The application of advanced statistical methods to investigate the epidemiology and improve the surveillance of companion animal poisonings using data from a North American poison control call centre

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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) operates currently a toxicology call centre that receives over 100,000 calls each year from across Canada and the United States. The APCC maintains a large database concerning animal cases involving pesticide, drug, plant, metal and other toxin exposures in a variety of species including companion animals like cats and dogs. Their database includes information concerning the characteristics of the animal involved (age, breed, and species), the type of caller (veterinarian or general public), clinical signs, probable organ systems involved, suspected toxin, and the geographical location and time of the call. Outbreaks of poisonings, such as those associated with contaminated pet food, have been documented and might be detected using this database for surveillance purposes with advanced statistical and epidemiological methods. Similarly, these data could offer a great deal of epidemiological information concerning regional and seasonal differences in the nature of poisoning events and the reporting of these events. This research program will conduct the following analytical studies using these data over the next five years to investigate the epidemiology of these poisoning events in cats and dogs, and the potential of these data for surveillance purposes: