Assessing and comparing disease prevention knowledge, attitudes, and practices among veterinarians in Illinois, United States of America.

Veterinarians play an essential role in safeguarding and promoting animal and human health by timely reporting of notifiable diseases to animal and public health agencies and by educating animal owners on effective disease prevention measures. Moreover, clinical veterinarians can prevent the transmission and spread of zoonotic diseases by adopting effective biosecurity practices in their clinics. An online questionnaire was administered between October and November 2021 to veterinarians registered with the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association. Veterinarians were surveyed on their disease risk perception, biosecurity practices, and disease reporting knowledge. In total, 104 veterinarians (64 % females and 46 % males) completed the questionnaire, of whom 88 % were veterinarians working in clinical practice (88 % companion animals and 12 % bovine or swine), while 12 % were employed in non-clinical settings. The disease-reporting knowledge score was higher for veterinarians with biosecurity training (IRR: 1.35; 95 % CI: 1.47-1.75). Compared to large animal veterinarians, companion animal veterinarians had lower odds of having biosecurity training (OR=0.68; 95 % CI=0.02-0.28) and were less familiar with current biosecurity guidelines (OR=0.12; 95 % CI = 0.03-0.51). Veterinarians familiar with biosecurity guidelines had a higher probability (OR=4.4; 95 % CI: 1.21-16.28) of perceiving biosecurity practices as practical while working with animals. Conversely, veterinarians who perceived that they could transmit diseases to animals had lower odds (OR: 0.42; 95 % CI: 0.20-0.91) of wearing protective clothing while dealing with confirmed cases of zoonotic diseases. Based on our study results, a gap in disease-reporting knowledge was identified among companion animal veterinarians. Biosecurity training improved the disease-reporting knowledge of veterinarians, suggesting that providing continuing education for veterinarians would be beneficial to disease reporting. A disconnect between disease risk perception and biosecurity practices was identified and further studies are needed to understand this discrepancy to design effective education programs.

Monitoring antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter isolates of chickens and turkeys at the slaughter establishment level across the United States, 2013-2021.

Foodborne infections with antimicrobial-resistant Campylobacter spp. remain an important public health concern. Publicly available data collected by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Campylobacter spp. isolated from broiler chickens and turkeys at the slaughterhouse level across the United States between 2013 and 2021 were analysed. A total of 1,899 chicken-origin (1,031 Campylobacter coli (C. coli) and 868 Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni)) and 798 turkey-origin (673 C. coli and 123 C. jejuni) isolates were assessed. Chicken isolates exhibited high resistance to tetracycline (43.65%), moderate resistance to ciprofloxacin (19.5%), and low resistance to clindamycin (4.32%) and azithromycin (3.84%). Turkey isolates exhibited very high resistance to tetracycline (69%) and high resistance to ciprofloxacin (39%). The probability of resistance to all tested antimicrobials, except for tetracycline, significantly decreased during the latter part of the study period. Turkey-origin Campylobacter isolates had higher odds of resistance to all antimicrobials than isolates from chickens. Compared to C. jejuni isolates, C. coli isolates had higher odds of resistance to all antimicrobials, except for ciprofloxacin. The study findings emphasize the need for poultry-type-specific strategies to address differences in AMR among Campylobacter isolates.

Longitudinal analysis of differences and similarities in antimicrobial resistance among commensal Escherichia coli isolated from market swine and sows at slaughter in the United States of America, 2013-2019.

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance in swine enteric bacteria poses a significant public health challenge. Our study evaluated publicly available data collected by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) between 2013 and 2019 at slaughter plants across the United States of America, focusing on commensal E. coli isolated from swine cecal contents originating from two distinct swine production systems: market hogs (n = 2090) and sows (n = 1147). In both production types, the highest pairwise correlations were detected among ß-lactam antimicrobials, including resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ceftriaxone, and cefoxitin, suggesting a co-selection for resistance. Compared to 2013, an increase in the rate of E. coli isolates that were resistant to ß-lactam antimicrobials was higher in 2017, 2018, and 2019, and this increase was more pronounced in isolates obtained from market hogs. Differences in antimicrobial resistance between these two distinct swine production systems warrant production-type focused mitigation efforts.

Assessing and improving on-farm biosecurity knowledge and practices among swine producers and veterinarians through online surveys and an educational website in Illinois, United States.

There is a growing risk to the health and productivity of the Illinois and United States swine population from foreign and endemic infectious diseases. Effective on-farm biosecurity practices play a pivotal role in preventing these high-consequence pathogens from affecting swine farms. Veterinarians are essential in providing disease prevention advice to swine producers that can help them implement effective biosecurity practices on their farms. Our descriptive study objectives were to assess Illinois swine producers' and veterinarians' biosecurity perception, knowledge, and practices to identify knowledge gaps and address these by developing an online educational website. We developed two independent online questionnaires using QualtricsXM software. Swine producer members of the Illinois Pork Producers Association and veterinarians registered with the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association were contacted via e-mail through their associations and asked to complete an online survey. In total, 13 swine producers across 9 Illinois counties operating 82 farms (8 managed single farms and 5 managed multiple farms) responded to the swine producer survey. Despite some biosecurity awareness among swine producers, the need for a biosecurity-related outreach program was evident. Among the 7 swine veterinarian responders, 5 predominantly treated swine (oversaw an average of 21.6 farms), and 2 were mixed animal practitioners. The swine veterinarian survey showed a disconnect between their biosecurity perception and practices. We developed a biosecurity educational website and used Google Analytics to collect website traffic and user data. The 4 months of data showed good coverage that included the highest proportion of users from the Midwest and North Carolina, the largest swine-production regions in the US, and China and Canada, the leading producers of swine worldwide. The most accessed webpage was the resources page, and the swine diseases page had the highest engagement time. Our study highlights the effectiveness of combining online surveys with an educational website to assess and improve the biosecurity knowledge of swine producers and veterinarians that can be applied to assess and improve the biosecurity knowledge and practices of other livestock farmers.

Comparative Evaluation of the Efficacy of Platelet-rich Fibrin and Calcium Phosphosilicate Putty alone and in Combination in the Treatment of Intrabony Defects: A Randomized Clinical and Radiographic Study.

BACKGROUND: Combination of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and bone substitutes for the treatment of intrabony pockets is based on sound biologic rationale. The present study aimed to explore the clinical and radiographic effectiveness of autologous PRF and calcium phosphosilicate (CPS) putty alone and in combination in treatment of intrabony defects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 45 intrabony defects were selected and randomly divided into three groups. In Group I, mucoperiosteal flap elevation followed by placement of PRF was done. In Group II, mucoperiosteal flap elevation followed by placement of CPS putty was done. In Group III, mucoperiosteal flap elevation followed by placement of PRF and CPS putty was done. Clinical parameters such as gingival index (GI), pocket depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), gingival marginal position and radiographic parameters such as bone fill, changes in crestal bone level, and defect depth resolution were recorded at baseline and after 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: Statistically significant changes in GI, PD reduction, CAL gain, defect fill, and defect depth resolution from baseline to 6 months were seen in all the three groups (P < 0.05). On intergroup comparison, no statistically significant changes were seen in all clinical parameters. However, the difference in defect fill and defect depth resolution between the Groups I and III and Group II and III was significant. CONCLUSION: Within limitations of study, combination of PRF and CPS putty showed a significant improvement in PD reduction, CAL gain, and bone fill.

Critical Review on Eliminating Endodontic Dental Infections Using Herbal Products.

The main purpose of a root canal treatment is to eliminate the bacteria and their products from the pulp space. Chemomechanical preparation (chemical-refers to irrigating solutions, i.e., either synthetic chemicals or herbal solutions and mechanical-refers to instrumentation of a root canals with endodontic files) of a root canal system plays a major role in obtaining the rationale of root canal treatment. Various synthetic chemicals known as endodontic irrigants play a major role in disinfection, but also have undesirable properties like allergic potential, toxicity, unacceptable taste, etc. Today there is a major change in trend towards the use of natural herbal medicines as a part of dental treatment due to its easy availability, less toxicity, and cost effectiveness. This article aims to provide a comprehensive review of various herbal endodontic irrigants evaluated for their effectiveness in the disinfection of a root canal system. This literature review is conducted using electronic databases "PubMed," "Google Scholar," and "Scopus," and articles were limited to those in the English language and published between 1980 and 2014.