Preventive veterinary medicine最新文献

{"title":"Striped catfish (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) farmers' perspectives on challenges and health management practices in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam: A qualitative study","authors":"Vi L.T. Tran ,&nbsp;Andrew C. Barnes ,&nbsp;Francisca Samsing ,&nbsp;Ut N. Vu ,&nbsp;Kerrie Wiley","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Striped catfish (<em>Pangasianodon hypophthalmus</em>) farming in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam holds global significance with over a million tonnes produced annually at substantial export value. However, geographic concentration and farming intensity has led to substantial disease-related losses, with underreported concerns and disease control from farmers. This study employs a qualitative methodology to gain insightful perspectives from Vietnamese striped catfish farmers on industry challenges and health management practices. Thematic saturation was sought through qualitative interviews with 44 participants (19 nursery, 21 grow-out, and 4 vertically integrated farms), operating at private- or company-scales across six major production provinces (Dong Thap, An Giang, Can Tho, Vinh Long, Ben Tre, and Long An). Data were thematically analysed using the Framework method, focusing on the intricate interplay between host, environmental factors, and pathogen that contributes to rising disease prevalence and impacts profitability. Farmers articulated distress over escalating disease severity and low survival rates, exacerbated by declining water quality and major technical barriers such as seedstock and broodstock quality. Historically reported diseases, including Bacillary Necrosis in Pangasius (BNP) and Motile Aeromonas Septicaemia (MAS), remained prevalent. However, recent escalation of jaundice and swollen swim-bladder disease in grow-outs, as well as tail-rot disease (<em>Flavobacterium columnare</em> infection) in nurseries, have caused significant economic losses. Larger company-scale farms employed more standardised health management plans and educated staff compared to smaller, experience-based private farms. Antibiotics were perceived as less effective with infrequent antibiotic sensitivity testing, particularly among private farmers, due to inaccuracy. A trend towards reduced usage of antimicrobials and increased preference for dietary solutions was observed, with many farmers describing efforts to avoid antimicrobials, especially near harvest. Common preventive measures include regular environmental treatments and supplementary diets. However, the sector lacks advanced preventative measures, such as vaccination and early detection methods, highlighting the need for improved access to veterinary support to sustain striped catfish farming in Vietnam.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143786093","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Retrospective analysis of submissions to the World Reference Laboratory for foot-and-mouth disease: What can these data tell us about the role of small ruminants in disease epidemiology?","authors":"Rheinallt Jones ,&nbsp;Donald P. King ,&nbsp;Valentina Busin","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epidemiological studies can be useful to understand the dynamics of foot-and mouth disease (FMD) virus. Clinical signs of FMD in small ruminants are often difficult to spot, which may lead to an under appreciation of their epidemiological importance in the spread (and therefore control) of FMD. To elucidate the impact of FMD surveillance in small ruminants, retrospective analyses were performed using data collected by the World Reference Laboratory for Foot-and-Mouth Disease. The total number of samples included in these analyses was 32,802, with an average of 444 samples collected per year between 1958 and 2023. When samples were classified into domesticated species groups, the most represented group were Large Ruminant (n = 15021), followed by Small Ruminant (n = 1972), Pigs (n = 1486) and Wildlife (n = 294). Within the domesticated species group, 73.4 % of Pigs and 72.2 % of Large Ruminant samples were FMD virus positive, while Small Ruminant samples had significantly fewer FMD virus positive results (30.0 %). Of the positive samples within the small Ruminant group, serotype O accounted for 86.0 % of the records. These analyses highlight the relative contribution of FMDV positive samples from sheep and goats to global surveillance activities and the potential involvement of small ruminants in maintenance of serotype O. These findings emphasise the importance of these species in control strategies in endemic countries and the necessity to provide specific small ruminant guidelines for FMD diagnostic testing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106526"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143746934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A scenario model to support freedom from African swine fever virus in Western Canada populated with data from Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network and CanSpotASF","authors":"Jette Christensen ,&nbsp;Glen Duizer","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>African swine fewer (ASF) is a serious disease present in Africa, Eurasia, and the Caribbean but not in continental North America. CanSpotASF describes the ASF surveillance in Canada. It enhanced the passive surveillance by adding new surveillance components one by one. The first enhancement was “the risk-based early detection testing (rule-out testing)” where cases with eligible conditions were tested for ASF virus (ASFv). The rule-out testing started in 2020 and we have over 3 years data in the Canada West Swine Health Intelligence Network (CWSHIN) data repository on ASFv rule-out testing. The objectives were to develop and assess a scenario tree model (STM) for ASFv freedom to support the claim that commercial swine in Western Canada were free from ASFv; to assess if the CWSHIN repository data may be useful in the STM; and to assess if the rule-out testing had contributed to more evidence of freedom from ASFv than we would have had with passive surveillance alone. To compare and assess different scenarios we used the model’s ability to accumulate evidence of freedom from the July quarter in 2020 to the July quarter in 2023 (13 quarters). We concluded that a method to assess the ability of a scenario and model to accumulate evidence of freedom, based on increasing probability of freedom that approached an equilibrium and a system sensitivity of at least 0.2–0.3, was useful. The CWSHIN data repository was critical to populate the model because it included both number of clinical assessments by herd veterinarians (from quarterly surveys); routine diagnostic data (pathology examinations) and ASF testing results from laboratories. The take home message was that the probability that a herd veterinarian will report a suspicion of ASF to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) (seVet) affected the outcomes of the STM. If the probability that a herd veterinarian reports to CFIA is low (seVet=0.01), then pathology examination and CanSpotASF will improve the STM outcomes. If the probability that a herd veterinarian reports to CFIA is high (seVet is 0.7 or higher), then there is no need for additional pathology and CanSpotASF testing. We expect the actual probability of reporting and subsequent value of additional pathology and testing to between these two scenarios.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106523"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143737836","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Time series modelling of swine lung lesion prevalence to predict the temporal dynamics of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae infections in Spain","authors":"Amanda Fernández-Fontelo ,&nbsp;María Teresa Lasierra-Morales ,&nbsp;Marta Carmona ,&nbsp;Marina Sibila ,&nbsp;Laura Garza-Moreno","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Respiratory diseases are considered one of the most important problems in swine production worldwide due to the significant economic losses associated. Lung lesion evaluation at slaughterhouses by different scoring systems is commonly used to monitor respiratory diseases in swine. Concretely, cranioventral pulmonary consolidation lesions are associated with enzootic pneumonia (EP) caused by <em>Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhyo);</em> whereas haemorrhagic necrotizing pneumonia, mainly in the dorso-caudal lung lobes, and chronic pleuritis (CP) are associated with <em>Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae</em> (<em>App)</em>. Despite the recent consideration of several statistical methods for modelling the temporal dynamics of diseases and the construction of monitoring systems, none have been applied to lung lesions data collected at slaughterhouses. Thus, this work aimed (1) to describe the temporal patterns of EP and CP-like lesions in Spain using time series methods to model the collected data on lung lesions at slaughterhouses; and (2) to construct and evaluate in quasi-real time a surveillance system for early detection of outbreaks and abnormal trends potentially related to both pathogens. In total, 16 time series were analysed including 3947 audits from 474 Spanish farms associated with 302 companies between 2016 and 2019. The monthly time series of the EP index between 2016 and 2019 in Spain (point estimate for Spain was −0.088 with an associated <em>p</em> = 0.073) and different Spanish subregions showed decreasing trend patterns (point estimates for Aragon was −0.028 with an associated <em>p</em> = 0.000 and for Catalonia was −0.064 with an associated <em>p</em> = 0.092), whereas the monthly time series of the CP index increased (point estimate for Spain was 0.004 with an associated <em>p</em> = 0.045 and for Aragon was 0.007 with an associated <em>p</em> = 0.000) over the same period. Additionally, the predictive performance of the estimated models was evaluated at quasi-real time using the data between 2020 and 2021. Results from this evaluation showed that overall, the selected models predicted the evolution of both the EP and CP indices in a reasonable manner being between 90 % prediction intervals. Therefore, time series models constructed in this work could be used to prevent and shorten the response time in implementing of control strategies against these respiratory pathogens minimizing their economic impact associated.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106525"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143776587","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impacts of household factors and proxies of human social determinants of health on dog behavior","authors":"Lauren Powell ,&nbsp;Darko Stefanovski ,&nbsp;Nancy A. Dreschel ,&nbsp;James Serpell","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106520","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106520","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social determinants of health (SDOH) have an enormous impact on human health and behavior, although their possible effects on canine behavior have received limited scientific attention. The goals of this observational cohort study were to identify associations between canine behavior, household environments, and zip code-level proxies for human SDOH, and to explore longitudinal impacts on behavior. We used an existing dataset of C-BARQ behavioral assessments from 3044 golden retrievers in the United States, including up to eight years of data per dog collected between 2012 and 2023. The data were analyzed using linear mixed effect models and generalized estimating equations. We found dogs from single-dog homes had increased odds of dog-directed fear (OR 1.44, 95 % CI 1.30–1.61) and poorer trainability, particularly during early adulthood (<em>F</em>=14.32, <em>p</em> &lt; 0.001). Sleeping in the owners’ bed was associated with increased aggression towards strangers, and a greater reduction in trainability (<em>F</em>=20.71, p &lt; 0.001) and energy with age (<em>F</em>=8.20, <em>p</em> = 0.004). Dogs in the most densely populated neighborhoods had greater odds of showing aggression to strangers compared with dogs in sparsely (OR 0.78, 95 % CI 0.63–0.95) or moderately populated neighborhoods (OR 0.73, 95 % CI 0.60–0.90). Together, our findings illustrate how conspecific relationships, human interactions, home and neighborhood environments affect dog behavior, and show, for the first time, that household characteristics and ownership behaviors have differential impacts on behavior across the lifespan. Future studies including more diverse human and canine populations are needed to provide further insights about the impacts of SDOH on dog health and welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106520"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Validity of purulent vaginal discharge, esterase, luminometry, and three bacteriological tests for diagnosing uterine infection in dairy cows using Bayesian latent class analysis","authors":"José Denis-Robichaud ,&nbsp;Nicolas Barbeau-Grégoire ,&nbsp;Marie-Lou Gauthier ,&nbsp;Simon Dufour ,&nbsp;Jean-Philippe Roy ,&nbsp;Sébastien Buczinski ,&nbsp;Jocelyn Dubuc","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106521","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106521","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the ability of laboratory bacterial culture, Petrifilm, Tri-Plate, luminometry, purulent vaginal discharge (PVD), and esterase to correctly identify uterine infection in dairy cows, and to assess these tests’ usefulness in different situations. We sampled dairy cows between 29 and 43 days in milk in seven farms. We considered all six tests imperfect to identify uterine infection and used Bayesian latent class analyses to estimate their sensitivity and specificity. We created ten scenarios, including tests alone, in series, or in parallel, and we calculated predictive values and misclassification cost terms (MCTs). All estimates are presented with 95 % Bayesian credibility intervals (BCI). A total of 326 uterine samples were collected. The laboratory culture had the best validity (sensitivity = 0.87, 95 % BCI = 0.77–0.97; specificity = 0.71, 95 % BCI = 0.58–0.86). The other tests had similar specificity but lower sensitivity, with PVD having the lowest sensitivity (0.05, 95 % BCI = 0.01–0.10). If treating a healthy cow was considered worse than leaving a cow with a uterine infection untreated, luminometry yielded an MCT similar to the laboratory culture. These findings highlight that the on-farm tools currently used to identify cows that could benefit from intrauterine antimicrobial treatment do not identify uterine infection accurately. While the laboratory culture was the most accurate test, it cannot easily be implemented on farms. Luminometry’s validity was good, but additional research is necessary to understand how it can be implemented to improve judicious intrauterine antimicrobial use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106521"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143738049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Demography of owned dogs across an East African continuum of high-low human density","authors":"Maurice K. Murungi ,&nbsp;Lian F. Thomas ,&nbsp;Nicholas Bor ,&nbsp;Ian Masaku ,&nbsp;Mercy Anyango ,&nbsp;Peterkin N. Munywoki ,&nbsp;Camille Glazer ,&nbsp;Dishon M. Muloi ,&nbsp;Eric M. Fèvre","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106518","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106518","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Understanding the demographics of domestic dogs is essential for effective disease control strategies, particularly in areas where dogs serve as reservoirs of diseases, such as rabies. In this study, conducted in a region proximate to Nairobi, Kenya, we aimed to address the lack of current data on dog demographics. This area spans a high-to-low human density continuum, providing a unique setting for examining the relationship between human and dog populations. We used a household (HH) survey approach, stratifying the area by human population density and selecting sub-locations for every 10th percentile of the population density stratum. Households were randomly selected across strata to estimate the population of owned dogs, which was then extrapolated to the county level. Additionally, a negative binomial regression model was used to analyse the factors influencing the number of dogs owned by households. We found a human-to-owned dog ratio of 3.3:1, indicating an estimated owned dog population of 421,079 (95 % CI: 408,702–424,950) in a county with 1414,022 humans in the last census, with 65 % of the households owning a mean of 2.45 dogs. Multivariable analysis revealed that the presence of a female dog had the strongest association with owning more dogs (OR = 3.08, CI: 2.71–3.50). Wealthier households (OR = 1.67, 95 % CI: 1.12–2.49), those keeping livestock (OR = 1.67, 95 % CI: 1.36–2.02), and larger households (OR = 1.05, 95 % CI: 1.03–1.07) were significantly more likely to own more dogs. These findings suggest that actual human-dog ratios may be higher than estimated in sub-Saharan Africa. Accurate dog demographic data is important for dog-mediated disease and conditions control strategies due to its important logistical and financial implications for implementing targeted control initiatives to improve public health and animal welfare.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106518"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143725746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Small pig stakeholders' knowledge of foreign animal diseases: Baseline knowledge and impact of an outreach session","authors":"B. Alexander Fonseca-Martinez ,&nbsp;Juan Hernandez-Cuevas ,&nbsp;Kristy Shaw ,&nbsp;Andreia G. Arruda","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106517","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106517","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emergence and rapid spread of Foreign Animal Diseases (FADs) pose ongoing threats to animal and human health. Specifically, the swine industry faces constant risks of disease introduction, with African Swine Fever among the foremost concerns. Despite numerous national and local initiatives aimed at supporting swine stakeholders in FAD preparedness, the focus has predominantly been on large commercial operations, neglecting small-scale stakeholders. This study aimed to assess baseline knowledge and evaluate the effectiveness of an outreach session within small swine stakeholders in the state of Ohio, United States. Utilizing pre- and post-session surveys, we measured changes in short-term knowledge levels among 31 participants across five sessions. Results indicated a significant improvement in participants' knowledge post-session regarding various aspects of FADs recognition, transmission, and outbreak response. Additionally, our analysis identified educational level as the sole factor significantly associated with higher pre-session knowledge levels. These findings highlight the potential of outreach programs designed for small-scale stakeholders to improve biosecurity practices and FAD preparedness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106517"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143698014","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Farmers who implemented this, also implemented that: Use of association-rule-learning to improve biosecurity on dairies","authors":"Faustin Farison ,&nbsp;Vitoria Régia Lima-Campêlo ,&nbsp;Marie-Ève Paradis ,&nbsp;Sébastien Buczinski ,&nbsp;Gilles Fecteau ,&nbsp;Jean-Philippe Roy ,&nbsp;Pablo Valdes-Donoso ,&nbsp;Simon Dufour ,&nbsp;Juan Carlos Arango-Sabogal","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Biosecurity practices are the cornerstone of disease prevention and control programs. In Canada, their implementation is evaluated with a Risk Assessment Questionnaire (RAQ). Association Rule Learning (ARL) – a non-supervised machine learning algorithm – is widely used in marketing for consumer segmentation based on purchase patterns. This technique may help veterinarians to recommend biosecurity practices that are more likely to be adopted by producers. In this project, we applied ARL to 3825 RAQ completed by Québec dairy producers to generate 22 million rules that identified combinations of self-reported practices frequently applied together. We retained the best 63 rules predicting the adoption of 13 biosecurity practices with a confidence ≥ 70 %. ARL is useful in studying the relationship between biosecurity practices on dairy farms. By identifying biosecurity practices more likely to be implemented by a given producer, veterinarians can provide targeted recommendations that might improve disease prevention and control programs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106516"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143697967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficacy of continuous education and determinants of antimicrobials prescription behavior in companion animal veterinarians from Quebec, Canada","authors":"Jean-Philippe Rocheleau ,&nbsp;Cécile Ferrouillet ,&nbsp;Pablo Valdes Donoso ,&nbsp;Solène Le Manac'h ,&nbsp;Karol-Ann Henry ,&nbsp;Edouard Martin","doi":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106515","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.prevetmed.2025.106515","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Highly important antimicrobial use in veterinary companion animal medicine is frequent and in some cases unjustified. Establishing cautious and evidence-based prescription practices in veterinary companion animal medicine should be one of the key objectives of One Health antimicrobial stewardship initiatives. We aimed to (1) develop a training program on antimicrobial use in veterinary companion animal medicine in Quebec, Canada, (2) quantify the impact of this training on the use of highly important antimicrobials, and (3) identify the factors that could limit such an impact. A total of 54 veterinarians from 35 veterinary facilities participated in the study. Antimicrobials were identified from electronic medical records, prescription rates were calculated and a difference-in-differences estimation was used to compare prescription rates pre- and post-training in 2023, controlling for seasonal trends during the same period in 2022. Participating veterinarians prescribed on average 11.7 antimicrobial treatments per 100 consultations. Two thirds of the systemic antimicrobials prescribed by participants were antimicrobials of very high medical importance, according to Health Canada. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was the most often prescribed antimicrobial and accounted for approximately 22 % of all prescriptions. The training had a limited impact on overall prescription rates. However, a reduction of 55 % in prescription rate was observed for metronidazole, which is most often prescribed in canine patients with acute diarrhea. Interviews were conducted with 11 participating veterinarians to identify obstacles to the implementation of recommended prescription practices. The main obstacles identified were pet owner expectations, fear of therapeutic failure, lack of confidence in the recommendations and unavailability of therapeutic alternatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20413,"journal":{"name":"Preventive veterinary medicine","volume":"239 ","pages":"Article 106515"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143674483","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}