Animal Shelter Update

Transcription

1 Animal Shelter Update Fort Worth Code Compliance Brandon Scott Bennett, Code Compliance Director Pre-Council May 21, 2013

2 Purpose Overview of Distemper Disease Control Protocols at Shelter Animal Flow at Shelter Recent Distemper Claims 2

3 Presenters Michael Morris, DVM Lead Fort Worth Animal Shelter Veterinarian Tim Morton, DVM Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Member Support Veterinarian staff and Committee Members: Rosemary Lindsey, DVM Fort Worth Shelter Veterinarian Stan Lee, DVM Fort Worth Shelter Veterinarian Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Members 3

4 Lead Shelter Veterinarian Michael Morris, DVM 4

5 Canine Distemper Source: Unvaccinated Animals The Basics Dogs and certain wildlife species, including raccoons, foxes, skunks are susceptible Highly contagious, transmitted via direct or indirect contact with infected animal High mortality rate Variable incubation/transmission period Incubation period up to 6 weeks after infection Animals are infectious up to 16 weeks after recovery 5

6 Signs and Symptoms Canine Distemper Wide range of symptoms can mimic kennel cough, influenza and even rabies making detection difficult Most common symptoms: Coughing Nasal and ocular discharge Vomiting Seizures (advanced) Animals can be contagious without showing any signs or symptoms 6

7 Community Contributors/Challenges Shelters do not create this disease Fort Worth shelter has an annual intake of 20,000+ animals Unknown medical histories Unknown exposures during period when roaming free Low vaccination rates throughout community There is a distemper vaccine Low rates of licensing/identification on animals coming to shelter (less than 5%) This year a high incidence rate of distemper in wildlife populations in North Texas and other regions 7

8 Shelter Disease Control Protocols At Intake: Preventive vaccines administered at intake Dogs receive the following vaccinations prior to being placed in the shelter: Canine distemper Parainfluenza Bordetella Bronchiseptica Canine Adenovirus Type 2 Adenovirus Type 2 Parvovirus If an animal is showing signs of illness at intake, it is placed directly into isolation room 8

9 Shelter Disease Control Protocols Daily Health and Temperament Assessments: (365 days per year) Shelter is walked twice a day by veterinary technicians to assess health and temperament of every animal and look for any signs of illness Any sign of illness results in animal being transferred to isolation room and referred to veterinarian Veterinarians make daily rounds in isolation and quarantine rooms to assess health of animals 9

10 Shelter Disease Control Protocols Daily Cleaning: (365 days per year) Kennel areas closed to the public until noon so extensive daily cleaning regimen can be performed safely Every kennel is spray-washed using water hoses and with disinfectant every day Every other day, every kennel is hot-washed using hot water and disinfectant Every Animal Control Truck is sanitized after every off-load Clinic, loading bay floors and other parts of the shelter where animals are located are also cleaned and sanitized daily 10

11 Shelter Inspections and Review On March 19, 2013, the Department of State Health Services performed its annual un-announced inspection of our animal shelter received the highest possible rating with no concerns noted Also in March of this year, staff invited a consulting Epidemiologist to visit and discuss disease prevention (Dr. Gerryll Hall) Shelter Manager and supervisory staff conduct ongoing routine and ad hoc inspections of shelter, operations and adoptions 11

12 72-Hour Holding Period Shelter Animal Flow Every animal picked up as a stray has a mandatory 72-hour holding period in the hopes an owner will reclaim (if signs of illness isolation) Exceptions: Ill or injured and deemed suffering (humanely euthanized) After 72 hours, animals assessed again IF HEALTHY Animals showing no signs of health or temperament concerns are placed into adoption program IF UNHEALTHY Animals presenting health or temperament concerns are placed into rescue program 12

13 Rescue is NOT Adoption Typical process for rescue groups: Rescue groups must be a registered non-profit that agrees to assume all responsibility for care and treatment of the unhealthy or temperament risk animal Animals showing signs of illness, injury or temperament issues are placed on a 48-hour urgent watch list (a Facebook page operated by volunteer partners) If not rescued, these animals are then placed on a 24-hour urgent watch list Rescue groups monitor this Facebook page and will rescue animals from this list Individuals can also rescue animals from this urgent list; however, they must also sign a waiver acknowledging awareness of the health or temperament issue and their responsibility to provide appropriate care 13

14 Monitoring Disease Incidence Disease incidence in the shelter is observed, noted and assessed as part of routine veterinary/medical records After an adoption or rescue Adopters are offered free 30-day animal health insurance and many local clinics offer a free initial well animal check Adopters are provided a hotline telephone number to report information or get advice from the shelter veterinary staff Post-adoption follow-ups also performed by staff (phone calls) to collect information about any issues, including health issues occurring following an adoption Rescue group partners are encouraged to report any issues 14

15 Monitoring Disease Incidence If a suspected or confirmed distemper case is reported, staff will request treating veterinarian contact information so a medical consultation can occur between our veterinarian and their veterinarian unconfirmed, secondhand, or unqualified speculative diagnosis information has very little value for seeking out potential root causes Using all feedback, staff looks for patterns, trends or any unusual activity 15

16 Monitoring Disease Incidence Distemper-related data: Of the 3,511 dogs either adopted out or rescued since September, only 10 presumptive cases of distemper (less than one-half of one percent) Confirmed disease incidence appears in line with what a large public shelter would experience Continue to receive anecdotal information and we continue to request verifying facts 3,511 Dogs Adopted and Rescued since October Presumptive Cases of Distemper 16

17 Monitoring Disease Incidence Recent reviews/enhancements to policies and practices Invited consulting epidemiologist to review disease prevention protocols Changed disinfectant products Enhanced isolation room personal protection and crosscontamination prevention protocols Enhanced rescue medical waivers to include specific symptoms 17

18 Saving More Animals 100% Live Release Rate 90% 80% 70% 60% 61% 56% 66% 70% 68% 63% 70% 50% 40% 44% 30% 20% 34% 10% 0% FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 Oct-12 Nov-12 Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 18

19 Reducing Illness vs. Saving More Animals A commitment to saving as many animals as possible often conflicts with eliminating or reducing risk of illness 19

20 Animal Shelter Advisory Committee Tim Morton, DVM 20

21 Medical Treatment Ward Project Project Henry Planned Medical Treatment Ward Project is progressing Approximately $750,000 committed to date 21

22 Next Steps Staff met with concerned citizens on May 16 th Received a list of concerns and suggestions Requested medical records and treating veterinarian information In process of investigating concerns and suggestions Will update citizens with findings Will continue to work with veterinarian staff, shelter advisory committee, citizens and other stakeholders 22

23 Fort Worth Code Compliance Animal Shelter Update

24 Reducing Illness vs. Saving More Animals Challenges to Potential Solutions for Reducing Illness Further: Preventively euthanize more ill animals sooner to further reduce the already low incidence of distemper Risk of euthanizing large number of animals that would not become ill or would respond readily to treatments Perform distemper testing on ill animals Cost and space implications Testing methods are not highly reliable Provide specialized treatment to ill animals Cost and space implications 24