Socioeconomic vulnerability and the management of domestic animal hosts in urban environments: a one health issue

BackgroundWithin socioeconomically vulnerable communities, dogs and cats are also exposed to deficient sanitation infrastructure, conditions of mistreatment, and malnutrition. This scenario promotes the maintenance of pathogen reservoirs, posing risks to domestic and wild animals, as well as to humans. Considering this context, our objective is to demonstrate how socio-environmental conditions influence the reduction in quality of life and the vulnerability status of these animals, making them more prone to infections and the transmission of zoonotic pathogens. In a cross-sectional study, we applied questionnaires to volunteer pet guardians in the neighborhoods of Marechal Rondon (MR) and Pau da Lima (PDL), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and collected blood and stool samples from dogs and cats for hematological and parasitological studies. A population of dogs and cats treated at a private veterinary service was used as a control for hematological analyses. Statistical analysis of the variables of interest was performed using univariate mixed generalized linear models, multimodel inference, and quantitative model classification based on Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) and the weighting of the relative contribution of each variable to the average model.ResultsWe sampled 202 dogs and 128 cats in MR and 132 dogs and 42 cats in PDL. Among the dogs, 242 underwent blood counts, and 137 underwent stool parasitology tests. Among the cats, 96 underwent blood counts, and 30 underwent parasitology tests. We observed significant differences in the average values of HCT, PPT, and Eos between animals from the communities and the control group, both for dogs and cats. Different individual animal variables, household characteristics, and environmental factors were associated with changes in hematological and parasitological parameters, thus affecting the overall health of the dogs and cats.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need for basic animal health measures, such as sterilization, improved nutrition, deworming, and controlling street access, to reduce the competence of these animals as hosts of infectious agents, considering the vulnerability of these communities. Therefore, it is necessary to expand public policies focused on the promotion and prevention of comprehensive health, extending these measures to animal health.