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. 2023 Aug 27;13(17):2723.
doi: 10.3390/ani13172723.

A Survey on Vaccination and Disease Occurrence in Municipal and Non-Profit Animal Shelters in Portugal

Sara Marques  1   2 , Eduarda Gomes-Neves  1   3 , Cláudia S Baptista  1   3 , Francisca R Pereira  1 , Adélia Alves-Pereira  4 , Pedro Osório  4 , Alexandra Müller  1   3
Affiliations

A Survey on Vaccination and Disease Occurrence in Municipal and Non-Profit Animal Shelters in Portugal

Sara Marques et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Few studies are available describing animal shelters in Portugal. The aim was to characterize prophylactic measures and disease occurrence in shelters with a questionnaire. The response rates of 67 shelters (42 municipal shelters, 25 associations) were compared by the Fisher's exact test. More veterinarians answered for municipal shelters (98%) than for associations (40%; p < 0.001). Over 80% of the respondents indicated using individual medical records and routine prophylaxis. Excessive length of stay for dogs was reported by 54% of associations and 33% of municipal shelters. Management tools should be promoted to improve the situation. Puppy vaccinations were similar and a final vaccination at 16 weeks was indicated by >33% of shelters. Annual revaccination of dogs was reported more frequently by associations (88%) than municipal shelters (55%; p = 0.02). The three most reported diseases were parvovirus and mange in dogs, upper respiratory disease and panleukopenia in cats, and dermatophytosis in both species. Similar response rates for diagnostic options were obtained by both shelter types, except for distemper. Testing for feline retroviruses was indicated by most shelters (>69%), but only a few (<24%) confirmed positive test results. Clinical diagnoses should be complemented by testing. Additional information on disease occurrence should be obtained by objective monitoring.

Keywords: Portugal; canine; companion animals; feline; infections; length of stay; questionnaire; rescue shelter; veterinary medicine.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Routine prophylactic practices applied in animal shelters. No statistically significant differences between municipal shelters and associations were determined.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Routine veterinary assistance of animal shelters. More than one option could be selected by the respondents. * Indicates statistically significant difference between municipal shelters and associations (d.f. 1, p < 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Available vaccines and vaccination cover at animal shelters for (a) dogs, and (b) cats. * Indicates statistically significant difference between municipal shelters and associations (d.f. 1, p = 0.049).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Vaccination schedules at animal shelters: (a) Puppy and kitten vaccination, (b) Revaccination of adult dogs and (c) Revaccination of adult cats. * Indicates statistically significant difference between municipal shelters and associations (d.f. 1, p < 0.05).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Occurrence of specific infectious diseases within the past 12 months in dogs indicated by (a) associations (n = 24) and (b) municipal shelters (n = 42); and in cats as reported by (c) associations (n = 15) and (d) municipal shelters (n = 26). The response options “unknown” and “non-applicable” were merged and represent the remainder to 100% of the responses in the graphs. * Indicates statistically significant differences between municipal shelters and associations (d.f. 1, p < 0.05); see text for details.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Main diagnostic methods for dogs as indicated by (a) associations (n = 24) and (b) municipal shelters (n = 42); and for cats as indicated by (c) associations (n = 15) and (d) municipal shelters (n = 26). * Indicates statistically significant difference between municipal shelters and associations (d.f. 1, p < 0.05); see text for details.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Feline retrovirus diagnosis by rapid tests and positive test confirmation by rapid test or laboratory testing. No statistically significant differences were observed between municipal shelters and associations.
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References

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