‘One Health’ promotion in a model city for dog-aggression policy: A qualitative inquiry in the City of Calgary

Background Dog-bite injuries remain a perennial problem, especially in pediatric emergency services. Nonetheless, few researchers have examined how local-level policies may contribute to primary prevention. We do so with qualitative research and an emphasis on implementation. This study highlights the potential benefit of coordination in Alberta between municipalities and emergency health services. Implementation This study mainly took place in the City of Calgary, which has earned a sterling reputation, in Canada and internationally, for the results of its animal-control policy in reducing dog-aggression incidents. We attribute part of this achievement to the high compliance of licensing in Calgary. The City estimates 80-90% of all dogs in Calgary have been licensed (by comparison, the City of Toronto estimates 35% compliance with mandatory licensing for dogs). The City of Calgary earmarks revenue from licensing for human-animal services, including public education, assessment of dogs’ behavior, and a state-of-the-art shelter oriented towards rehoming. Here, we frame the City of Calgary’s dog-aggression policy as a ‘One Health’ issue. This concept refers to human-animal-environment interdependencies as the basis for health. Whereas most One Health research has focused on preventing zoonotic infections or environmental toxins, our approach emphasizes health promotion, in which ‘caring for one’s self and others’ as the foundation for improving longevity and quality of life. Over the years, we have informed and learned from the City of Calgary’s implementation of its dog-aggression policy framework. Evaluation Methods Related research (Caffrey et al., 2019) has analyzed the City of Calgary’s administrative data on dog-bite incidents, statistically and spatially. Previously our team partnered with the Emergency Services Strategic Clinical Network on an analysis of emergency services utilization for dog-bite injuries across Alberta (Jelinski et al., 2016). We have also highlighted risks to occupational health and safety amongst officers who enforce dog-aggression policies, in Alberta and worldwide (Rault et al., 2018). In this presentation, we delve into how these officers act on municipal data when investigating dog-aggression incidents in the City of Calgary. Our main sources of information were semi-structured interviews and participant-observation. Results High compliance with dog-licensing bylaws in Calgary assists officers in efficiently locating dogs following a dog-aggression complaint. In turn, citizens lodge complaints because they view the City of Calgary’s human-animal services as effective and humane. References Caffrey, N., Rock, M., Schmidtz, O., Anderson, D., Parkinson, M., Checkley, S.L. Insights about the epidemiology of dog bites in a Canadian city using a dog aggression scale and administrative data. Animals, 9(6). doi: 10.3390/ani9060324. Jelinski, S.E., Phillips, C., Doehler, M., Rock, M. (May, 2016). The epidemiology of emergency department visits for dog-related injuries in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine, 18(S1). doi: 10.1017/cem.2016.68 Rault, D., Nowicki, S., Adams, C., Rock, M. (2018). To protect animals, first we must protect law enforcement officers. Journal of Animal and Natural Resource Law, XIV, pp.1-33.

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Insights about the Epidemiology of Dog Bites in a Canadian City Using a Dog Aggression Scale and Administrative Data

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9060324 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (6) ◽

pp. 324 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Niamh Caffrey ◽

Melanie Rock ◽

Olivia Schmidtz ◽

Doug Anderson ◽

Melissa Parkinson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Older Adults ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Administrative Data ◽

Public Awareness ◽

Health Concern ◽

Dog Bite ◽

Dog Bites ◽

The City ◽

Bite Injuries

Dog bites are a public health concern that also implicates animal welfare, with negative outcomes such as rehoming or euthanasia for the animals responsible. Previous research has shown that the severity of dog-bite injuries reflects multiple factors, including the degree of inhibition exhibited by dogs and how people behave towards dogs. This study utilizes an objective dog bite injury assessment tool: The Dunbar aggression scale. Trained officers employed by The City of Calgary systematically use the Dunbar scale whenever investigating dog-bite complaints. We analyzed The City of Calgary’s administrative data on confirmed dog-bite injuries in people, 2012–2017, with a multivariable generalized ordered logistic regression model. Severe dog-bite injuries occurred more frequently in the family home than in any other setting. Young children, youths and older adults were at higher risk of more serious bites than adults. There has been a decreasing trend in the probability of a high or medium severity bite, and an increasing trend in the probability of a low severity bite since 2012. These results indicate that greater public awareness regarding dog-bite injuries is needed. Consideration should be given to campaigns targeted towards different demographics, including older adults, to provide an understanding of dog behaviour and to emphasize the need to supervise children closely in the presence of all dogs at all times, including family dogs in the home environment. Given that dog-bite injuries are not just a public health issue, but also an animal welfare issue, we endorse One Health responses in educational campaigns, policy development, and professional practice.

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Connecting the dots: a qualitative study of dog-bite data in Calgary (AB, Canada)

International Journal for Population Data Science ◽

10.23889/ijpds.v3i4.821 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Morgan Mouton ◽

Dawn Rault ◽

Melanie Rock

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Administrative Data ◽

Local Governments ◽

Emergency Services ◽

Healthcare Services ◽

Close Monitoring ◽

Municipal Services ◽

Dog Bites ◽

Healthcare Data ◽

The City

IntroductionWorldwide, dog-bites remain a leading cause of pediatric injuries. Local governments are key because they can enact and enforce policies on dogs. The City of Calgary has earned an international reputation for its approach to regulating dogs and dog-owners, which has resulted in marked reductions in per capita dog-aggression complaints. Objectives and ApproachThis presentation reflects on how data on dogs are collected, sorted and used by local governments. Our approach has been qualitative in nature: we observed bylaw officers during ride-alongs, and we conducted in-depth interviews with officials who conceived and/or use the databases involving dogs in Calgary. We took a particular interest in the migration of the City of Calgary’s ‘canine data’ (e.g., dog licensing, reports by enforcement officers) to a more comprehensive database listing all of the incidents recorded by municipal services (including ‘911’ and ‘311’ calls, etc.). ResultsPreliminary results point to difficulties in linking data stemming from several sources. Within the municipality itself, the transition comes with important challenges. Moreover, to improve public health surveillance for dog-bites, and ultimately to improve preventive strategies, other sources of data should be linked, including emergency services, animal welfare charities, and and veterinary clinics. This fragmentation of available data would be difficult to overcome. Local governments and animal welfare charities may cooperate during investigations but do not share their administrative data. The issue of privacy is a strong barrier for municipal services to obtain healthcare data, while veterinary clinics are private entities that have few incentives to align with administrative data held by local governments or healthcare services. Conclusion/ImplicationsIn a city whose model is built upon the close monitoring of pets and their people, the issue of data linkages is critical. New partnerships and new solutions, respectful of citizen privacy and organizations’ respective scope of practice, should be developed.

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Epidemiological Features of Dog Bites among Children Attending Emergency Room in Al-showmely General Hospital

International Journal of Research in Pharmaceutical Sciences ◽

10.26452/ijrps.v9ispl1.1388 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (SPL1) ◽

Author(s):

Hasan Alwan Baiee ◽

Weli Hatif

Keyword(s):

Emergency Room ◽

General Hospital ◽

Health Problem ◽

Lower Limbs ◽

Care Providers ◽

Dog Bite ◽

Female Ratio ◽

Post Exposure ◽

Dog Bites ◽

Bite Injuries

Dog bites are common and can affect victims of different ages.Dog bite injuries in children are a preventable health problem.Dog bites are a serious health problem that cause both physical and emotional damage to victims and considerable cost to communities. Studies on dog bites among Iraqi children were very scarce.This study focuses on theincidence,mechanisms,and epidemiologicalcircumstances ofdog biteinjuriesin a series of pediatric patients who sustained dog bites in emergency Room. MethodologyA cross sectional study was designed to studyall cases of dog bites attending the emergency room in AL-Showmely General Hospital located in the southern district – Babylon province-Iraq, during the period ; from the January, first,2017 through theend of March, 2018.Special constructed were prepared to collect data through interview of victims or their companions who attended the emergency section during this period,ethical clearances were obtained.*A total of 320 children presented to the hospital with dog bite injuries.The incidence rate of dog bites was 275 per 100000 population, the male to female ratio was 3:1.the most common dog bite injuries took place in September44 (13.75%). Injury rates were highest in those aged 0-4,declining thereafter with age. In the 6-10, year age group141 (44.1%), most of cases living in rural district (villages). The most affected location were lower limbs, only 3.4% of the injured children had completed the post exposure anti rabies vaccine. Dog bites are common health problem among children,Children who are younger than 10 years represent the high-risk group for dog attacks. very few of them had complete the prophylactic post exposure vaccine Therefore, prevention strategies should focus on public education,training health care providers and controlling stray dogs.

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One Health: The Human-Animal-Environment Interfaces in Emerging Infectious Diseases

10.1007/978-3-662-45791-7 ◽

2013 ◽

Keyword(s):

Infectious Diseases ◽

One Health ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Human Animal

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One Health: EAACI Position Paper on coronaviruses at the human‐animal interface, with a specific focus on comparative and zoonotic aspects of SARS‐Cov‐2

Allergy ◽

10.1111/all.14991 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anna D. J. Korath ◽

Jozef Janda ◽

Eva Untersmayr ◽

Milena Sokolowska ◽

Wojciech Feleszko ◽

...

Keyword(s):

One Health ◽

Position Paper ◽

Specific Focus ◽

Human Animal

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Health promotion and harm reduction attributes in One Health literature: A scoping review

One Health ◽

10.1016/j.onehlt.2021.100284 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 100284

Author(s):

Christa A. Gallagher ◽

Jon R. Keehner ◽

Luis Pablo Hervé-Claude ◽

Craig Stephen

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Harm Reduction ◽

Scoping Review ◽

One Health ◽

Health Literature

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A Review of the Effects and Production of Spore-Forming Probiotics for Poultry

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11071941 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1941

Author(s):

Igor V. Popov ◽

Ammar Algburi ◽

Evgeniya V. Prazdnova ◽

Maria S. Mazanko ◽

Vladimir Elisashvili ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

One Health ◽

Mechanisms Of Action ◽

Human Medicine ◽

Poultry Industry ◽

Growth Promoters ◽

Wide Range ◽

Antibiotic Growth Promoters ◽

Spore Forming Bacteria ◽

Unique Ability

One of the main problems in the poultry industry is the search for a viable replacement for antibiotic growth promoters. This issue requires a “one health” approach because the uncontrolled use of antibiotics in poultry can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance, which is a concern not only in animals, but for humans as well. One of the promising ways to overcome this challenge is found in probiotics due to their wide range of features and mechanisms of action for health promotion. Moreover, spore-forming probiotics are suitable for use in the poultry industry because of their unique ability, encapsulation, granting them protection from the harshest conditions and resulting in improved availability for hosts’ organisms. This review summarizes the information on gastrointestinal tract microbiota of poultry and their interaction with commensal and probiotic spore-forming bacteria. One of the most important topics of this review is the absence of uniformity in spore-forming probiotic trials in poultry. In our opinion, this problem can be solved by the creation of standards and checklists for these kinds of trials such as those used for pre-clinical and clinical trials in human medicine. Last but not least, this review covers problems and challenges related to spore-forming probiotic manufacturing.

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