Risk reduction and management strategies to prevent transmission of infectious disease among dogs at dog shows, sporting events, and other canine group settings

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Management Strategies to Prevent Transmission of Infectious Disease Among Dogs

Veterinarians affiliated with the Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine have published a Special Report in the September 15, 2016 Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) titled, Risk Reduction and Management Strategies to Prevent Transmission of Infectious Disease Among Dogs at Dog Shows, Sporting Events, and other Canine Group Settings.

Bringing dogs together increase the opportunity for transmission of infectious disease, either when they congregate in social settings such as in dog parks and at canine events or when they are boarded or enter a shelter, pound, or animal rescue facility.  

Although the authors created evidence based guidelines that focuses on identifying the specific risks of infectious disease transmission among owned dogs in transient group settings, the detailed guidance is useful to all operators of kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters and the veterinarians that supervise the disease control and health care programs at these facilities.

This information is useful for persons who have oversight of canine group events, The NJDOH recommends that operators of kennels, pet shops, pounds and shelters and the veterinarians that supervise the disease control at licensed animal facilities review this Report, evaluate the handling of animals at animal facilities and implement recommended disease control practices where appropriate. When a dog or cat is adopted from a pound or shelter, the adopter should receive a summary of the veterinary care that the animal received that is signed by the supervising veterinarian and has his or her veterinary license number on the document.

Among the recommendations in the Report were:

• Animals with signs of infectious disease should be kept out of group settings
• People who touch or handle animals in group settings should wash their hands or use hand sanitizer frequently
• Rodents and other wildlife should be excluded from animal housing areas; fleas, ticks and other disease-carrying pests should be effectively controlled
• Care should be taken with juvenile animals (puppies and kittens) that have weaker immune systems and are more susceptible to infectious disease than adult dogs
• Settings where dogs congregate should have feces removed promptly, be kept clean and regularly sanitized
• Animals should be vaccinated against highly contagious diseases

The full Report can be downloaded from the JAVMA site:  http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.249.6.612

Recommendations to mitigate the transmission of canine infectious diseases in canine group settings:  http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/suppl/10.2460/javma.249.6.612/suppl_file/supplemental%20document%20s1.pdf