Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Department of Integrative Biosciences, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2024 Feb 28;18:e40. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2023.229.
The importance of companion animals in the daily lives of people, and the increasing incidence and severity of natural disasters impacting people and their animals, is very well documented. However, despite the advancement of companion animal response capabilities, decontamination remains an inconsistently implemented component of disaster response. The challenge for local authorities is their need for planning factors and protocols specific to companion animal decontamination which are generally lacking. Data is provided on the average time requirements, water use and containment resources necessary, and the personnel required to decontaminate (decon) a large number of companion dogs.
Sixty-three lightly contaminated, medium weight, short to medium coat, highly tractable dogs (Labradors and Hounds) from a State facility colony were used to determine the water requirements, soap effectiveness, and time required to complete decon (washing/bathing). Data were collected over a 6-mo period using 2 personnel that were randomly assigned to wash the dogs. Difference in weight, bathing time, and water use between groups was evaluated using a 2-tailed 2-sample t-test for independent data.
The time and water requirements were significantly different between medium coated dogs and short coated dogs. On average, for a short coated dog, the amount of time to complete decon was 7 min, and the amount of water was 8-10 gal. For medium coated dogs, the time increased to 10-12 min to complete the process and 12-15 gal water.
The results of this study provide important insights emergency management planners, animal response team members, and community personnel tasked with implementation of mass decontamination of companion dogs following a natural or man-made disaster.
伴侣动物在人们日常生活中的重要性，以及越来越多的自然灾害对人和他们的动物的影响的发生率和严重程度，都有很好的记录。然而，尽管伴侣动物应对能力有所提高，但去污仍然是应对灾害时实施不一致的一个组成部分。地方当局面临的挑战是，他们需要针对伴侣动物去污制定具体的规划因素和协议，但这些协议通常是缺乏的。本文提供了有关平均时间要求、所需用水量和收容资源以及大量伴侣犬去污所需人员的数据。
63 只轻度污染、中等体重、短至中等毛、高度温顺的狗（拉布拉多犬和猎犬）来自一个州立设施的殖民地，用于确定水的需求、肥皂的有效性以及完成去污（清洗/洗澡）所需的时间。在 6 个月的时间里，使用 2 名随机分配给狗洗澡的人员收集数据。使用独立数据的双侧 2 样本 t 检验评估组间体重、洗澡时间和用水量的差异。
中毛犬和短毛犬的去污时间和用水量存在显著差异。平均而言，对于短毛犬，完成去污所需的时间为 7 分钟，用水量为 8-10 加仑。对于中毛犬，完成该过程的时间增加到 10-12 分钟，用水量为 12-15 加仑。
这项研究的结果为紧急管理规划者、动物应对小组成员以及负责在自然灾害或人为灾害后对伴侣犬进行大规模去污的社区人员提供了重要的见解。
