Environmental Sampling for Salmonella spp. in Colorado Animal Shelters

Does Flooring Substrate Impact Kennel and Dog Cleanliness in Commercial Breeding Facilities?

Evaluation of kennel flooring surfaces is needed to understand their impacts on dog health and well-being. This pilot study aimed to characterize aspects of physical health, kennel cleanliness, and dog body cleanliness on flooring types common in US breeding kennels. Subjects were 118 adult dogs housed on diamond-coated expanded metal (DCEM), polypropylene (POLY), or concrete (CON) flooring at five commercial breeding facilities in Indiana, U.S. Body condition, paw, elbow, and hock health scores were recorded. Each indoor kennel and dog was visually assessed for cleanliness. Kennels were swabbed immediately after cleaning with electrostatic dry cloths and cultured for Escherichia coli. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. Mean body condition score (BCS), kennel and dog cleanliness scores were all near ideal (3, 1.15, and 1.04, respectively). Thirty-one percent or fewer kennels at each facility were culture-positive for E. coli after cleaning. No serious paw, elbow, or hock problems were identified. Overall, the findings indicate that with appropriate management and regular access to additional surfaces, dog foot health, cleanliness, and kennel cleanliness can be maintained on the flooring types investigated.

Survey of animal shelter managers regarding shelter veterinary medical services

Veterinary services are increasingly used in animal shelters, and shelter medicine is an emerging veterinary specialty. However, little is known about working relationships between animal shelters and veterinarians. The aims of this survey were to characterize working relationships that shelter personnel have and want with veterinarians, identify opinions that shelter managers have regarding the veterinarians they work with, and determine areas for relationship growth between veterinarians and shelter managers. An electronic survey was distributed to 1373 managers of North American animal shelters; 536 (39.0%) responded. Almost all shelters had some veterinary relationship, and most had regular relationships with veterinarians. The proportion of shelters that used local clinics (73.9%) was significantly higher than the proportion that retained on-site paid veterinarians (48.5%). The proportion of respondents who did not have but wanted a paid on-site veterinarian (42%) was significantly higher than the proportion of respondents who did not use local clinics but wanted to (7.9%). These data suggest shelter managers valued veterinary relationships, and wished to expand on-site veterinary services. Almost all shelters in this study provided some veterinary care, and all respondents identified at least one common infectious disease, which, for most, had a substantial negative impact on shelter successes. Respondents indicated that the most important roles and greatest expertise of veterinarians were related to surgery, diagnosis and treatment of individual animals. Education of both veterinarians and shelter managers may help ensure that shelters benefit from the full range of services veterinarians can provide, including expertise in disease prevention and animal behavior.

Comparison of Individual, Pooled, and Composite Fecal Sampling Methods for Detection of Salmonella on U.S. Dairy Operations

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella for individual, pooled, and composite fecal samples and to compare culture results from each sample type for determining herd Salmonella infection status and identifying Salmonella serovar(s). During the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Animal Health Monitoring System Dairy 2007 study, data and samples were collected from dairy operations in 17 major dairy states. As part of the study, composite fecal samples (six per operation) were collected from cow areas, such as holding pens, alleyways, and lagoons, where manure accumulates. Fecal samples also were collected from individual cows (35 per operation), and fecal sample pools were created by combining samples from 5 cows (7 per operation). A total of 1,541 composite fecal samples were collected from 260 operations in 17 states, and 406 (26.3%) of these samples were culture positive for Salmonella. Among the 116 operations for which all three sample types were obtained, 41.4% (48 operations) were Salmonella culture positive based on individual samples, 39.7% (46 operations) were positive based on pooled samples, and 49.1% (57 operations) were positive based on composite fecal samples. Relative to individual samples, the sensitivity of composite fecal samples for determining herd infection status was 85.4% and the sensitivity of pooled fecal samples was 91.7%. On 33.6% of operations (39 of 116), Salmonella was cultured from all three fecal sample types (individual, pooled, and composite), and 20 (51.3%) of these operations had exactly the same serovar in all three sample types. Use of composite fecal samples is less costly and time-consuming than use of individual or pooled samples and provides similar results for detecting the presence and identifying serovars of Salmonella in dairy herds. Therefore, composite sampling may be an appropriate alternative to culture of individual samples when assessing Salmonella status in dairy herds.