Weight Bias in Vet Med

Hello Summarians!

Do we judge pets and people based on how they look? This is a hard question that deserves some reflection. If we are honest, the answer is usually yes. Maybe not always on a conscious level, but biases come in all flavors, and admitting they could be present and affect us is a needed first step.

Bias can also take the form of the possibility that standard dogma could be wrong, as might be the case in blood biomes.

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Salmonella risk

Salmonellosis poses a major public health risk, affecting millions of people globally each year, while also significantly impacting domestic and wild animals. Although most human infections arise from contaminated food, a growing number are linked to environmental exposure and contact with animals, particularly wild birds. Understanding how Salmonella persists in environments shared by wildlife, pets, and humans is crucial to managing zoonotic transmission risks. In this context, two experiments were conducted to explore the persistence of Salmonella on surfaces commonly involved in human-wildlife interactions. The first experiment, a controlled study, examined the persistence of an avian-derived Salmonella Typhimurium strain on bird feeders made from different materials. Results showed Salmonella was more frequently recovered from plastic feeders, although no statistically significant difference in persistence was found among feeder types. Notably, the application of an antimicrobial coating did not reduce Salmonella prevalence, likely because the coating was ineffective against fecal contamination. 

The second experiment, conducted in a South Florida park, investigated the presence and persistence of Salmonella on picnic tables contaminated with feces from American white ibis, a known reservoir of the pathogen. Salmonella was detected on 27% of sampled picnic tables, and 33% to 42% of fecal piles remained culture-positive for up to four days. Thirteen to fourteen different serotypes were found, with five among the top twenty serovars responsible for human infections. These findings highlight that Salmonella can persist for several days on surfaces like bird feeders and picnic tables, posing a risk to both people and animals. 

The study also linked the popular activity of bird feeding to increased transmission risk, not only during feeding but also from contaminated surfaces encountered by other park visitors, pets, and wildlife. Bird feeders, often visited by numerous birds multiple times per day, create frequent opportunities for contamination and exposure. The moisture-retaining properties of plastic feeders and painted picnic tables were associated with prolonged bacterial persistence, and environmental factors like rain further influenced contamination levels. Despite hypotheses that wood and antimicrobial coatings might limit persistence, wood’s drying effect and natural antimicrobial compounds appeared to reduce Salmonella survival, while the tested coating proved ineffective in this context. 

Furthermore, Salmonella serotypes detected in this study closely matched strains found in both birds and humans in previous research, reinforcing the epidemiological connection between wild birds and human salmonellosis. The study emphasizes the need for regular cleaning of bird feeders and public park surfaces, along with public education on wildlife feeding, to reduce pathogen transmission risks. Simple cleaning measures, such as soaking feeders in bleach and ensuring they are kept dry, can significantly lower Salmonella levels. Overall, the results suggest that indirect transmission of Salmonella via environmental surfaces is likely more common than currently recognized, warranting greater attention to environmental hygiene and human behavior in shared spaces with wildlife. 

Perez, K. M., Hernandez, S. M., Sieverts, O., Norfolk, W. A., Francisco, R., Shariat, N. W., Smith, J. C., Locklin, J., Sanchez, S., Lipp, E. K., & Yabsley, M. J. (2025). Salmonella environmental persistence informs management relevant to avian and public health. American Journal of Veterinary Research https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.24.12.0397 

Bottom line — Potentially concerning issue.

Weight Bias

Obesity is a significant issue in both human and veterinary medicine, with high prevalence rates observed in cats, dogs, and humans. It is associated with numerous health complications, such as endocrine and orthopedic disorders in pets, and cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans. Shared lifestyle factors may link obesity in pets and their owners, and there is emerging awareness of the psychosocial effects of obesity, including weight stigma. In humans, weight stigma is widespread and leads to healthcare avoidance, poorer psychological health, and biased attitudes from healthcare providers. Similar patterns may exist in veterinary medicine, though they remain underexplored. Implicit weight bias, which consists of unconscious negative attitudes toward overweight individuals, has been documented in human healthcare providers and appears to exist among veterinary professionals as well. 

Research using the Implicit Association Test (IAT) revealed that many veterinary professionals have a bias favoring lean individuals, although this was not directly supported by their explicit responses to hypothetical client scenarios. This discrepancy may be due to social desirability bias, where participants report socially acceptable views rather than their true feelings. Despite indicating a willingness to address pet obesity, observational studies suggest that veterinarians often fail to provide specific guidance on weight management. While veterinary professionals generally report positive perceptions of clients and their pets, the presence of implicit weight bias suggests a need for continued awareness and education to ensure respectful client interactions and effective care. 

Notably, veterinary professionals judged owners of overweight dogs more harshly than those of lean dogs, seeing them as less effective caregivers, possibly because of the emphasis on exercise in dog care. Conversely, owners of overweight cats were seen as more caring than those with lean cats, which may reflect a perception that feeding reflects a strong bond in cat ownership. These species-specific perceptions highlight the complexity of weight-related attitudes in veterinary medicine and suggest that client interactions may be influenced differently depending on the pet species. 

Registered veterinary technicians, who frequently engage in weight-related discussions, played a key role in the study, underscoring their importance in future research and intervention strategies. Limitations of the study included small sample sizes, potential social desirability bias, and the influence of gender, as most participants were female. The findings indicate that implicit weight bias exists among veterinary professionals, affecting their approach to weight management conversations. Further research is needed to understand how these biases influence client interactions and to develop strategies that support the veterinary team in managing pet obesity effectively. 

Partington, A. J., Sutherland, K. A., Clow, K. M., Abood, S. K., & Coe, J. B. (2025). Implicit weight bias exists among veterinary professionals. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.02.0073 

Bottom line — It does exist.

Blood Biome in Horses.

This study challenges the traditional belief that blood in healthy animals is sterile by investigating the blood microbiome of clinically healthy, isolated trail-riding horses. Using 16S next-generation sequencing, researchers found that despite living in a low-stress, shared environment, the horses exhibited diverse and heterogeneous bacterial populations in their blood, contrary to the hypothesis that they would share similar microbiomes. Commonly identified bacteria included potentially pathogenic species such as Bacteroides, Clostridium, Peptostreptococcus, Streptococcus, and Staphylococcus, including zoonotic pathogens like MRSA. These findings suggest that potentially harmful bacteria can exist in the bloodstream without causing disease, raising questions about thresholds for infection and the role of commensal microbes in systemic health. The presence of gut-associated bacteria also hints at a possible link between hind-gut fermentation and blood microbiome composition. The study emphasizes the potential of blood microbiome profiling as a diagnostic tool and suggests that many pathogens may lie dormant until conditions favor their activation. Despite limitations such as a small, geographically isolated cohort, the research indicates that horses harbor a consistent but diverse blood microbiome and highlights the need for broader studies to explore environmental, breed, and age-related influences. 

Simms, N., Bertone, J.J., Melgarejo, T., O'Shea, C. and Linde, A. (2025), Equine Blood Microbiome in a Cohort of Clinically Healthy Trail Riding Horses. J Vet Intern Med, 39: e70082. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.70082 

Bottom line — Maybe time to rethink traditional beliefs.

Just putting things in perspective …