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Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effectiveness of a digital interactive multimedia tutorial (DIMT) for preparing veterinary students to perform ultrasonography in horses.
SAMPLE
42 third-year veterinary students.
PROCEDURES
Students were randomly assigned to 3 instructional methods: independent study (ie, 45 minutes to read a highlighted textbook chapter), lecture (ie, 45-minute lecture by a faculty member), or digital interactive multimedia tutorial (DIMT; ie, 45-minute narrated, interactive module). Written and practical tests were administered after each instruction session. For the practical test, each student was required to obtain a series of ultrasound images of a live horse, and images were later scored for quality by an individual unaware of the instructional method used.
RESULTS
Higher-quality ultrasound images were obtained by veterinary students who had reviewed the DIMT rather than the analogous information in textbook chapters. No difference in scores was identified between students in the lecture group and those in the DIMT group. Students’ perceptions suggested that practical instruction facilitated by clinicians was a key component of learning how to perform ultrasonography in horses.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results supported the use of DIMTs in preparing veterinary students to perform ultrasonography in horses.
Abstract
Institutions that conduct agricultural research must plan for emergencies and disasters that have the potential to compromise the health and safety of research animals and personnel. Agricultural research facilities have unique challenges owing to the overall size and scope of operations, wide range of species housed, and various types of facilities maintained. Identification of hazards and development of strategies to minimize anticipated risks are important to creating a successful mitigation and recovery plan that will minimize both short- and long-term adverse effects on program operations and resources.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To describe an animal health database used to facilitate effective disaster response and retrospective analysis of data concerning animals other than cats and dogs affected by the 2018 California Camp Fire.
ANIMALS
Veterinary medical entries (n = 206) for evacuated or rescued animals (151) of various species, including avian, bovine, camelid, caprine, equine, ovine, and porcine species, temporarily housed at the Butte County fairgrounds in Gridley, Calif.
PROCEDURES
Case data were collected via a standardized form by volunteers with the University of California-Davis Veterinary Emergency Response Team during triage and treatment of animals brought to the shelter. Collected data were entered into a database. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to evaluate associations among patient species, types and severity of injuries, and behavior.
RESULTS
Burns, respiratory disease, gastrointestinal illnesses, and lacerations were the most prevalent illnesses and injuries among the overall shelter population for the first 12 days of the Camp Fire. Ovine patients were more likely to have had respiratory illness than were other species. The most prevalent medical conditions among equine patients were lacerations and gastrointestinal illnesses. Severe burns were most common among porcine, camelid, and avian patients. The temporal distribution of cases suggested the immediate evacuation of equine species and the delayed movement of bovine and avian species to the shelter.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Collection of animal health information through the database allowed assessment of prevalent medical conditions among various farm animals following a wildfire. Adaptation of this database to other disasters could improve emergency response protocols by providing guidance for management of resources and allow retrospective assessment for response improvement.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To identify rabies virus variants (RVVs) isolated from bats and terrestrial mammals in Nuevo Leon between 2008 and 2015 and Coahuila in 2006.
SAMPLE
RVVs isolated from 15 bats and terrestrial mammals in Nuevo Leon and from a cow (Bos taurus) in Coahuila, along with 46 reference rabies virus sequences.
PROCEDURES
Antigenic characterization of the 16 isolates was performed with an indirect fluorescent antibody technique. Genomic sequencing of the nucleoprotein gene in the 16 isolates was performed with a reverse transcription PCR assay. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the 62 sequences was performed by means of Bayesian inference.
RESULTS
9 isolates from bats and 1 isolate from a domestic cat that became infected as a result of contact with a Mexican free-tailed bat all clustered in the lineage associated with Lasiurus spp in the Americas or the lineage associated with Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana. An isolate from a domestic dog was identified as a variant associated with the dog-coyote lineage. The RVV isolated from a fox clustered in an Arizona fox lineage. The 3 RVVs from skunks (Mephitis macroura) were placed in a lineage with variants isolated from spotted skunks (Spilogale putorius). The RVV isolated from the cow was clustered in a lineage associated with foxes in Texas and separate from the lineage for the fox from Nuevo Leon.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Results reinforced the need for Mexico to implement rabies surveillance and monitoring programs for bats and wild-living terrestrial carnivores.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To describe rabies and rabies-related events occurring during 2018 in the United States.
ANIMALS
All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the United States during 2018.
PROCEDURES
State and territorial public health departments provided data on animals submitted for rabies testing in 2018. Data were analyzed temporally and geographically to assess trends in domestic animal and wildlife rabies cases.
RESULTS
During 2018, 54 jurisdictions reported 4,951 rabid animals to the CDC, representing an 11.2% increase from the 4,454 rabid animals reported in 2017. Texas (n = 695 [14.0%]), Virginia (382 [7.7%]), Pennsylvania (356 [7.2%]), North Carolina (332 [6.7%]), Colorado (328 [6.6%]), and New York (320 [6.5%]) together accounted for almost half of all rabid animals reported in 2018. Of the total reported rabies cases, 4,589 (92.7%) involved wildlife, with bats (n = 1,635 [33.0%]), raccoons (1,499 [30.3%]), skunks (1,004 [20.3%]), and foxes (357 [7.2%]) being the major species. Rabid cats (n = 241 [4.9%]) and dogs (63 [1.3%]) accounted for > 80% of rabid domestic animals reported in 2018. There was a 4.6% increase in the number of samples submitted for testing in 2018, compared with the number submitted in 2017. Three human rabies deaths were reported in 2018, compared with 2 in 2017.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The overall number of animal rabies cases increased from 2017 to 2018. Laboratory diagnosis of rabies in animals is critical to ensure that human rabies postexposure prophylaxis is administered judiciously.