scholarly journals Biosecurity and management practices in different dog breeding systems have considerable margin for improvements

2018 ◽  
Vol 183 (12) ◽  
pp. 381-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Alexandre Dendoncker ◽  
Christel Moons ◽  
Steven Sarrazin ◽  
Claire Diederich ◽  
Etienne Thiry ◽  
...  

To investigate the current management and biosecurity practices and identify possible differences between different types of breeders, a cross-sectional study was carried out in 102 Belgian dog breeding facilities ranging from small (less than 10 dams on site) to large-scale (more than 50 dams on site or at least 500 puppies sold yearly) breeders. Veterinary prophylactic protocols (ie, vaccination, endoparasite control, ectoparasitic treatments) were highly implemented (91.5 per cent, 92.6 per cent, 42.7 per cent, respectively) across all breeder categories. 13.8 per cent of all visited breeders reported to administer antimicrobials to each female post partum and 10.3 per cent reported to treat all puppies, or at least of one breed, systematically with antimicrobials. Large-scale breeders reported to employ staff more frequently (p<0.01), and appeared to be more familiar with the principles of biosecurity. They reported to apply disinfection (p<0.01) and hygienic measures (p=0.03) across all parts of the facility, and to quarantine newly acquired dogs (p<0.01) more often compared with small-scale breeders. Nonetheless, a moderate knowledge of and use of disinfection was recorded, as was the presence of pet dogs, breaking the compartmentalisation. Results of this study indicate that there is substantial room for improvement in hygiene and disease management across all categories of breeders. The characterisation of different types of dog breeders with respect to biosecurity and management practices is a first step towards improvement of dog husbandry and biosecurity measures. Tailored guidelines should permit breeders to further improve the health of breeding animals and puppies while reducing the risk of infectious disease outbreaks and associated expenses.

2019 ◽  
Vol 184 (23) ◽  
pp. 710-710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Alexandre Dendoncker ◽  
Tiny De Keuster ◽  
Claire Diederich ◽  
Jeroen Dewulf ◽  
Christel P H Moons

The success of the dog as a companion animal has undeniably led to a shift in dog breeding practices. While effects of inbreeding or large-scale breeding have given rise to numerous studies about potentially related health issues, it remains unclear to what extent behavioural development of dogs is influenced. By investigating the environment of puppies while at the breeder, the authors aimed to make an inventory of current practices regarding management, socialisation and environmental learning and subsequently to identify potential differences between breeder types. The cross-sectional study, conducted during 2016, revealed considerable variability in environment among dog breeders. Small-scale breeders, and especially occasional breeders (less than 10 adult dogs on-site) provided most enrichment, both social and non-social, by, for instance, providing more outdoor access for pregnant dams and puppies or by providing access to visitors more freely. Environmental stimuli were less controlled in occasional breeders, raising the debate about quantity versus quality of stimuli at a young age. Large-scale breeders declared to screen potential owners less intensely and time to advise them was limited. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that compares a large number of environmental factors between the different dog breeding categories.


Author(s):  
Teklu Gebretsadik ◽  
Dinku Negash

The study was carried out in selected districts of Gedeo zones of southern Nation nationality and people’s regional state: such as Wonago, Kochere and DillaZuria/chichu/ districts. The objective of the study was to asses production systems, opportunities and constraints of apiculture farming in Gedeo zones of SNNPRs. Beekeeping is a long-standing practice in the study districts and appears as ancient history of the country as a whole. A cross sectional study, in which 90 households were purposively included and conducted in selected district to assess the current beekeeping practices, production potentials and production constraints. Most (72%) of the beekeepers in the study area have owned only traditional hives and produce honey for home consumption. The beekeeping practice was dominated by male.  Despite the area have  production constraints, the area opportunities like existence of large sized natural forest and artificial forest, due attention provision from regional, federal and local government and nongovernmental organizations, yearly flowering and variety floral availability, some small scale farmers highly experienced in apiculture farming, market access and high demand of apicultural products at nationally and international level. Therefore, Designing effective honeybee pests and predators controlling methods, Introduction of full package improved beekeeping technologies with adequate practical skill training on all bee keeping trends and queen rearing practices promoting beekeepers important indigenous knowledge, Producing areal major honeybee plants in large scale, Avoiding discarding of bee colonies after honey harvest, Availing the strategies to support farmers with beekeeping business support services, Improving pre- and post-harvest handling of bee products and Improving the utilization of stingless bee’s resources, without damaging the colony is important to make the honey production system in the area more economical, so as to enhance bee products for national and international need.


Author(s):  
Valerie Bauza ◽  
Gloria D. Sclar ◽  
Alokananda Bisoyi ◽  
Fiona Majorin ◽  
Apurva Ghugey ◽  
...  

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices emerged as a critical component to controlling and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted 131 semistructured phone interviews with households in rural Odisha, India, to understand behavior changes made in WASH practices as a result of the pandemic and challenges that would prevent best practices. Interviews were conducted from May through July 2020 with 73 heads of household, 37 caregivers of children < 5 years old, and 21 members of village water and sanitation committees in villages with community-level piped water and high levels of latrine ownership. The majority of respondents (86%, N = 104) reported a change in their handwashing practice due to COVID-19, typically describing an increase in handwashing frequency, more thorough washing method, and/or use of soap. These improved handwashing practices remained in place a few months after the pandemic began and were often described as a new consistent practice after additional daily actions (such as returning home), suggesting new habit formation. Few participants (13%) reported barriers to handwashing. Some respondents also detailed improvements in other WASH behaviors, including village-level cleaning of water tanks and/or treatment of piped water (48% of villages), household water treatment and storage (17% of respondents), and household cleaning (41% of respondents). However, there was minimal change in latrine use and child feces management practices as a result of the pandemic. We provide detailed thematic summaries of qualitative responses to allow for richer insights into these WASH behavior changes during the pandemic. The results also highlight the importance of ensuring communities have adequate WASH infrastructure to enable the practice of safe behaviors and strengthen resilience during a large-scale health crisis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 4-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elias C. Nyanza ◽  
Petro Yohana ◽  
Deborah S.K. Thomas ◽  
Wilfreda E. Thurston ◽  
Eveline Konje ◽  
...  

Background. Tanzania has seen explosive development in small scale gold mining (SGM) operations. Recently, the use of cyanide has become more common in SGM, especially in the reprocessing of mercury-amalgamated tailings from artisanal mining sites. Objectives. The primary objective of this study was to examine the level of knowledge and adherence to the Cyanide Code among workers and managers at SGM operations in northwestern Tanzania that use cyanide for gold extraction, focusing on workers' safety. Methods. A cross-sectional study of workers and managers at 17 selected SGM sites was conducted. A random-cluster approach was used to recruit 215 mine workers and 23 mine managers who worked at the same sites for more than three months. Individuals participated in structured face-to-face interviews. Site evaluation checklists were also administered to assess adherence. Results. The majority of the SGM workers (61.4%, n=132) were not aware of the Cyanide Code. Among the mine managers, 64.2% (n=15) were aware of the Cyanide Code. Fifty-four percent of workers and 39.1% of managers did not adhere to the Cyanide Code. Workers who reported being trained on the Cyanide Code were significantly more likely to have knowledge about the Cyanide Code guidelines compared to untrained workers (adjusted odds ratio =20.3, confidence interval: 7.5 – 54.8). Discussion. Wide variations in knowledge of and adherence to the Cyanide Code were found. A manager's knowledge of Cyanide Code was significantly associated with workers' knowledge. High worker and manager knowledge was associated with increased site safety performance. Even though all the SGM sites were physically visited, some potentially hazardous practices may not have been revealed by managers and workers because of fear of possible regulatory actions due to disclosure of concerns related to their operation's safety compliance. Conclusions. The limited knowledge of the Cyanide Code among workers and managers, combined with poor adherence to cyanide waste management practices, indicates that there is a need for education, health promotion and sensitization among workers and managers to improve worker safety and minimize environmental health impacts. Participant Consent: Obtained Competing Interests. The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethics Approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the Conjoint Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences and Bugando Medical Centre Research Review and Ethics Committee (Ref. BREC/001/35/2014). Permission to conduct research in Geita District was obtained from the respective authorities at the regional and district levels and from owners of the SGM sites.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Bauza ◽  
Gloria D. Sclar ◽  
Alokananda Bisoyi ◽  
Fiona Majorin ◽  
Apurva Ghugey ◽  
...  

AbstractWater, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) practices emerged as a critical component to controlling and preventing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted 131 semi-structured phone interviews with households in rural Odisha, India to understand behavior changes made in WASH practices as a result of the pandemic and challenges that would prevent best practices. Interviews were conducted from May-July 2020 with 73 heads of household, 37 caregivers of children less than five years old, and 21 members of village water and sanitation committees in villages with community-level piped water and high levels of latrine ownership. The majority of respondents (86%, N=104) reported a change in their handwashing practice due to COVID-19 or the related government lockdown, typically describing an increase in handwashing frequency, more thorough washing method, and/or use of soap. These improved handwashing practices remained in place a few months after the pandemic began and were often described as a new consistent practice after additional daily actions (such as returning home), suggesting new habit formation. Few participants (13%) reported barriers to handwashing. Some respondents also detailed improvements in other WASH behaviors including village-level cleaning of water tanks and/or treatment of piped water (48% of villages), household water treatment and storage (17% of respondents), and household cleaning (41% of respondents). However, there was minimal change in latrine use and child feces management practices as a result of the pandemic. We provide detailed thematic summaries of qualitative responses to allow for richer insights into these WASH behavior changes, or lack thereof, during the pandemic. The results also highlight the importance of ensuring communities have adequate WASH infrastructure to enable the practice of safe behaviors and strengthen resilience during a large-scale health crisis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Ishimaru ◽  
Masako Nagata ◽  
Ayako Hino ◽  
Satoshi Yamashita ◽  
Seiichiro Tateishi ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectivesLittle is known about workplace measures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Japan after the first state of emergency period, especially in micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). This study aimed to provide an overview of the current situation of anti-COVID-19 measures in Japanese enterprises, considering company size.MethodsThis study was an Internet-based nationwide cross-sectional study. Data were collected using an online self-administered questionnaire in December 2020 during the third wave of COVID-19. The chi-squared test for trend was performed to calculate the p-value for trend for each workplace measure across company sizes.ResultsFor the 27,036 participants, across company sizes, the most prevalent workplace measure was encouraging mask wearing at work, followed by requesting that employees refrain from going to work when ill and restricting work-related social gatherings and entertainment. These measures were implemented by approximately 90% of large-scale enterprises and by more than 40% of micro- and small-scale enterprises. In contrast, encouraging remote working and restricting eating and drinking at personal workspaces were implemented by less than half of large-scale enterprises and by around 15% of micro- and small-scale enterprises. There were statistically significant differences in all workplace measures by company size (all p-values < .001).ConclusionsWe found that various responses to COVID-19 had been taken in workplaces. However, some measures, including remote working, were still not well implemented, especially in smaller enterprises. The findings suggest that occupational health support for MSMEs is urgently needed to mitigate the current wave of COVID-19.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e044262
Author(s):  
Haiyang Yang ◽  
Jingjing Ma

ObjectivesThis research investigated whether certain population segments might be more psychologically vulnerable in different phases of a pandemic. Specifically, the research examined how disparities in wealth might be associated with differences in emotional well-being before, during, versus after the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak in China.Setting, participants and outcome measuresIn this large-scale cross-sectional study, three rounds of nationally representative data collection (N=27 760) were conducted immediately before (December 2019), in the midst of (February 2020), versus immediately after (April 2020) the countrywide COVID-19 outbreak in China. Participants’ emotional well-being, wealth (income, property ownership) and demographic information were measured using established instruments. Statistical analyses examined relationships between disparities in different types of wealth and emotional well-being across the pandemic phases.ResultsAlthough the onset of the coronavirus outbreak substantially degraded emotional well-being, having a higher income was associated with better emotional well-being during the outbreak. Property owners experienced a larger drop in emotional well-being during the outbreak than non-owners; however, the former was not emotionally worse off than the latter during the outbreak. After the nationwide COVID-19 outbreak had been contained and the economy reopened, those with more wealth of either type again became better off in emotional well-being than those with less. The highest income segment even experienced better emotional well-being after the end of the nationwide outbreak than prior to the outbreak. In contrast, the lowest income segment became worse off in emotional well-being after the nationwide outbreak ended than before the outbreak began.ConclusionPeople with less wealth tend to be emotionally worse off throughout the different phases of a disease outbreak. In particular, even after an outbreak has been contained, the poor are less able to restore their psychological well-being. Policies and interventions are needed to address disparities in mental health in the age of pandemics.


Diabetes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 2393-PUB
Author(s):  
KENICHIRO TAKAHASHI ◽  
MINORI SHINODA ◽  
RIKA SAKAMOTO ◽  
JUN SUZUKI ◽  
TADASHI YAMAKAWA ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle

A variety of practices have recently emerged which are related to both video games and gambling. Most prominent of these are loot boxes. However, a broad range of other activities have recently emerged which are also related to both gambling and video games: esports betting, real-money video gaming, token wagering, social casino play, and watching videos of both loot box opening and gambling on game streaming services like Twitch.Whilst a nascent body of research has established the robust existence of a relationship between loot box spending and both problem gambling and disordered gaming, little research exists which examines whether similar links may exist for the diverse practices outlined above. Furthermore, no research has thus far attempted to estimate the prevalence of these activities.A large-scale survey of a representative sample of UK adults (n=1081) was therefore conducted in order to investigate these issues. Engagement in all measured forms of gambling-like video game practices were significantly associated with both problem gambling and disordered gaming. An aggregate measure of engagement was associated with both these outcomes to a clinically significant degree (r=0.23 and r=0.43). Engagement in gambling-like video game practices appeared widespread, with a 95% confidence interval estimating that 16.3% – 20.9% of the population engaged in these activities at least once in the last year. Engagement in these practices was highly inter-correlated: Individuals who engaged in one practice were likely to engage in several more.Overall, these results suggest that the potential effects of the blurring of lines between video games and gambling should not primarily be understood to be due to the presence of loot boxes in video games. They suggest the existence of a convergent ecosystem of gambling-like video game practices, whose causal relationships with problem gambling and disordered gaming are currently unclear but must urgently be investigated.


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