College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Vet Ophthalmol. 2022 May;25(3):240-249. doi: 10.1111/vop.12977. Epub 2022 Feb 28.
In the fall of 2020, Colorado experienced the two largest wildfires in state history. The smoke blanketed the college town of Fort Collins, Colorado, the location of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Colorado State University (CSU-VTH). The objective for this cross-sectional observational study was to evaluate how these wildfires and the corresponding elevated air quality index (AQI)) was associated with infected corneal ulcerations in dogs when compared to the two previous years.
Seventeen dogs were included in this study.
Medical records from dogs presented to the CSU-VTH ophthalmology service with infected corneal ulcerations in August, September, and October of 2020, 2019, and 2018 were evaluated. Only corneal ulcerations with growth on their microbial cultures were included in this study.
The study revealed a significant increase in prevalence of infected corneal ulcerations in dogs presented to the CSU-VTH during the three wildfire months of 2020 that is, 3.5% (9/255) when compared with the two previous years, 2019: 1.0% (4/383, p = 0.04), and 2018: 0.9% (4/457) (p = .01). The AQI (mean ± standard error) was also significantly elevated for dogs that presented with infected corneal ulcerations in 2020 (70.2 ± 5.8) compared with 2019 (19.7 ± 8.7) and 2018 (45.6 ± 8.7) (p < .01).
Elevation of AQI from wildfires seems to be correlated with an increased prevalence of infected corneal ulceration in dogs. As the duration and frequency of wildfires continues to rise globally, the effects of these wildfires on animal health should be investigated further.
2020 年秋季，科罗拉多州遭遇了该州历史上最大的两次野火。浓烟笼罩着科罗拉多州的大学城柯林斯堡，这里是科罗拉多州立大学兽医教学医院（CSU-VTH）的所在地。本横断面观察性研究的目的是评估与前两年相比，这些野火和相应的空气质量指数（AQI）升高与狗的感染性角膜溃疡之间的关系。
本研究纳入了 17 只狗。
评估了 2020 年 8 月、9 月和 10 月，以及 2019 年和 2018 年因感染性角膜溃疡就诊于 CSU-VTH 眼科服务的狗的病历。本研究仅纳入微生物培养有生长的角膜溃疡。
研究显示，与前两年相比，2020 年野火发生的 3 个月（2020 年 8 月、9 月和 10 月）就诊于 CSU-VTH 的狗的感染性角膜溃疡患病率显著增加，即 3.5%（255 例中 9 例，p=0.04），而 2019 年为 1.0%（383 例中 4 例），2018 年为 0.9%（457 例中 4 例）（p=0.01）。2020 年就诊于 CSU-VTH 的感染性角膜溃疡狗的 AQI（均值±标准误差）也显著升高（70.2±5.8），而 2019 年为 19.7±8.7，2018 年为 45.6±8.7（p<0.01）。
野火引起的 AQI 升高似乎与狗感染性角膜溃疡的患病率升高有关。随着野火的持续时间和频率在全球范围内不断增加，应该进一步研究这些野火对动物健康的影响。
