Veterinary Epidemiology Unit, Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Small Animal Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 16;17(12):4300. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124300.
Contact and interactions between owners and their pets may have beneficial physical and social effects on people, but may also facilitate the transmission of zoonotic agents and resistant bacteria. To estimate the risk of these contacts, more information regarding the frequency and intensity of this physical contact is required. Therefore, an online survey was conducted among pet owners resulting in 701 completed questionnaires. Questions regarding the interactions between dogs and owners were linked with a score from 1 (limited interactions) to 3 (highly intense interactions). After scoring these self-reported interactions, a contact intensity score was calculated for each respondent by summing up the different allocated scores from all questions. This contact intensity score was used to identify predictors of more intense contact based on a multivariable linear regression model. Interactions between dogs and their owners were widespread (e.g., 85.3% of the dogs licked their owner's hand) and intense (e.g., 49.3% of owners reported being licked in the face). The gender, age, and place of residence (city, village, or countryside) of the respondent, together with the size and age of the dog, were significantly associated with the contact intensity score in the multivariable model. On average, female respondents younger than 65 years who lived in the city and had a small young dog had the most intense contact with it. Further research is necessary to evaluate the risk of these interactions in light of zoonotic and antimicrobial resistance transfer.
主人与宠物的接触和互动可能对人类产生有益的生理和社会影响，但也可能促进人畜共患病原体和耐药菌的传播。为了评估这些接触的风险，需要更多关于这种身体接触的频率和强度的信息。因此，我们对宠物主人进行了一项在线调查，共收到 701 份有效问卷。关于狗与主人之间互动的问题与从 1（有限互动）到 3（高度互动）的得分相关联。对这些自我报告的互动进行评分后，为每个受访者计算了一个接触强度评分，方法是将所有问题的不同分配得分相加。该接触强度评分用于根据多变量线性回归模型确定更强烈接触的预测因素。狗与主人之间的互动非常广泛（例如，85.3%的狗会舔主人的手）和强烈（例如，49.3%的主人报告说自己的脸被狗舔过）。受访者的性别、年龄和居住地（城市、村庄或农村）以及狗的大小和年龄，在多变量模型中与接触强度评分显著相关。平均而言，年龄在 65 岁以下的城市女性，以及拥有小型幼犬的受访者，与他们的宠物接触最为密切。需要进一步的研究来评估这些互动的风险，特别是考虑到人畜共患病原体和抗微生物耐药性的转移。
