A National Companion Animal Surveillance Program (NCASP) was established at Purdue University to monitor clinical syndromes and diseases using the electronic medical records of >80,000 companion animals visiting >500 Banfield hospitals weekly in 44 states. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NCASP was initially developed for syndromic surveillance of Category A agents of bioterrorism. Surveillance was expanded through inclusion of electronic reports from Antech Diagnostics, a nationwide network of integrated veterinary diagnostic laboratories serving >18,000 private veterinary practices. NCASP characterizes and displays temporal and spatial patterns of diseases in dogs, cats, and other companion animals. It detects unusual clusters of potential emerging/zoonotic infections and monitors flea and tick activity. Data is processed and analyzed using SAS and ESRI software products. The NCASP can be used by veterinarians to enhance their practice of evidence-based medicine by providing information needed to individualize vaccine protocols for animals in specific geographic areas.

The proportion of positive Leptospira microscopic agglutination tests for 23,005 dogs significantly increased from 2002 to 2004 (p<0.002) regardless of the positive cutoff titer used and was highest (p<0.05) for serovars Autumnalis and Grippotyphosa. The strongest positive serologic correlation (r = 0.72) was between serovars Autumnalis and Pomona.

Prevalence and risk factors for feline coccidia and Giardia species infections were estimated for cats visiting 434 Banfield hospitals in 40 states in 2003-2004. Evaluated were 631,021 cats making 1,456,712 office visits (encounters) and having 211,105 fecal examinations. The overall fecal prevalences of coccidia and Giardia species were 1.4% and 0.58%, respectively. Cats at increased risk of coccidia infection were under 4 years of age, intact, and seen during the summer, fall, and spring months compared to winter. Cats at increased risk of Giardia species infection were under 4 years of age. Those at decreased risk were mixed breed and seen during the summer, fall, and spring. The highest regional risk of coccidia and Giardia species infection was for cats in the East South Central region and Mountain region, respectively, compared to the South Pacific region.

Results suggest that prevalences of nematode infections among pet cats in the United States may be lower than previously suspected on the basis of prevalences reported among cats in humane shelters and those reported in more geographically focused studies.

Knowledge of the geographic range and seasonal activity of vector ticks is important for determining which people or animals are at risk of acquiring tick-borne infections. Several time-consuming methods requiring large-scale organization are used to map geographic and seasonal variations in tick distribution. A cost-effective, complementary approach to study tick distribution using a large nation-wide veterinary database is described in this paper. Prevalence of canine tick infestation in 40 states was estimated by analyzing electronic medical records of more than 8 million dog visits to Banfield veterinary hospitals in 2002-2004. Prevalence was defined as the proportion of dog visits in which tick infestation was recorded, and was expressed per 10,000 dog visits with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The overall prevalence (CI) of tick infestation was 52 (51, 53) dogs per 10,000 dog visits. Among states, Oklahoma (249 [229, 271) dogs with ticks per 10,000 dog-visits), Arkansas (242 [213, 274]), Connecticut (136 [119, 155]), West Virginia (130 [105, 161]), and Rhode Island (122 [97, 154]) ranked highest in prevalence of canine tick infestation. Overall prevalence peaked from May through July, although monthly prevalence varied by geographic region. In multiple logistic regression, younger dogs, male dogs, and sexually intact dogs, were at increased risk of tick infestation. Toy breeds were least likely to be infested, but no linear pattern of risk was evident with body weight. Identified risk factors should enable veterinarians to prevent tick infestation in pet dogs although differences in risk of tick infestation may be related to outdoor activity of dogs. Feasibility of collecting information for surveillance of vectors ticks on a national level using this large, electronic veterinary database is discussed.