Small Companion Animal Impact on the Human Welfare: a 360° Health Approach

Dear Colleagues,

A close cooperation between veterinary and human medicine is the prerequisite for the conservation and promotion of human and animal health, saving resources and maintaining an intact environment. This interdisciplinary approach is called One Health. Climate change, population growth, increasingly close interactions between populations, growing urbanization, the increase of domestic animals in human habitats and the increase in the global movement of animals exert increasing pressures on human and animal health. Therefore, the application of a global health concept that considers the complex relationships between human populations, animals, and ecosystems becomes strategic through a multidisciplinary approach that addresses the potential risks that originate from this interface.

There are numerous specific examples of significant human diseases in which small companion animals play an important role in transmission or act as reservoirs of infection. The close relationship between pet animals and humans creates the potential for the transmission of many diseases, for the spread of antibiotic resistance, and for increased risk of emergent zoonotic infections. In developed countries, pets are part of the family unit and spend their entire existence within the indoor domestic environment in close physical contact with their owners. Although many of these animals benefit from high standards of health care, there are a number of zoonotic infectious diseases that can be transmitted directly or indirectly from these species, depending on the lifestyle of the animal, which is influenced by factors such as parasite control and vaccination; contact with other pets, stray animals, or wildlife; or exposure to particular environments. Immunity is the key in the fight against most viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic diseases, and can make the difference between the development of disease and resistance to disease.

Another aspect to consider is that in most developing countries there are remarkable numbers of feral/stray dogs and cats that have close contact with the human urban environment, and communal village ownership of dogs and cats is common in many places. Most of these animals receive intermittent or no veterinary care, and they can act as an important reservoir of zoonotic infection.

Another interesting aspect of One Health is the improvement of comparative medical research. It is universally recognized that the study of spontaneously occurring canine and feline diseases has great potential for understanding the same diseases in humans. Pets develop a broad range of genetics, inflammatory, infectious, immune-mediated, and neoplastic diseases that strictly imitate human disorders. A final aspect of One Health involves the significant and widely studied area of the human–companion animal interaction. The direct benefit to human health and wellbeing from association with pets is now well established in different areas and target subjects (e.g., children, psychiatric patients, neurological patients, elderly people in retirement homes), and the sanitary surveillance of these animals therefore becomes of extreme importance in the context of public health.

We invite colleagues to submit papers on a broad range of topics around One Health in Small Companion Animals. Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

• Pharmaco-surveillance and prevention of antimicrobial resistance;
• Prevention and epidemiological investigations relating to zoonoses;
• Innovative drugs and therapies;
• Civilization diseases;
• Veterinary bioethics;
• Emerging diseases;
• Stray prevention;
• Veterinary urban hygiene;
• Immunity against vaccination or infection;
• Surveillance in animal pet therapy;
• Information, health education, and training.

Dr. Roberta Perego
Prof. Daniela Proverbio
Dr. Piera Anna Martino
Prof. Eva Spada
Guest Editors

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