n = 10), Rocky Mountain spotted fever (n = 5), or leptospirosis (n = 9). Results of Western immunoblotting were used as the standard against which performances of ELISA and IFA were measured. ELISA was significantly more sensitive than IFA (84.8 versus 66.7%), although both tests were equally specific (93.5%). Eight samples that were positive by Western immunoblot were simultaneously negative by ELISA and IFA. Of these eight, four were from dogs suspected of having immune-mediated disease, two were from dogs suspected of having leptospirosis, and two were from dogs suspected of having Lyme disease. These results may indicate that sera from dogs with immune-mediated disease, and to a lesser extent sera from those with leptospirosis, cross-react with B. burgdorferi antigens. Alternatively, Western immunoblot results may not truly reflect Lyme disease status, particularly in the case of dogs with immune-mediated diseases. At present, however, the use of Western immunoblotting as a diagnostic standard for dogs offers the best alternative to a clinical definition of disease.

Objectives To describe a community outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and to investigate risk factors for MRSA transmission and infection in a wrestling team. Design Case series and retrospective cohort study. Setting A high school wrestling team and the surrounding community in southern Vermont, 1993 to 1994. Patients or Other Participants The case series included persons whose MRSA-positive infections were identified at a hospital laboratory from January 1, 1993, through February 28, 1994, and a health maintenance organization laboratory from July 1, 1993, through February 28, 1994. A wrestling team case-patient was a 1993-1994 team member with an MRSA-positive culture during the period from January 1, 1993, through February 28, 1994. Interventions Visual inspection of wrestlers before matches was instituted. Affected wrestlers were excluded from wrestling and advised to seek appropriate medical care. Heightened attention was given to personal and environmental hygiene. Main Outcome Measures Colonization or infection with MRSA. Results Seven of 32 team members were MRSA positive (6 infected, 1 colonized). All lesion-positive wrestlers were tested by pulsed field gel electrophoresis and found to be infected with the same MRSA strain, as were 6 nonwrestlers. No risk factors for MRSA infection were identified. Conclusions The MRSA was transmitted among members of a wrestling team. Infection with MRSA should be suspected in outbreaks of boils that are nonresponsive to standard antibiotic therapy among healthy participants of contact sports and their close contacts.