Perfil do cenário de adoções de cães e gatos em canil municipal no interior de São Paulo, Brasil / Profile of the scenario of the adoption of dogs and cats from the municipal animal shelter in the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil

Conhecer as características das adoções de animais de canis municipais pode contribuir para que ações educativas de guarda responsável sejam mais precisas e direcionadas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever as adoções de cães e gatos do canil municipal de Botucatu/SP, a fim de investigar a possível associação entre adoção e renda, além do sexo dos adotantes, para direcionar de uma melhor maneira ações educativas de guarda responsável. As informações foram coletadas de 998 termos de adoção. A partir dos endereços das adoções, identificaram-se os bairros que mais adotaram e suas rendas médias. As informações foram armazenadas em banco de dados criado na planilha eletrônica do Excel. As distribuições frequenciais foram processadas por meio do software SPSS. Observou-se que não foi estabelecida associação entre o número de adoções e a renda. Em relação ao gênero dos adotantes, houve predominância do sexo feminino. O conhecimento destas características auxiliará na elaboração de ações educativas de guarda responsável, contribuindo para minimizar o número de animais que oferecem risco para a saúde pública e que precisam ser acolhidos pelos canis.(AU)

Knowing the characteristics of the adoption of municipal shelter animals can contribute in making educational actions of responsible pet ownership more precise and directed. This study aimed to describe the adoption of dogs and cats from the municipal animal shelter of Botucatu/SP, in order to investigate the possible association between adoption and income, and also the gender of the adopters, for the purpose of better directing educational actions of responsible pet ownership. The information was collected from 998 terms of adoption. From the addresses of the adoptions, it was possible to identify the neighborhoods that had the most adoptions and their average income. The information was stored in a database created in Excel. Frequency distributions were assessed by SPSS software. It was observed that there was no association between number of adoptions and income. Regarding gender, there was a predominance of female adopters. Knowing these characteristics will help create educational actions of responsible pet ownership, contributing to minimize the number of animals that pose a risk to public health and that need to be rescued by animal shelters.(AU)

Perfil do cenário de adoções de cães e gatos em canil municipal no interior de São Paulo, Brasil / Profile of the scenario of the adoption of dogs and cats from the municipal animal shelter in the countryside of São Paulo, Brazil

Conhecer as características das adoções de animais de canis municipais pode contribuir para que ações educativas de guarda responsável sejam mais precisas e direcionadas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo descrever as adoções de cães e gatos do canil municipal de Botucatu/SP, a fim de investigar a possível associação entre adoção e renda, além do sexo dos adotantes, para direcionar de uma melhor maneira ações educativas de guarda responsável. As informações foram coletadas de 998 termos de adoção. A partir dos endereços das adoções, identificaram-se os bairros que mais adotaram e suas rendas médias. As informações foram armazenadas em banco de dados criado na planilha eletrônica do Excel. As distribuições frequenciais foram processadas por meio do software SPSS. Observou-se que não foi estabelecida associação entre o número de adoções e a renda. Em relação ao gênero dos adotantes, houve predominância do sexo feminino. O conhecimento destas características auxiliará na elaboração de ações educativas de guarda responsável, contribuindo para minimizar o número de animais que oferecem risco para a saúde pública e que precisam ser acolhidos pelos canis.

Knowing the characteristics of the adoption of municipal shelter animals can contribute in making educational actions of responsible pet ownership more precise and directed. This study aimed to describe the adoption of dogs and cats from the municipal animal shelter of Botucatu/SP, in order to investigate the possible association between adoption and income, and also the gender of the adopters, for the purpose of better directing educational actions of responsible pet ownership. The information was collected from 998 terms of adoption. From the addresses of the adoptions, it was possible to identify the neighborhoods that had the most adoptions and their average income. The information was stored in a database created in Excel. Frequency distributions were assessed by SPSS software. It was observed that there was no association between number of adoptions and income. Regarding gender, there was a predominance of female adopters. Knowing these characteristics will help create educational actions of responsible pet ownership, contributing to minimize the number of animals that pose a risk to public health and that need to be rescued by animal shelters.

Feline herpesvirus 1 viral load related to environmental factors in sheltered cats / Relação entre carga viral de herpesvirus felino 1 e fatores causadores de estresse em felinos de abrigo

Shelter environment stress factors are related to FHV-1 viral reactivation. However, comparisons between conjunctival viral load and environmental factors have not been commonly evaluated. The aim of this study was to correlate FHV-1 viral load in domestic cats with and without clinical signs of conjunctivitis to shelter design in order to use FHV-1 viral load as a parameter of “health management”. Cats from four different shelters underwent an ophthalmological examination. Samples were collected by rolling a DNA/RNAse-free cytobrush over the ventral conjunctival fornix and were stored in 1.5 mL sterile microtubes in 500 μL of Eagles minimum essential medium and kept at 4 ºC. Molecular procedures were performed up to 48 hours after collection. Different routines regarding new arrivals were directly related to FHV-1 viral load. Shelters where new arrivals occurred on daily basis had the highest viral load (2.69x108 copies/µL), while those shelters where new arrivals had not occurred in the few months prior to the beginning of the study had the lowest rate (1.63x103 copies/µL). Environmental factors directly influenced FHV-1 DNA viral load. This study highlighted the need to improve the management approach in the animal shelter environment to reduce stressful situations responsible for FHV-1 reactivation and higher viral load quantification.(AU)

No ambiente do abrigo encontram-se fatores que geram estresse nos animais que ali residem. Esses fatores acabam por provocar a reativação do FHV-1. No entanto, comparações entre carga viral conjuntival e fatores ambientais não foram ainda avaliadas. Objetivo deste estudo foi correlacionar a carga viral de FHV-1 em felinos domésticos com e sem sinais clínicos de conjuntivite com as características dos abrigos. Assim, pode-se usar carga viral de FHV-1 como parâmetro de sanidade. Todos os gatos foram submetidos a exame clínico oftalmológico. Amostras foram coletadas com uso de escova citológica, acondicionadas em microtubos estéreis de 1,5mL contendo 500 μL de meio Eagle essencial mínimo e mantidas em 4 ºC. Análises moleculares foram realizadas no prazo de 48 horas após coleta. A rotina de entrada de novos animais estava diretamente relacionada a carga viral de FHV-1. Abrigos com entrada diária apresentaram carga viral maior (2.69x108 cópias/µL), do que abrigo onde novos animais não chegaram nos meses que antecederam a coleta (1.63x103 cópias/µL). Fatores ambientais influenciam diretamente carga viral de FHV-1. Esse estudo evidencia a necessidade de aprimorar o sistema de manejo dos abrigos de forma a reduzir situações de estresse responsáveis pela reativação de FHV-1 e consequente aumento na carga viral.(AU)

Feline herpesvirus 1 viral load related to environmental factors in sheltered cats / Relação entre carga viral de herpesvirus felino 1 e fatores causadores de estresse em felinos de abrigo

ABSTRACT: Shelter environment stress factors are related to FHV-1 viral reactivation. However, comparisons between conjunctival viral load and environmental factors have not been commonly evaluated. The aim of this study was to correlate FHV-1 viral load in domestic cats with and without clinical signs of conjunctivitis to shelter design in order to use FHV-1 viral load as a parameter of "health management". Cats from four different shelters underwent an ophthalmological examination. Samples were collected by rolling a DNA/RNAse-free cytobrush over the ventral conjunctival fornix and were stored in 1.5 mL sterile microtubes in 500 μL of Eagle's minimum essential medium and kept at 4 ºC. Molecular procedures were performed up to 48 hours after collection. Different routines regarding new arrivals were directly related to FHV-1 viral load. Shelters where new arrivals occurred on daily basis had the highest viral load (2.69x108 copies/µL), while those shelters where new arrivals had not occurred in the few months prior to the beginning of the study had the lowest rate (1.63x103 copies/µL). Environmental factors directly influenced FHV-1 DNA viral load. This study highlighted the need to improve the management approach in the animal shelter environment to reduce stressful situations responsible for FHV-1 reactivation and higher viral load quantification.

RESUMO: No ambiente do abrigo encontram-se fatores que geram estresse nos animais que ali residem. Esses fatores acabam por provocar a reativação do FHV-1. No entanto, comparações entre carga viral conjuntival e fatores ambientais não foram ainda avaliadas. Objetivo deste estudo foi correlacionar a carga viral de FHV-1 em felinos domésticos com e sem sinais clínicos de conjuntivite com as características dos abrigos. Assim, pode-se usar carga viral de FHV-1 como parâmetro de sanidade. Todos os gatos foram submetidos a exame clínico oftalmológico. Amostras foram coletadas com uso de escova citológica, acondicionadas em microtubos estéreis de 1,5mL contendo 500 μL de meio Eagle essencial mínimo e mantidas em 4 ºC. Análises moleculares foram realizadas no prazo de 48 horas após coleta. A rotina de entrada de novos animais estava diretamente relacionada a carga viral de FHV-1. Abrigos com entrada diária apresentaram carga viral maior (2.69x108 cópias/µL), do que abrigo onde novos animais não chegaram nos meses que antecederam a coleta (1.63x103 cópias/µL). Fatores ambientais influenciam diretamente carga viral de FHV-1. Esse estudo evidencia a necessidade de aprimorar o sistema de manejo dos abrigos de forma a reduzir situações de estresse responsáveis pela reativação de FHV-1 e consequente aumento na carga viral.

A survey of canine heartworm awareness in Grenada, West Indies.

Heartworm is a common parasite of dogs in Grenada, West Indies, due to the tropical climate and large number of mosquitoes. Because Grenada is a developing country and a small island, resources and education on heartworm are limited. In an effort to raise awareness of canine heartworm and the preventive measures available, observations and surveys were performed to determine the following: (a) heartworm knowledge among Grenadian dog caregivers seeking veterinary care at the Grenada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA), (b) dissemination of heartworm information by GSPCA staff to Grenadian dog caregivers, and (c) reasons Grenadians are not administering heartworm prevention to their dogs. Results indicated a marked deficiency in both heartworm knowledge among Grenadian dog caregivers and heartworm knowledge acquisition and dissemination. Lack of knowledge was also cited as a major reason Grenadian dog caregivers were not using heartworm prevention. These results are currently being utilized to modify heartworm education practices at the GSPCA by incorporating Grenada-specific educational tools, with the ultimate goal of reducing illness and death by canine heartworm.

A cluster of Rickettsia rickettsii infection at an animal shelter in an urban area of Brazil.

Rickettsia rickettsii infection is being increasingly recognized as an important cause of fatal acute illness in Brazil, where this tick-borne disease is designated Brazilian spotted fever (BSF). In this study we report five fatal cases of BSF in employees of an animal shelter in an urban area in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in southeast Brazil after a natural disaster on 11 January 2011. Four of the cases occurred from 27 January to 11 April 2011, while the fifth fatal case was identified in April 2012. Three cases were confirmed by molecular analysis and two by epidemiological linkage. An investigation of BSF was performed in the animal shelter, and blood samples were collected from 115 employees and 117 randomly selected dogs. The presence of high levels (1024-4096) of antibodies against spotted fever group rickettsiae was found in three (2·6%) employees and 114 (97·5%) dogs. These findings emphasize the need to consider BSF as a possible cause of undifferentiated febrile illness, especially dengue and leptospirosis, in patients occupationally exposed to dogs heavily infested by ticks, mainly working at kennels and animal shelters that have inadequate space for the animals housed and frequently providing an environment conducive to exposure to pathogens such as R. rickettsii.

Phlebotomine saddflies in rural locations in the state of parana, southern Brazil / Flebotomineos em localidades rurais do Estado do Parana, Sul do Brasil

SUMMARY This study reports the fauna and frequency of sandflies in domestic animal shelters, residences and other ecotopes in rural areas of the municipality of Bandeirantes, Paraná State. Sandflies were collected twice in eight rural villages by using Falcon traps from 8pm to 6am in 2008. In these localities 4,790 sandflies were collected, which were represented by ten sandfly species, prevailing of Nyssomyia neivai and Nyssomyia whitmani species. It was observed that animal shelters are the domestic ecotopes where there is the greatest frequency of these insects. The localities where the collections were made had the environmental characteristics that allow the persistence of transmission of parasites from the American tegumentary leishmaniasis. Although the fauna and the behavior of sandflies species are similar in different localities, the method of controlling these insects should be adjusted to the environmental characteristics of each one of the most diverse endemic areas of American tegumentary leishmaniasis in the municipalities of Paraná State. .

RESUMO Relatam-se, neste trabalho, a fauna e frequência de flebotomíneos em abrigos de animais domésticos, residências e outros ecótopos em áreas rurais do município de Bandeirantes, Estado do Paraná. Os flebotomíneos foram coletados em oito bairros rurais, com armadilhas de Falcão, duas vezes em cada bairro, das 20 às 6 horas, em 2008. No conjunto dos bairros coletaram-se 4.790 flebotomíneos, representados por dez espécies, com predomínio de Nyssomyia neivai e Nyssomyia whitmani. Os abrigos dos animais domésticos são os ecótopos onde há maior frequência desses insetos. As localidades onde as coletas foram realizadas têm características ambientais que permitem a persistência da transmissão de parasitos da leishmaniose tegumentar americana. Apesar da fauna e do comportamento das espécies de flebotomíneos serem semelhantes nas diversas localidades, o método de controle desses insetos deve ser ajustado às características ambientais de cada uma das mais diversas áreas endêmicas de leishmaniose tegumentar americana, nos municípios do Paraná. .