Companionship and worries in uncertain times: Australian parents’ experiences of children and pets during COVID-19

Companion animals (pets), especially cats and dogs, have featured regularly in the media and public discourse during the global COVID-19 pandemic, including increased demand for pet adoption and more time spent with existing pets. This qualitative study aimed to describe the experiences of Australian parents with a child under 18 years and a cat or dog. Within a broader survey, parents were asked open-ended questions about the benefits and challenges for their family of living with a cat or dog during COVID-19, and where relevant, about reasons for adopting a new pet. Data were collected between July and October 2020, during Australia’s ‘second wave’ of COVID-19, when some Australians were subject to strict physical distancing or ‘stay at home’ orders. A total of 611 parents provided at least one free-text response. Inductive template analysis was conducted on all responses; 33 unique codes were identified and mapped onto a biopsychosocial model under three themes: (i) “Trying to Stay Healthy and Well” (biological), (ii) “Comfort, Coping and Worries” (psychological), and “Spending More Time Together” (social). Findings highlight the therapeutic role of pets for families during times of change and uncertainty, as well as the significant social impact of pandemic-related restrictions on family units. Benefits included support for the family’s physical and mental health, maintenance of family routines, distraction, comfort, and pets as an opportunity to connect with others. Challenges were numerous and diverse, such as cost and access to pet care, behavioural concerns, worries about pet and child wellbeing, and reflections about the pet’s mortality. These findings demonstrate the complex and varied impacts of the pandemic on families with children and pets; some families are likely to require ongoing psychological, financial, and veterinary supports.

Parent and child mental health during COVID-19 in Australia: The role of pet attachment

Restrictions, social isolation, and uncertainty related to the global COVID-19 pandemic have disrupted the ways that parents and children maintain family routines, health, and wellbeing. Companion animals (pets) can be a critical source of comfort during traumatic experiences, although changes to family routines, such as those caused by COVID-19, can also bring about challenges like managing undesirable pet behaviours or pet-human interactions. We aimed to examine the relationship between pet attachment and mental health for both parents and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. A total of 1,034 parents living with a child under 18 years and a cat or dog completed an online cross-sectional survey. Path analysis using multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine associations between objective COVID-19 impacts, subjective worry about COVID-19, human-pet attachment, and mental health. After adjusting for core demographic factors, stronger pet-child attachment was associated with greater child anxiety (parent-reported, p<.001). Parent-pet attachment was not associated with self-reported psychological distress (p=.42), however, parents who reported a strong emotional closeness with their pet reported greater psychological distress (p=.002). Findings highlight the role of pets during times of change and uncertainty. It is possible that families are turning to animals as a source of comfort, during a time when traditional social supports are less accessible. Alternatively, strong pet attachment is likely to reflect high levels of empathy, which might increase vulnerability to psychological distress. Longitudinal evidence is required to delineate the mechanisms underpinning pet attachment and mental health.

Unpalatable truths: Commitment to eating meat is associated with strategic ignorance of food-animal minds

Animal minds are of central importance to debates about their rights and welfare. Remaining ignorant of evidence that animals have minds is therefore likely to facilitate their mistreatment. Studying samples of adults and students from the UK and US we found that, consistent with motivational perspectives on meat consumption, those who were more (vs. less) committed to eating meat were more motivated to avoid exposure to information about food-animals’ sentience (Studies 1), showed less interest in exposure to articles about intelligent food animals (Studies 2a and 2b), and were quicker to terminate exposure to internet pop-ups containing information about food-animals’ minds (Studies 3a and 3b). At the same time, those who were more (vs. less) committed to eating meat approached information about companion-animals’ minds (Studies 2a-3b) and unintelligent food animals (Studies 2a and 2b) in largely the same ways. The findings demonstrate that, within the UK and US, the desire to eat meat is associated with strategies to avoid information that is likely to challenge meat consumption.

First Isolation and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Brucella canis from a Subclinically Infected Pet Dog in China

Canine brucellosis, a worldwide zoonotic disease, is mainly caused by Brucella canis. In the present study, we isolated a Brucella strain (CD3) from a subclinically infected pet dog in Sichuan Province, Southwestern China. Classical biotyping methods and molecular biological tests (BCSP31 and BcSS PCR) proved that the strain belonged to B. canis. Furthermore, B. canis CD3 and another two B. canis strains (WJ5 and YA4), which were all isolated from pet dogs in Sichuan, were genotyped using multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Our results showed that the three B. canis strains were identified as the same sequence type (ST21). The present study is the first to report B. canis strain from a subclinically infected pet dog in China, indicating a potential threat to public health posed by subclinical infections in pet dogs. We suggest that screening for B. canis should be incorporated into routine medical examination of pet dogs and other companion animals in areas with a history of animal or human brucellosis.

A survey of current activities and technologies used to detect carbapenem resistance in bacteria isolated from companion animals at veterinary diagnostic laboratories—United States, 2020

Carbapenems are antimicrobial drugs reserved for the treatment of severe multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. Carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs) are an urgent public health threat and have been made reportable to public health authorities in many jurisdictions. Recent reports of CROs in companion animals and veterinary settings suggest that CROs are a One Health problem. However, standard practices of U.S. veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs) to detect CROs are unknown. We assessed the capacity of VDLs to characterize carbapenem resistance in isolates from companion animals. Among 74 VDLs surveyed in 42 states, 23 laboratories (31%) from 22 states responded. Most (22/23, 96%) include ≥1 carbapenem on their primary antimicrobial susceptibility testing panel; approximately one-third (9/23, 39%) perform phenotypic carbapenemase production testing or molecular identification of carbapenemase genes. Overall, 35% (8/23) of VDLs across eight states reported they would notify public health if a CRO was detected. Most (17/21, 81%) VDLs were not aware of CRO reporting mandates; some expressed uncertainty about whether the scope of known mandates included CROs from veterinary sources. Although nearly all surveyed VDLs tested for carbapenem resistance, fewer had capacity for mechanism testing or awareness of public health reporting requirements. Addressing these gaps is critical to monitoring CRO incidence and trends in veterinary medicine, preventing spread in veterinary settings, and mounting an effective One Health response. Improved collaboration and communication between public health and veterinary medicine is critical to inform infection control practices in veterinary settings and conduct public health response when resistant isolates are detected.

The Structure of the Brachial Plexus of the Djungarian Hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

Hamsters are often chosen as companion animals but are also a group of animals frequently subjected to laboratory tests. As there are no scientific publications providing information on the anatomical architecture of the brachial plexus of the Djungarian hamster, this study analyses the structure of this part of the nervous system of this species. It is important to know the details of this structure not only for cognitive reasons, but also due to the increasing clinical significance of rodents, which are often used in scientific research. The study was conducted on 55 specimens. Like in humans, the brachial plexus of the Djungarian hamster has three trunks. The following individual nerves innervating the thoracic limb of the Djungarian hamster: the radial nerve, median nerve, ulnar nerve, musculocutaneous nerve, axillary nerve, suprascapular nerve, thoracodorsal nerve, cranial pectoral nerves, caudal pectoral nerve, lateral thoracic nerve, long thoracic nerve, and subscapular nerves. Similarly to other mammals of this order, the brachial plexus of the Djungarian hamster ranges widely (C5-T1). However, its nerves are formed from different ventral branches of the spinal nerves than in other mammals.

Isolation and antimicrobial resistance of coagulase-negative staphylococci recovered from healthy tortoises in Minas Gerais, Brazil

ABSTRACT: In the last few decades, there has been a global increase in the adoption of reptiles as companion animals, mainly turtles and tortoises. Considering the popularity of reptiles as pets in Brazil, and a notable lack of data about potentially pathogenic staphylococci in these animals, this study isolated and evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcal species from healthy tortoises (Chelonoidis carbonaria) in Brazil. During a 12-month period (February 2019 to February 2020), cloacal swabs from 66 healthy tortoises were collected at the Wild Animals Screening Center in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The swabs were plated onto mannitol salt agar for staphylococci isolation, and species identification was performed using MALDI-TOF MS. Antimicrobial susceptibility was investigated using the disk diffusion method, and the presence of the mecA gene was investigated by PCR to detect methicillin resistance. Of the tested animals, 72.7% were positive for staphylococcal isolation. All isolates were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), and Staphylococcus sciuri (81.3%), and S. xylosus (12.5%) were the most frequently isolated species. The majority of the isolates (56%) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent. A high frequency of resistance was observed for penicillin (35.5%) and tetracycline (29.1 %). All strains were susceptible to cefoxitin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, and gentamicin. All isolates were negative for the mecA gene. The present work suggests that healthy tortoises are mainly colonized by CoNS, especially S. sciuri. Half of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, raising questions regarding the possible role of these animals as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes.

Companion Animal Model in Translational Oncology; Feline Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Canine Oral Melanoma

Companion animals with naturally occurring cancers can provide an advantageous model for cancer research and in particular anticancer drug development. Compared to commonly utilized mouse models, companion animals, specifically dogs and cats, share a closer phylogenetical distance, body size, and genome organization. Most importantly, pets develop spontaneous, rather than artificially induced, cancers. The incidence of cancer in people and companion animals is quite similar and cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs over 10 years of age. Many cancer types in dogs and cats have similar pathological, molecular, and clinical features to their human counterparts. Drug toxicity and response to anti-cancer treatment in dogs and cats are also similar to those in people. Companion animals share their lives with their owners, including the environmental and socioeconomic cancer-risk factors. In contrast to humans, pets have a shorter life span and cancer progression is often more rapid. Clinical trials in companion animals are cheaper and less time consuming compared to human trials. Dogs and cats with naturally occurring cancers are an ideal and unique model for human cancer research. Model selection for the specific type of cancer is of pivotal importance. Although companion animal models for translational research have been reviewed previously, this review will try to summarize the most important advantages and disadvantages of this model. Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma as a model for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and canine oral melanoma as a model for mucosal melanoma and immunotherapy in people will be discussed as examples.