Risk factors for canine infectious respiratory disease complex and the pathogens associated with the disease.

Background: Canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC) is a common respiratory condition typically associated with high-density populations.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the most common pathogens involved in CIRDC and to identify risk factors (pathogens, environmental exposures) associated with the diagnosis.

Animals And Procedure: A prospective, multi-clinic, case-control study was conducted in Canada from April 2017 to May 2018.

Prevalence and distribution of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales in companion animals: A nationwide study in the United States using commercial laboratory data.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) are a concern in both human and animal medicine globally. Despite extensive research in humans, limited data exist on CRE in companion animals, with a lack of nationwide prevalence estimates.

Hypothesis/objectives: To assess the occurrence and trends of CRE in cats and dogs across the United States by analyzing 4 years of commercial antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) data.

Approximating the global economic (market) value of farmed animals.

Understanding the global economic importance of farmed animals to society is essential as a baseline for decision making about future food systems. We estimated the annual global economic (market) value of live animals and primary production outputs, e.g.

Epidemiology of companion animal AMR in the United States of America: filling a gap in the one health approach.

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health concern that affects all aspects of the One Health Triad, including human, animal, and environmental health. Companion animals, such as cats and dogs, may contribute to the spread of AMR through their close contact with humans and the frequent prescription of antimicrobials. However, research on AMR in companion animals is limited, and there are few surveillance measures in place to monitor the spread of resistant pathogens in the United States.

Isolation of Elizabethkingia spp. from Diagnostic Specimens from Dogs and Cats, United States, 2019-2021.

We retrospectively reviewed Elizabethkingia spp. culture and susceptibility results from 86 veterinary diagnostic laboratory results from US dogs and cats. We noted 26 E.

Morbidity of insured Swedish cats between 2011 and 2016: Comparing disease risk in domestic crosses and purebreds.

Background: Sources of population-based cat health information are scarce. The objective of this study was to determine disease frequency in cats using pet insurance data to inform health promotion efforts.

Methods: A descriptive analysis of cats insured with Agria Pet Insurance in Sweden (2011-2016) was performed.

From FAIR to FAIRS: Data security by design for the global burden of animal diseases.

Solving complex global problems involving data and data analysis can require data from both the public and private sectors. The sharing of data has traditionally been restricted to open data. To facilitate the use of both open and private data, a new data-sharing framework has been constructed as an extension to the popular Findable-Accessible-Interoperable-Reusable (FAIR) framework.

Technology-enhanced weight-loss program in multiple-cat households: a randomized controlled trial.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine whether a technology-enhanced weight-loss program, using a home pet health technology ecosystem, is an effective tool in feline weight-loss management in multiple-cat households and to evaluate its impact on cat behavior.

Methods: The study was a prospective parallel unmasked block-randomized controlled trial comparing two weight loss intervention groups: (1) traditional group with dietary restriction alone (n = 9); (2) technology group that used dietary restriction, digital scales, smart feeders, activity monitors and pet treat cameras (n = 6). A 12-week weight-loss program of client-owned indoor-only two- or three-cat households with at least one overweight cat was conducted in Canada and the USA.

Companion animal veterinarians' and veterinary clients' perceptions of information exchanged while communicating about blood tests.

Background: Blood tests play a vital role in veterinary medicine, as they enable veterinarians to make decisions about their patients' medical care and provide opportunities to engage clients in veterinary care. The objective of this study was to explore perspectives of veterinary clients and veterinarians on current reporting practices for blood tests ordered in companion animal practice. The type of information communicated and client information seeking behaviours were examined.

Evaluating shared decision-making between companion animal veterinarians and their clients using the Observer OPTION instrument.

Background: Communication practices used by veterinarians can impact client's involvement in decision-making. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of client involvement in veterinary care decisions and factors impacting client involvement.

Methods: A random sample of practising companion animal veterinarians and a convenience sample of pet owners were recruited.

Day-1 Competencies for Veterinarians Specific to Health Informatics.

In 2015, the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) developed the Competency-Based Veterinary Education (CBVE) framework to prepare practice-ready veterinarians through competency-based education, which is an outcomes-based approach to equipping students with the skills, knowledge, attitudes, values, and abilities to do their jobs. With increasing use of health informatics (HI: the use of information technology to deliver healthcare) by veterinarians, competencies in HI need to be developed. To reach consensus on a HI competency framework in this study, the Competency Framework Development (CFD) process was conducted using an online adaptation of Developing-A-Curriculum, an established methodology in veterinary medicine for reaching consensus among experts.

Pet owners' and veterinarians' perceptions of information exchange and clinical decision-making in companion animal practice.

One of the most complex aspects of the veterinarian-client-patient interaction is the clinical decision-making process. Research suggests that the approach to communication used by veterinarians can impact veterinary clients' involvement in the decision-making process and their ultimate satisfaction. Using different approaches to the decision-making process may affect how information is exchanged and consequently how decisions are made.

Collaborating in the Time of COVID-19: The Scope and Scale of Innovative Responses to a Global Pandemic.

The emergence of COVID-19 spurred the formation of myriad teams to tackle every conceivable aspect of the virus and thwart its spread. Enabled by global digital connectedness, collaboration has become a constant theme throughout the pandemic, resulting in the expedition of the scientific process (including vaccine development), rapid consolidation of global outbreak data and statistics, and experimentation with novel partnerships. To document the evolution of these collaborative efforts, the authors collected illustrative examples as the pandemic unfolded, supplemented with publications from the JMIR COVID-19 Special Issue.

A scoping review of 'big data', 'informatics', and 'bioinformatics' in the animal health and veterinary medical literature.

Research in big data, informatics, and bioinformatics has grown dramatically (Andreu-Perez J, et al., 2015, IEEE Journal of Biomedical and Health Informatics 19, 1193-1208). Advances in gene sequencing technologies, surveillance systems, and electronic medical records have increased the amount of health data available.

The Assessment of Twitter's Potential for Outbreak Detection: Avian Influenza Case Study.

Social media services such as Twitter are valuable sources of information for surveillance systems. A digital syndromic surveillance system has several advantages including its ability to overcome the problem of time delay in traditional surveillance systems. Despite the progress made with using digital syndromic surveillance systems, the possibility of tracking avian influenza (AI) using online sources has not been fully explored.

An animal health example of managing and analyzing a large volume of data on a PC: Modeling body weight and age of over 13 million cats for explanatory and predictive purposes.

Large amounts of animal health data are available to researchers, but are often stored in different formats and information silos. Analysis of this existing information can provide new insights into the health and welfare of animals and possibly reduce the need to collect additional data. The objective of this study was to develop a method of managing and analyzing large amounts of data on a personal computer that can be run within 24 h to limit the time and resources spent deploying models on larger servers.

Investigation of relationships between body weight and age among domestic cats stratified by breed and sex.

To evaluate mean body weight (BW) over the lifespan of domestic cats stratified by breed and sex (including reproductive status [neutered vs sexually intact]). 19,015,888 cats. Electronic medical records from veterinary clinics in the United States and Canada from 1981 to 2016 were collected through links to practice management software programs and anonymized.

An open ecosystem engagement strategy through the lens of global food safety.

The Global Food Safety Partnership (GFSP) is a public/private partnership established through the World Bank to improve food safety systems through a globally coordinated and locally-driven approach. This concept paper aims to establish a framework to help GFSP fully leverage the potential of open models. In preparing this paper the authors spoke to many different GFSP stakeholders who asked questions about open models such as: what is it?what's in it for me?why use an open rather than a proprietary model?how will open models generate equivalent or greater sustainable revenue streams compared to the current "traditional" approaches?  This last question came up many times with assertions that traditional service providers need to see opportunity for equivalent or greater revenue dollars before they will buy-in.

Scoping review on search queries and social media for disease surveillance: a chronology of innovation.

Background: The threat of a global pandemic posed by outbreaks of influenza H5N1 (1997) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS, 2002), both diseases of zoonotic origin, provoked interest in improving early warning systems and reinforced the need for combining data from different sources. It led to the use of search query data from search engines such as Google and Yahoo! as an indicator of when and where influenza was occurring. This methodology has subsequently been extended to other diseases and has led to experimentation with new types of social media for disease surveillance.

Harnessing collective knowledge to create global public goods for education and health.

Our global interconnectedness has first been expressed in the transformation of business and entertainment, but it will have profound effects on all aspects of our lives, including education and health. Today's students are accustomed to supplying and consuming user-generated content, such as the videos of YouTube, and to using social networking applications, such as MySpace. This can be turned to their advantage in the development of work skills for the twenty-first century.

Employing mass collaboration information technologies to protect human lives and to reduce mass destruction of animals.

'A war against disease requires not only financial resources, sufficient technology, and political commitment, but also a strategy, operational lines of responsibility, and the capacity to learn along the way', according to J.D. Sachs.

Education and the food-systems veterinarian: the impact of new information technologies.

Food systems educators face a double challenge: (1) the inherent change in scope and perspective from raising animals to producing safe food in an environmentally conscientious manner; and (2) the unprecedented demand for higher education, both nationally and internationally. In the modern world, small numbers of producers are capable of feeding a growing population. As demographics have shifted from rural to urban areas, more global livelihoods are derived from manufacturing and services than from agriculture.

Integrating animal welfare into veterinary education: using an online, interactive course.

Veterinarians in the United States and abroad are faced with growing public concern for the welfare of animals, particularly those in production. To prepare veterinarians to exert the leadership expected by the public and industry, steps should be taken to provide instruction in animal welfare at veterinary colleges. The ultimate goal is to offer courses in animal welfare in a consistent manner on a global scale, utilizing existing expertise in an efficient and cost-effective manner.