A scale to measure the perception of veterinarians towards antimicrobial use and resistance

Veterinarians are the primary sourceof knowledge for farmers on how to use antibiotics responsibly in farm animals and how to decrease the risk of antibiotic resistance.Antimicrobial use and resistance is a multidimensional construct that lacks a specific measurement scale. This paper looks into the development of a scale to assess veterinarian perception about antimicrobial use and resistance. Following a thorough literature review, focus group interviews were conducted with selected key informant veterinarians to identify statements.An initial list of 80 statements reflecting positive and negative perception towards antimicrobial use and resistance was prepared. After editing, a final list of 70 statements were arrivedat. Descriptives of antimicrobial use and resistance, consensus regarding antimicrobial use and resistance indicators were arrived at through relevancy rating by a panel of 40 judges in the field of veterinary science based on which 35 statements were selected for item analysis. These 35 statements were subjected to item analysis among 60 veterinarians selected from a non-sample area. Out of the 60 veterinarians to whom the items were administered for item analysis, 15 veterinarians each with the lowest and highest scores were used as the two criterion groups to evaluate individual items

Occurrence of thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in pigs and the assessment of biosecurity measures employed at unorganized pig farms in Thrissur, Kerala

Campylobacter spp. is considered as one of the major causes of foodborne illnesses worldwide. A total of 130 samples including faecal samples (n=40), rectal swabs (n=40) and sewage samples (n=50) were collected from the two unorganized pig farms to study the occurrence of Campylobacter spp. The biosecurity measures on the farms were also assessed. An overall occurrence of 26.15 per cent with a higher rate of isolation from rectal swabs (57.5 per cent) than faecal and sewage samples (25 per cent and 2 per cent) were observed. The occurrence of C. coli was found to be 55 per cent, while that of C. jejuni and C. coli was 5 per cent in rectal swabs collected from Farm A. Campylobacter coli could be isolated only from the sewage sample from farm B. Direct multiplex PCR screening detected C. coli in 32 per cent and 44 per cent of sewage samples from farms A and B, respectively. This indicates that the Campylobacter organisms in sewage samples might have attained viable but not culturable form. In both farms, no effective biosecurity measures were followed. The lack of biosecurity measures in farms contributes to the transmission of Campylobacter spp. from the environment to the animals. Farm workers of both the farms were unaware of hygienic practices and biosecurity measures. Furthermore, little attention was paid to personal protective measures, which could pose a significant occupational risk of contracting campylobacteriosis, resulting in complex sequelae

Evaluation of response to combination therapy with enalapril and torasemide in dogs with mitral valve disease

The present study was carried out with the objective of evaluating the response to a combination therapy of enalapril and torasemide in dogs with mitral valve disease (MVD). Dogs diagnosed with stage C of MVD as per the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine guidelines were included in the study. Treatment was initiated with enalapril at 0.5 mg/kg BID and torasemide at 0.2 mg/kg OD orally on 0th day. Detailed clinical examination with special reference to the cardiovascular system including measurement of blood pressure, radiographic, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters of the animals were performed on 0th and 30th day of treatment. The treatment was well tolerated by all the animals. Amelioration of clinical signs with a noticeable reduction in cough was noticed in all the animals. On 30th day of treatment, a significant decrease was noticed in the vertebral heart score and left ventricular internal diameter during diastole and a non-significant decrease was noticed in left atrium to aortic root ratio, left ventricular internal diameter during systole, with a considerable reduction in severity of mitral regurgitation. Post- treatment clearing of lung fields was noticed in dogs with radiographic evidence of pulmonary oedema on 0th day. In addition to this, ventricular premature complexes noticed in three animals pre- treatment was not noticed post treatment

Comparative evaluation of darbepoetin therapy in non-regenerative anaemia associated with Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs

The present study describes a comparative evaluation of haemato-therapeutic response to darbepoetin therapy in non-regenerative anaemia associated with Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs. A total of 68 dogs, presented at Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, Mannuthy with signs of anaemia, weakness, anorexia and pallor of mucous membranes were screened for nonregenerative anaemia. Twenty dogs with a reticulocyte count of < 60,000/μL, haematocrit of < 30 per cent and positive for B. gibsoni were selected for detailed study. The twenty dogs were divided into two groups of ten animals and were subjected to estimation of complete blood count and analysis of serum protein and iron status. Ten dogs brought to the hospital for vaccination or health check-up served as healthy control. Haematological examination revealed significant anaemia and thrombocytopenia in both the groups. Serum total protein, albumin and total iron binding capacity revealed no difference between diseased groups with the healthy control. Serum iron and percentage transferrin saturation were similar in Group I and II, but significantly higher than healthy control. To compare darbepoetin efficacy, Group I dogs were administered with clindamycin and doxycycline for three weeks, whereas Group II was given with darbepoetin at the dose rate of 0.5 μg/kg body weight at weekly intervals for three weeks in addition to clindamycin-doxycycline as in Group I. Dogs of both groups showed complete remission of clinical signs within 10 days of therapy. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in haematological parameters between the treatment groups. It can be concluded from this study that there is no added advantage of darbepoetin therapy over conventional therapies against non-regenerative anaemia associated with B. gibsoni infection in dogs