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Objective: In the twenty-first century, despite the development in infection management, and improvement of vaccines and therapeutic agents in the field of health, new viral outbreaks that can still be fatal in humans and animals are emerging. The infection of zoonosis COVID-19 from bat origin, the intermediate host of which is still being unclear, has appeared in people who visited animal bazaar in December 2019, in Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization declared this infection a pandemic in February 2020. Millions of people have been affected by this pandemic. The fight against the pandemic has had a great economic cost and continues to do so. Even people have changed their lifestyle. In this context, there have been concerns about companion animals with COVID-19 transmission, from human to animal or animal to human. The purpose of this review was to examine the studies on the presence and transmission of COVID-19 in companion animals such as cats, dogs, hamsters and horses. Result and Discussion: It has been reported in studies that most of the companion animals (cat, dog and hamster) were susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, and humans could be a source of infection for them. However, the potential role of companion animals in transmission to humans is not fully known. It is clear from this pandemic that the necessity of epidemiological investigation of infectious agents, especially zoonotic ones, in one health concept has emerged once again.Copyright © 2022 University of Ankara. All rights reserved.
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OBJECTIVE: To characterize clinical and epidemiologic features of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals detected through both passive and active surveillance in the US. ANIMALS: 204 companion animals (109 cats, 95 dogs) across 33 states with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections between March 2020 and December 2021. PROCEDURES: Public health officials, animal health officials, and academic researchers investigating zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 transmission events reported clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic information through a standardized One Health surveillance process developed by the CDC and partners. RESULTS: Among dogs and cats identified through passive surveillance, 94% (n = 87) had reported exposure to a person with COVlD-19 before infection. Clinical signs of illness were present in 74% of pets identified through passive surveillance and 27% of pets identified through active surveillance. Duration of illness in pets averaged 15 days in cats and 12 days in dogs. The average time between human and pet onset of illness was 10 days. Viral nucleic acid was first detected at 3 days after exposure in both cats and dogs. Antibodies were detected starting 5 days after exposure, and titers were highest at 9 days in cats and 14 days in dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results of the present study supported that cats and dogs primarily become infected with SARS-CoV-2 following expo- sure to a person with COVID-19, most often their owners. Case investigation and surveillance that include both people and animals are necessary to understand transmission dynamics and viral evolution of zoonotic diseases like SARS-CoV-2.
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Background: In the past few decades the animal keeping culture and habits have changed a lot internationally, some animals have become family members. The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented situation in the world, including Hungary. In many places, the quarantine period was associated with Isolation and, therefore, an increase in the number of companion animals. Objectives: Our aims were to (1) survey the animal keeping culture and habits, (2) examine the motivation of the owners and (3) explore the attitudes about adoption, neutering, breeding and the use of livestock animals in Hungary. Materials and Methods: Specialized surveys were conducted among 843 persons through social media and personal interviews from 20 June to 30 August 2021 by using a questionnaire including 16 questions. The chosen groups were compared with Fisher's Exact test and Chi-square test. Results and Discussion: 97.0% of the respondents regard their dog as a family member. Nearly 25% of the respondents do not wish to neuter their dogs, because they want to breed the dogs or they find it unnecessary. The primary reason for cat keepers not to neuter their pet is the financial issue. Animal keepers and women are significantly more likely to consider their animal as a family member (p < 0.001). Men, the elderly, people who live in the countryside and those who have only elementary education think that neutering is of less importance (p < 0.001). Non-animal keepers, elderly people and men think more negatively about adoption. Buying an animal from a breeder is more important to the younger age groups (p < 0.001) arid those who live in Budapest (p < 0.01). 42.3% of the respondents gave the lowest evaluation scores to the assessment of the livestock units. Women, people from younger age groups (p < 0.05) and those who have higher education (p < 0.001) think more negatively about the use of farm animals. Non-animal keepers, the elderly and people of lower education consider the livestock animals' emotional intelligence lower (p < 0.05). Men (p < 0.001), people over 65 years of age (p < 0.001) and of lower education (p < 0:01), and also non-animal keepers (p < 0.001) accept significantly easier the use of livestock animals.
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The rise in subsidized spay-neuter access helped drive the euthanasia of shelter pets in the US from an estimated 13. 5 million in 1973 to 1.5 million in 2019. When the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered lockdowns beginning in March 2020, many veterinary providers suspended nonessential services such as routine spay-neuter surgeries. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the volume of spay-neuter procedures performed by spay-neuter clinics. A retrospective study of patient data from 212 spay-neuter clinics using Clinic HQ practice management software was conducted from January 2019 through December 2021. The clinics collectively performed 1,217,240 surgeries in the pre-COVID baseline year of 2019. A sharp decline in surgeries began in March 2020 (-22%) and reached a nadir in April 2020 (-80%). Surgeries began to increase in May 2020 (-39%), before plateauing in July 2020 (-6%) and remaining slightly below the 2019 baseline in most months through the end of 2021. Compared to 2019, total surgeries decreased 13% to 1,059,388 in 2020 and decreased 3% to 1,184,274 in 2021. In 2020, when clinic disruptions were highest, the impact of the surgery cutbacks varied by geographic region, species, age, and source of animals. Compared with 2019, in 2020 surgeries decreased 17% in the Midwest region, 15% in the Northeast and West, and 11% in the South. Surgeries were reduced 19% in dogs and 10% in cats. When grouped by age, surgeries were reduced by 18% in geriatrics, 14% in adults, and 11% in juveniles. Reductions were similar for females (-14%) and males (-12%) and similar for unowned/organization-owned animals (-14%) and privately owned animals (-12%). In total, 190,818 fewer surgeries were performed by the 212 studied clinics in the 24 months from January 2020 through December 2021 than would be expected had 2019 levels been maintained. If a similar pattern was experienced by other spay/neuter providers in the US, it would suggest there is a deficit of more than 2.7 million spay/neuter surgeries that animal welfare organizations have yet to address.
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A 50-year-old female patient underwent (18fluorine-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) following modified radical mastectomy for cancer of the left breast. Ten days before the PET/CT, the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was injected intramuscularly into the right deltoid muscle. Increased (18F-FDG uptake of maximum standardized uptake value (11.0) was observed in the lymph nodes of the right axilla, which had not been observed in the previous PET/CT. The size of the oval-shaped lymph nodes was up to approximately 11×9 mm; however, it was larger than that observed on the previous PET/CT. We contemplate that the increased (18F-FDG uptake was a reactive change in the lymph nodes associated with the COVID-19 vaccine.
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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination is known to cause a diagnostic dilemma due to false-positive findings on [18F]FDG PET in vaccine-associated hypermetabolic lymphadenopathy. We present two case reports of women with estrogen-receptor (ER)-positive cancer of the breast who were vaccinated for COVID-19 in the deltoid muscle. [18F]FDG positron emission tomography (PET) demonstrated primary breast cancer and multiple axillary lymph nodes with increased [18F]FDG uptake, diagnosed as vaccine-associated [18F]FDG-avid lymph nodes. Subsequent [18F]FES PET revealed single axillary lymph node metastasis in the vaccine-associated [18F]FDG-avid lymph nodes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing the usefulness of [18F]FES PET in diagnosing axillary lymph node metastasis in COVID-19-vaccinated patients harboring ER-positive breast cancer. Thus, [18F]FES PET has potential applications in the detection of true-positive metastatic lymph nodes in patients with ER-positive breast cancer regardless of the ipsilateral or contralateral side, who have received COVID-19 vaccination.
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AIMS: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is associated with endothelial dysfunction. We aimed to determine the effects of prior coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the coronary microvasculature accounting for time from COVID-19, disease severity, SARS-CoV-2 variants, and in subgroups of patients with diabetes and those with no known coronary artery disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Cases consisted of patients with previous COVID-19 who had clinically indicated positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and were matched 1:3 on clinical and cardiovascular risk factors to controls having no prior infection. Myocardial flow reserve (MFR) was calculated as the ratio of stress to rest myocardial blood flow (MBF) in mL/min/g of the left ventricle. Comparisons between cases and controls were made for the odds and prevalence of impaired MFR (MFR < 2). We included 271 cases matched to 815 controls (mean ± SD age 65 ± 12 years, 52% men). The median (inter-quartile range) number of days between COVID-19 infection and PET imaging was 174 (58-338) days. Patients with prior COVID-19 had a statistically significant higher odds of MFR <2 (adjusted odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 2.8-4.25 P < 0.001). Results were similar in clinically meaningful subgroups. The proportion of cases with MFR <2 peaked 6-9 months from imaging with a statistically non-significant downtrend afterwards and was comparable across SARS-CoV-2 variants but increased with increasing severity of infection. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of impaired MFR is similar by duration of time from infection up to 1 year and SARS-CoV-2 variants, but significantly differs by severity of infection.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyday life in societies around the world. One of the most severe consequences has been the social isolation imposed by this extremely contagious disease. In this context, many people began looking for a pet for the first time. In Brazil, for instance, the pet sector increased its financial returns in 2020. In addition, companies that produce pet foods have experienced problems with the supply of materials. Supply chain disruption is a problem faced by many different organizations during this time of crisis. This study, therefore, investigated the supply of raw materials stored in the silos and tanks of a large company. This company have operations in 80 countries across the world and produces different products, including pet food. Thirteen raw materials used to produce pet food were con-sidered. In addition, eight criteria of the company's supply process were identified and explored. Moreover, the Flexible and Interactive Tradeoff (FITradeoff) method, which is a Multiple Criteria Decision Mak-ing/Aiding (MCDM/A) method, was applied to rank the raw materials based on supply difficulty. In terms of supply criticality, the order of materials was established from less critical to most critical. These results can be used by companies to better plan the receipt of these materials to reduce the risk of supply chain-related disruptions and propose better ways to distribute activities between planners to help them in their daily management. © 2023 Brazilian Operations Research Society.
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Seven human coronaviruses have been identified so far: four seasonal coronaviruses (HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1) and three novel coronaviruses (SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2). While seasonal coronaviruses cause only mild symptoms, novel coronaviruses cause severe and potentially fatal infections. All known coronaviruses originated in animals. Bats are considered as an origin for the majority of coronaviruses capable of infecting humans;however, rodents are proposed as natural hosts for HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-HKU1. Different animal species could serve as intermediate hosts including alpacas (HCoV-229E), livestock (HCoV-OC43), civet cats (SARS-CoV), camels (MERS-CoV), and pangolins (SARS-CoV-2). In Croatia, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in humans, pet animals, wildlife, and the environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the role of the 'One Health' approach in the surveillance of zoonotic diseases.Copyright © 2022, University Hospital of Infectious Diseases. All rights reserved.
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Animals may be present in healthcare facilities for multiple reasons. Although specific laws regarding the use of service animals in public facilities were established in the United States in 1990, the widespread presence of animals in hospitals, including service animals, animals used to assist in patient therapy, and research animals, has resulted in the increased presence of animals in acute care hospitals and ambulatory medical settings. The role of animals in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens and cross-transmission of human pathogens in these settings remains poorly studied. Until more definitive information is available, healthcare facilities should establish policies and procedures to prioritize patient and healthcare provider safety and to use standard infection prevention and control measures to prevent animal-to-human transmission in healthcare settings. This chapter is based on published consensus recommendations from a panel of experts, representing the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), regarding the management of animals in healthcare (AHC) (Murthy et al., Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 36:495-516, 2015). However, this chapter aims to review the controversies related to animals in healthcare with respect to infection prevention, identify potential steps for mitigation of risks and areas for future study, and provide updated information where available, including the implications of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals. Any opinions noted beyond the consensus SHEA guidance document reflect the opinions of only the authors of this document. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare, fatal neurodegenerative disorder, with few months as a usual duration from onset to death. Case presentation: In this case report, a patient of Sporadic CJD (sCJD) who presented one month after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The diagnosis of this case was established after confirming findings from clinical, neurophysiology, radiological, and laboratory features of this disease. Conclusion: Putting in mind all the updated data on the pathogenesis of CJD and the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2, we can suggest that COVID-19 can lead to accelerated pathogenesis and exaggerated manifestations of this fatal neurodegenerative disease.
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The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to be a major public health concern affecting millions of people globally. The COVID-19 vaccination has implications in medical assessment of cancer patients especially undergoing diagnostic imaging such as 18F-fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography with computed tomography (PET/CT). The inflammatory changes following vaccination can cause false positive findings on imaging. We present a case of a patient with esophageal carcinoma who had 18F-FDG PET/CT scan, 8 weeks following booster dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccination, which showed widespread FDG avid reactive lymph nodes and intense splenic uptake for prolonged duration of approximately 8 months (34 weeks) probably representing generalized immune response. It is important from radiological/nuclear medicine perspective to recognize imaging features of such rare effect of COVID-19 vaccination, which can pose a challenge in assessing 18F-FDG PET/CT scans in cancer patients. It has also opened new avenues for future research evaluating such COVID-19 vaccine-related prolonged systemic immunological response in cancer patients.
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The [18F]FDG PET/CT is a crucial tool in the diagnostic process and monitoring of neoplastic diseases. Currently, during the global program of vaccination against COVID-19 and the possibility of axillary lymphadenopathy after this injection, the correct interpretation of PET/CT images is vitally significant and may create some difficulties. We present a case of increased uptake of [18F]FDG in an axillary lymph node in a PET/CT scan performed 2 days after the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in a 48-year-old patient newly diagnosed with marginal zone B-cell lymphoma.Copyright © 2023 Via Medica.
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Social and physical frailty are common geriatric syndromes related to adverse health outcomes, including falls, hospitalization, institutionalization, and death. Social frailty leads to physical frailty in older adults who were not frail. Previous studies have demonstrated that pet ownership and robotic pets have physical and mental health benefits for older adults;however, no studies were found investigating the impact of robotic pets on social and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a robotic pet on social and physical frailty in community-dwelling older adults using the Technology Acceptance Model as a framework. This was a clinical trial of adults aged 65 and over, hospitalized at a community hospital in Westchester County, New York. Intervention group participants received a robotic pet, and control group participants received usual post-discharge care. Participants were assessed at enrollment and at the 30-day discharge point using the Questionnaire to Define Social Frailty Status, FRAIL Questionnaire, the Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form, and the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire. For this study ,220 participants were enrolled;107 in the intervention group and 113 in the control group. Continuous outcomes were compared between groups using t-tests or Wilcoxon rank sum tests, as appropriate. Categorical outcomes were compared between groups using chi-square tests or Fisher's exact tests, as appropriate. The threshold for statistical significance was considered a p value of less than 0.05. There was no significant change in social frailty or physical frailty, cognitive status, or depression between the two groups. Participants who enjoyed doing things with their robotic pet had a statistically significant improvement in their SPMSQ scores (p = 0.02), which indicated a positive effect on cognition in participants who used their pet more. Prevalence of social frailty was high, likely attributable to pandemic control measures and unlikely to change on the social frailty questionnaire used in this study due to the ongoing pandemic. In contrast to this study, previous research has shown that robotic pets were effective for improving well-being in older adults and showed more positive impact in a group setting compared to individual use. A significant limitation of this study was that it took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Other limitations were related to self-report of some measures which may introduce bias. Additionally, the social frailty questionnaire has not been validated in diverse populations;thus, its validity in the study population is not known. The geographic area where the study took place is non-diverse, which may impact generalizability to wider populations. The robotic pet positively impacted cognitive status in participants who reported they enjoyed doing activities with their pet. This supports the theoretical premise of this study that greater use of the robotic pet would yield greater benefit. Regarding implications, technology is an important tool to ameliorate social and physical frailty, especially in light of pandemic-related restrictions where in-person socialization is restricted. More research is needed on the impact of robotic pets in older adults living at home, particularly on social frailty, loneliness, and cognitive status, with larger sample sizes and diverse populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced and exacerbated innumerable stressors for Americans. Pet ownership has been shown to help individuals cope with stress and loneliness. However, given the shorter life spans of most pets compared to humans, many pet owners inevitably dealt with pet loss and its associated grief during the pandemic. We surveyed 284 community and college participants that had suffered the loss of a pet during the pandemic. We asked these pet owners about their pandemic-related experiences over the preceding year with regard to the types of losses they experienced, whether they experienced isolation through quarantine and their perception of social support. We also measured their general attachment to pets along with the grief they felt as a result of pet loss. We hypothesized that greater loss, increased isolation, and reduced social support would lead to increased attachment to pets, which would intensify the experience of grief. Mediated regression analyses revealed a direct effect of loss on grief that was not mediated through attachment. Unexpectedly, greater perceived social support showed an indirect effect on grief through stronger attachment to pets. Results confirm prior findings that greater pet attachment leads to more intense pet grief, but the attachment was not intensified through loss of support social or increased isolation as predicted. It is important to recognize the substantial impact of pet loss, especially during stressful times, and this topic deserves further investigation, perhaps with a greater focus on the type of pet and pet-specific measures of attachment. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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The worldwide outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic affected every part of human lives, including the environment. Though not a welcoming era, it is certain that the 2019 pandemic was not the first of its kind nor is it going to be the last to affect human wellness. The various protocols implemented to mitigate the spread of the pandemic had significant effects on the wellness dimension relating to the environment. This study intended to explore the environmental wellness challenges experienced by some families in Melbourne, Australia, during COVID-19 and the strategies they used as they transitioned through the pandemic. The study outcome indicated that, the pandemic had both positive and negative effects on the environmental wellness of the families in this study. The strategies of the families are worthy of notice, for future approaches to deal with any pandemic. The study framed five possible inductive themes along the environmental wellness situation before COVID-19, overall effect of COVID-19 on environmental wellness, impact of COVID-19 on specific aspects of environmental wellness, pathways to the management of environmental wellness during COVID-19 and critically analyzing recommended changes to environmental wellness by the families in the study. It is expected that the proper implementation of the proposed strategies will significantly contribute toward environmental wellness for individuals and families facing environmental wellness challenges.Copyright © 2023, Codon Publications. All rights reserved.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals found themselves spending more time with their pets and relied on them to maintain normalcy and provide security during isolation. Pets play a significant role in the lives of their caregivers, taking on different attachment roles depending on the needs of the individual. Grieving the death of a pet continues to be disenfranchised in society. Perceptions of judgment can lead individuals to grieve the loss without social support. The present review builds on research in the field of pet loss and human bereavement and factors in the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on human-animal attachment A goal of the present review is to provide counselors with perspectives to consider in their practice when working with clients who have attachments to their companion animals and to acknowledge the therapeutic benefits of working through the grief process to resolution as a way to continue the bond with a deceased pet. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
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We observed several patients presenting 2-[18F]FDG uptake in the reactive axillary lymph node at PET/CT imaging, ipsilateral to the site of the COVID-19 vaccine injection. Analog finding was documented at [18F]Choline PET/CT. The aim of our study was to describe this source of false positive cases. All patients examined by PET/CT were included in the study. Data concerning patient anamnesis, laterality, and time interval from recent COVID-19 vaccination were recorded. SUVmax was measured in all lymph nodes expressing tracer uptake after vaccination. Among 712 PET/CT scans with 2-[18F]FDG, 104 were submitted to vaccination; 89/104 patients (85%) presented axillary and/or deltoid tracer uptake, related to recent COVID-19 vaccine administration (median from injection: 11 days). The mean SUVmax of these findings was 2.1 (range 1.6-3.3). Among 89 patients with false positive axillary uptake, 36 subjects had received chemotherapy due to lymph node metastases from somatic cancer or lymphomas, prior to the scan: 6/36 patients with lymph node metastases showed no response to therapy or progression disease. The mean SUVmax value of lymph nodal localizations of somatic cancers/lymphomas after chemotherapy was 7.8. Only 1/31 prostate cancer patients examined by [18F]Choline PET/CT showed post-vaccine axillary lymph node uptake. These findings were not recorded at PET/CT scans with [18F]-6-FDOPA, [68Ga]Ga-DOTATOC, and [18F]-fluoride. Following COVID-19 mass vaccination, a significant percentage of patients examined by 2-[18F]FDG PET/CT presents axillary, reactive lymph node uptake. Anamnesis, low-dose CT, and ultrasonography facilitated correct diagnosis. Semi-quantitative assessment supported the visual analysis of PET/CT data; SUVmax values of metastatic lymph nodes were considerably higher than post-vaccine lymph nodes. [18F]Choline uptake in reactive lymph node after vaccination was confirmed. After the COVID-19 pandemic, nuclear physicians need to take these potential false positive cases into account in daily clinical practice.