Dendoncker Pierre-Alexandre, Moons Christel, Sarrazin Steven, Diederich Claire, Thiry Etienne, de Keuster Tiny, Dewulf Jeroen
Laboratory for Ethology, Department of Nutrition, Genetics and Ethology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, East-Flanders, Belgium.
Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Salisburylaan, Belgium.
Vet Rec. 2018 Sep 29;183(12):381. doi: 10.1136/vr.104996. Epub 2018 Jul 25.
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.
为了调查当前的管理和生物安全措施，并确定不同类型繁殖者之间可能存在的差异，我们在102家比利时犬类繁殖机构开展了一项横断面研究，这些机构涵盖了从小型（现场母犬少于10只）到大型（现场母犬超过50只或每年至少售出500只幼犬）的繁殖者。兽医预防方案（即疫苗接种、体内寄生虫控制、体外寄生虫治疗）在所有繁殖者类别中都得到了高度实施（分别为91.5%、92.6%、42.7%）。所有受访繁殖者中有13.8%报告称在每只母犬产后使用抗菌药物，10.3%报告称对所有幼犬或至少一个品种的幼犬系统性地使用抗菌药物。大型繁殖者报告称更频繁地雇佣员工（p<0.01），并且似乎更熟悉生物安全原则。与小型繁殖者相比，他们报告称在设施的所有区域都实施了消毒（p<0.01）和卫生措施（p=0.03），并且更频繁地对新购入的犬进行隔离（p<0.01）。尽管如此，消毒知识和使用情况的掌握程度一般，同时存在宠物犬，这打破了分区管理。本研究结果表明，所有类别繁殖者在卫生和疾病管理方面都有很大的改进空间。对不同类型犬类繁殖者在生物安全和管理措施方面进行特征描述是改善犬类饲养和生物安全措施的第一步。量身定制的指南应能使繁殖者在降低传染病爆发风险和相关费用的同时，进一步提高繁殖动物和幼犬的健康水平。
