COVID-19 pandemic and veterinary telehealth
We would like to share ideas on the publication “Veterinarians’ perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic–related influences on veterinary telehealth and on pet owners’ attitudes toward cats and dogs.”1 Dubin et al concluded that telemedicine use increased during the COVID-19 outbreak, and there was a similar concern of pet owners for SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission from cats versus dogs.1 During the pandemic, telecare became a widely used tool. Availability of communication network and affordability of telecommunication are main concerns for telecare users.2 We agree with the usefulness of a telecare system, but its application in veterinary care might be limited, since a telecare session usually takes time and it might not be appropriate for service to a large group of recipients.3 In addition, users should have a good, safe communication apparatus. There is a report on increased seizure episodes among telecare users.4 Regarding the survey on the concerns of pet owners, the result might vary on the availability of health information regarding COVID-19. Pets as sources of infection have become a widely shared issue on social media. It is also necessary to provide correct updated information. It will be useful for controlling panic of pet owners and the problem of abandoned animals. During the pandemic, abandoned pets become a possible new problem and might affect the pattern of rabies epidemiology, which will become a public health problem.5
Pathum Sookaromdee Private Academic Consultant Bangkok, Thailand Viroj Wiwanitkit Honorary professor D Y Patil University Pune, India
Authors respond
We thank Drs. Pathum Sookaromdee and Viroj Wiwanitkit for their interest in our study and for sharing their perspectives on the application of telemedicine and SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission from pets. The authors raise questions that were beyond the scope of our study and may be worthy of further investigations; however, we agree that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a dynamic situation with constant adjustments in pet care delivery and evolving owners’ perspectives. Our survey was therefore strategically deployed to report changes when it became apparent that this pandemic would have lasting impact on veterinary care (June 2020). Finally, we feel compelled to respond to the comment “there was a similar concern of pet owners for SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission from cats versus dogs” and clarify that our survey provided no evidence to suggest differences in concerns over SARS-CoV-2 virus transmission from pets between cat and dog owners.
References
- 1. ↑
Dubin RJ, Angliss G, Eng C, Cisneros T, Griffon D. Veterinarians’ perceptions of COVID-19 pandemic-related influences on veterinary telehealth and on pet owners’ attitudes toward cats and dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2021;259(10):1140–1147.
- 2. ↑
Giani E, Dovc K, Dos Santos TJ, et al. Telemedicine and COVID-19 pandemic: the perfect storm to mark a change in diabetes care. Results from a world-wide cross-sectional web-based survey. Pediatr Diabetes. 2021;22(8):1115–1119. doi:
- 3. ↑
El Aoufy K, Melis MR, Bellando Randone S, et al. The positive side of the coin: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has taught us how much telemedicine is useful as standard of care procedure in real life. Clin Rheumatol. Published online November 5, 2021. doi:
- 4. ↑
Kubota T, Kuroda N. Association between telemedicine and incidence of status epilepticus during the COVID-19 pandemic. Epilepsy Behav. Published online September 20, 2021. doi:
- 5. ↑
Sookaromdee P, Wiwanitkit V. Human exposure incidence, rate of diagnosed rabid animals in clinical laboratory, and effect of COVID-19 outbreak. Clin Lab. Published online November 1, 2021. doi:
