Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a non-pharmacological therapy aimed at people with physical and/or mental disabilities. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out interventions that guarantee its benefits for patients while also avoiding the risk of zoonoses due to contact with the animals or their mucous membranes. The present study aimed to detect the occurrence of Pasteurella multocida in the oral cavity of dogs attending a “dog educational centre” and training for AAT interventions. In addition, some of the potential predictable factors of infection (i.e., age, sex, breed, and living conditions) were analyzed. In total, 25/200 dogs examined (12.5%; 95% confidence interval = 8.4–18.1%) were positive for P. multocida, as confirmed by PCR. Sex, breed, and living conditions were risk factors associated with P. multocida as revealed by the logistic regression analysis. Specifically, cross-bred female dogs living prevalently outdoors were significantly associated with the presence of P. multocida (p < 0.05). This study represents the first epidemiological survey of the prevalence of P. multocida in the oral cavity of dogs involved subsequently in AAT interventions, highlighting the potential risk of P. multocida infection in patients, often belonging to risk categories (e.g., children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals). Therefore, healthcare guidelines could be suggested to integrate the current literature related to the health check of dogs involved in AAT. In this way, it could be ensured that, even with bodily contact during AAT, the risk of pathogen transmission by the co-therapist dog can be avoided.

Occurrence of Pasteurella multocida in Dogs Being Trained for Animal-Assisted Therapy / Santaniello, Antonio; Garzillo, Susanne; Amato, Alessia; Sansone, Mario; Fioretti, Alessandro; Menna, Lucia Francesca. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH. - ISSN 1660-4601. - 17:17(2020), p. 6385. [10.3390/ijerph17176385]

Occurrence of Pasteurella multocida in Dogs Being Trained for Animal-Assisted Therapy

Santaniello, Antonio
Primo
;
Garzillo, Susanne
Secondo
;
Amato, Alessia;Sansone, Mario;Fioretti, Alessandro
Penultimo
;
Menna, Lucia Francesca
Ultimo
2020

Abstract

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a non-pharmacological therapy aimed at people with physical and/or mental disabilities. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out interventions that guarantee its benefits for patients while also avoiding the risk of zoonoses due to contact with the animals or their mucous membranes. The present study aimed to detect the occurrence of Pasteurella multocida in the oral cavity of dogs attending a “dog educational centre” and training for AAT interventions. In addition, some of the potential predictable factors of infection (i.e., age, sex, breed, and living conditions) were analyzed. In total, 25/200 dogs examined (12.5%; 95% confidence interval = 8.4–18.1%) were positive for P. multocida, as confirmed by PCR. Sex, breed, and living conditions were risk factors associated with P. multocida as revealed by the logistic regression analysis. Specifically, cross-bred female dogs living prevalently outdoors were significantly associated with the presence of P. multocida (p < 0.05). This study represents the first epidemiological survey of the prevalence of P. multocida in the oral cavity of dogs involved subsequently in AAT interventions, highlighting the potential risk of P. multocida infection in patients, often belonging to risk categories (e.g., children, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals). Therefore, healthcare guidelines could be suggested to integrate the current literature related to the health check of dogs involved in AAT. In this way, it could be ensured that, even with bodily contact during AAT, the risk of pathogen transmission by the co-therapist dog can be avoided.
2020
Occurrence of Pasteurella multocida in Dogs Being Trained for Animal-Assisted Therapy / Santaniello, Antonio; Garzillo, Susanne; Amato, Alessia; Sansone, Mario; Fioretti, Alessandro; Menna, Lucia Francesca. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH. - ISSN 1660-4601. - 17:17(2020), p. 6385. [10.3390/ijerph17176385]
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Santaniello et al., 2020_d.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Documento in Post-print
Licenza: Dominio pubblico
Dimensione 313.47 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
313.47 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11588/816651
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 7
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 7
social impact