Читать книгу Infectious Disease Management in Animal Shelters - Группа авторов - Страница 15

Though some unique considerations exist for shelters, the fundamentals of disease management rest on a familiar foundation. In veterinary medicine, it is customary to think about the “disease triad” that describes the interaction of pathogen, host and environment in determining whether disease occurs. Introduction of pathogens into a shelter is virtually inevitable; therefore, efforts focus on supporting animals' immunity and limiting disease spread within the environment.

This text will provide strategies to accomplish each of these goals with respect to specific pathogens commonly encountered in shelters, as well as general information on methods to support immunity and limit environmental spread (e.g. see Chapter 2 on Wellness, Chapter 9 on Canine and Feline Vaccinations and Immunology, Chapter 8 on Sanitation and Chapter 6 on Outbreak Management). The reader will find information that reflects the ways in which shelter‐specific considerations result in recommendations that vary from the approach that might be recommended in another context.

For instance, maternally derived antibodies (MDA) in juvenile animals have both good and bad consequences: they provide initial protection against disease but also potentially block vaccines. Initial levels of MDA will determine the age at which vaccines can overcome this interference, and this information has historically guided vaccine recommendations for pet puppies and kittens born to vaccinated dams. However, it is now known that many juvenile animals entering shelters were either born to unvaccinated dams and therefore received no MDA (and therefore no potential for MDA interference); or were born to mothers who survived field strain infection and may have transmitted high levels of MDA (Lechner et al. 2010). This means vaccines may be effective either earlier or later in comparison to offspring of a vaccinated dam with an intermediate level of MDA to transmit. This, coupled with the higher disease exposure risk common to shelters, leads to the recommendation to start vaccination earlier and continue longer for puppies and kittens in a shelter environment.

Another example can be found in the treatment recommendations for dermatophytosis. Often a self‐limiting disease of little consequence in privately owned pets, this zoonotic and environmentally persistent (and resistant) pathogen has historically been the cause of euthanasia in many shelters. However, protocols that limit environmental contamination through effective topical, as well as systemic treatment, have been developed to allow this condition to be managed successfully at an increasing number of shelters (Newbury et al. 2011).