Human Handlers Research Articles

To assess which ticks and tick-borne pathogens pose the greatest risk to companion animals and their human owners and handlers in Delaware. We established a statewide passive surveillance program wherein participating veterinary clinics and individual pet owners in Delaware contributed ticks removed from animals in their care. We identified ticks to species and life stage and tested a subset (approx 20%) of ticks collected during the first 4 years for pathogens of medical and veterinary interest. Between 2019 and 2023, program participants throughout the state contributed 1,533 ticks from 522 individual host animals. Submitted ticks represented 9 tick species (in order of abundance: Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes scapularis, Amblyomma maculatum, Dermacentor albipictus, Ixodes cookei, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato) from 5 host species (dogs, cats, goats, rabbits, and a ferret). Screening revealed 6 pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia miyamotoi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, and Ehrlichia canis) within tested ticks. Companion animals in Delaware are at risk of encountering a variety of tick species and associated pathogens. This study was the first in Delaware to document and measure the specific tick-associated risks facing Delaware pets. These findings provide a baseline for tick-borne pathogen prevalence in ticks encountered by companion animals in Delaware and thus serve as a measure of those animals' exposure to various tick-associated infections, highlighting the continuing need for tick awareness and tick bite prevention.

We investigated fecal colonization with third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-r) Enterobacterales and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales among food animals and their handlers in Ghana. A total of 252 fecal samples were collected from 211 animals and 41 human handlers across 20 farms between May and August 2023. Enterobacterales were isolated using standard methods and identified using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry fingerprints and 16SrRNA sequencing. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using standard methods. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase genes were identified by PCR and sequencing. A total of 264 Enterobacterales were isolated, comprising 44 from human handlers and 220 from food animals. Among human isolates, 31 (70.5%) were 3GC-r, with 9 (20.5%) expressing the ESBL phenotype and 2 (4.5%) producing carbapenemases. The most common ESBL genes detected were blaCTX-M-15 (n = 5/9) and blaCTX-M-14 (n = 2/9), while carbapenemase-producing isolates harbored blaNDM-1 (n = 1/2) or blaIMP-1 (n = 1/2). In food animals, 94 (42.7%) of Enterobacterales isolates were 3GC-r, with 11 (5.0%) carrying ESBL genes, predominantly blaCTX-M-15 (n = 5/11). One E. coli isolate exhibited carbapenemase production (blaNDM-1) with an ESBL gene (blaCTX-M-1). Meropenem was the most effective antibiotic agent against the study isolates (≤5% resistance). Concordance of isolate/resistance gene combinations was observed at three farms where at least one human handler and at least one farm animal carried the same 3GC-r Escherichia coli with the same resistance genes, including blaCTX-M-15, blaTEM-10, and blaNDM-1. The findings indicate a potential for zoonotic transmission of resistance genes between food animals and their human handlers.

The aim of this study was to identify and diagnose oocysts of Toxoplasma gondii in cats feces, based on microscopic examination were oval in shape and in blood of handlers by using serological diagnosis (indirect IgG ELISA). The period of study was extended from 1st March, 2024 to 28th Feb., 2025, a total of (70 cats' fecal samples and 92 handlers blood samples) were collected from both sexes, with different ages. Fecal samples were collected from veterinary clinic, while blood samples were collected from medical laboratories in some areas of province of Wasit, Iraq. The microscopic examination revealed Toxoplasma infection rate 1.42 % by direct wet and flotation with sheather's sugar solution. On the other hand the percentage of infection by Toxoplasma gondii based on the serological diagnosis was recorded to be 17.39 %, the higher infection rate 19.44 % was recorded in the age group <50 years and the high infection rates were recorded 19.51 % in males. While seroprevalences were 9.61 % and 27.5 % in Al-Kut and Al-Nomaniyah areas, respectively, and all groups showed significant differences at (P 0.01). The results showed that the high prevalence in cats could increase the likelihood of the transmission of feces of cats to handlers. Also it is very important to adopt new methods for prevention of cats from toxoplasmosis infection as well as, the promotion and education to the risk of toxoplasmosis for cats.

Abstract Dairy cows who excel at milk production also grow horns, which are dangerous to other animals and their human handlers. Recent developments in gene editing make it possible to edit a cow’s genome so that it does not grow horns. We assess from the consumer’s perspective whether the improvements in animal welfare resulting from gene-edited cows outweigh the perceived risks individuals associate with milk from these animals. We find that milk from gene-edited cows and milk from dehorned cows have lower willingness to pay relative to milk that comes from cows without mention of dehorning or gene editing.

Human Source management is a critical function of intelligence and evidence collection by law enforcement and intelligence agencies across the world. Understanding the motivations of Human Sources is key to gaining high intelligence yields. Yet research which explores Human Source motivation, from a handler’s perspective, is limited. Even more limited is research which considers how motivation is identified and managed by law enforcement agencies across the course of a Human Source’s engagement with an agency. This research explores the experiences and perceptions of Human Source handlers from two Australian law enforcement agencies via semi-structured interviews (N = 17). Handlers highlighted the critical importance of identifying and understanding Human Source motivation. Handlers described a motivational cycle and deployed numerous strategies such as a conversational ‘life story’ approach and rapport building to elicit, assess and manage Human Source motivation over time. Factors such as life events resulted in changes to Human Source motivation requiring reassessment and management by the handler. Findings highlighted the importance of continuous assessment of Human Source motivation, intrusive supervision and psychological-based training to develop Human Source management expertise.

Anthropomorphic clay figurines comprise an enigmatic category of finds associated with Pitted Ware culture sites during the latter part of the middle Neolithic period (c. 2900–2300 BC) in the Baltic Sea region. As with most figurative objects, previous research has often been preoccupied with questions of representation, for example focusing on what the figurines might depict. In this paper, the anthropomorphic figurines are instead explored through their physical properties, primarily their ability to look back at their human makers, handlers and onlookers. Considering these figurines as clay beings that have the ability to look back at their viewers shifts the perspective from representation to presentation. This conceptual shift results in a more dynamic picture of human-figurine interactions at Pitted Ware culture sites.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, genetic resistance factors, and antimicrobial resistance phenotypes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus (S.) aureus (MRSA) from clinically healthy animals (horses, dogs, and cats) and their human handlers, providing a baseline for broader genes sequencing based on One Health studies to the emergence of resistance as well as guides regarding specific therapies, hospital antibiotic usage/stewardship, and target-specific infection control measures. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved both human and animals. S. aureus isolates derived were characterised for their antimicrobial phenotypes through antimicrobial susceptibility testing with PCR detection of mecA, mecC, and DNA sequencing of mepR, mepA, mepB, and sapep genes for correlation with their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Results: Seventy S. aureus isolates from 149 human handlers, 240 horses, and 206 companion animals, including dogs and cats were studied. The prevalence of resistance was highest for penicillins (100.0%) and amoxicillin (94.3%), followed by erythromycin (87.7%), trimethoprim (78.6%), azithromycin (77.1%), imipenem (61.4%), and tetracycline (40.0%). Lower resistance prevalences were observed for ciprofloxacin (27.1%), chloramphenicol (20.0%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (12.9%), and gentamicin (2.9%). Twenty-six isolates had their DNA sequenced for mepR, mepA, mepB, and sapep genes for correlation with their antimicrobial phenotypes. Transcriptional profiling revealed that both animal and human MRSA isolates exhibited a gene cluster mepRAB (multidrug export protein gene), encoding a MarR-likc transcriptional regulator (mepR), a M20/ M25/M40 metallo-hydrolase protein gene (sapep) encoding resistance to biocides and carbapenems, and a hypothetical protein gene of unknown function (mepB). Conclusions: This study demonstrated extensive multidrug resistance in MRSA, revealing similarities in the resistance patterns and multiple antibiotic resistance indices among the isolates. These findings suggest the potential presence of non-mec resistance mechanisms in MRSA, in addition to the mec gene mechanism.

Sniffer-dog-teams are a vital, and at the same time highly contested, part of aviation security practices. Rooted in science and technology studies, cultural animal studies and sociology, the article explores the way nonhuman species, in this case sniffer dogs, appear within and against the logic of security ensembles at airports, both currently and in the aspiration for a fully-automated future. Based on the insights of non-participant observations, as well as interviews on more-than-human sensing practices in security contexts predominantly in Germany, the article explores how humans conceptualize nonhuman modes of sensation. While human dog handlers have to cope with the ambivalent requirements of their role working for the state, in which their nonhuman partner is classified as a supporting tool, they are confronted with the scepticism of the wider world concerning their reliability and capacity in odour detection. The sniffer dog handlers must therefore deal with nonknowledge, particularly when it comes to the question of how to ensure what their nonhuman partners smell. In conceptualizing their human-animal interaction as a performative dance of agency, nonknowledge can be characterized as the enactment of a productive force through the embodiment of sensual knowledge. In exploring the nexus of human perception and nonhuman sensitivity, the article contributes to the question of how the epistemology of knowing shapes interspecies sense-making in security related contexts.

The present study evaluated the occurrence, antibiogram profile, and sequence types (STs) of multidrug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli from freshly laid eggs (n = 480), feed (n = 24), water (n = 24), poultry droppings (n = 24), and hand swab samples (n = 10) collected from 24 deep litter (DL) and caged poultry layer farms (12 per category) across Punjab, India. The overall E. coli contamination rate in DL and cage farms was 32% (95% confidence intervals [CI], 26.6-37.8%) and 16.7% (95% CI, 12.6-21.6%), respectively. The logistic regression analysis revealed that the DL system had higher odds of occurrence (odds ratio [OR]) of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) (2.195, 95% CI, 1.065, 4.522) and ESBL/AmpC coproducers (2.69, 95% CI, 1.122, 6.45) compared to the cage system. Additionally, isolates from the DL were 4.065 (95% CI, 1.477, 11.188) times more tetracycline resistant compared to the latter; however, resistance to amoxyclavulanate (OR, 0.437; 95% CI, 0.209, 0.912), and ampicillin (OR, 0.343; 95% CI, 0.163, 0.720) was lesser in DL system. Notably, around 97.7% and 87.2% of the isolates from the DL and cage system were MDR, with the DL system having 6.439 (95% CI, 1.246, 33.283) times more chances of harboring MDR E. coli. Additionally, among the resistance genes, the DL system demonstrated significantly high presence of blaAmpC (56%), qnrA/B/S (42.3%), and tetA/B (30.6%). Furthermore, multilocus sequence typing of 11 MDR isolates (n = 5, DL, and 6, cage) revealed the presence of 10 STs, of which ST10, ST155, and ST156 were found to be of public health importance. Therefore, the present study highlights the burden of MDR, ESBL, and AmpC-producing E. coli on poultry eggs and farm environment, which could be carried over to human handlers and consumers upon direct contact during handling and processing.

Chlamydia abortus causes the disease ovine enzootic abortion, which is one of the most infectious causes of foetal death in small ruminants worldwide. While the disease can be controlled using live and inactivated commercial vaccines, there is scope for improvements in safety for both sheep and human handlers of the vaccines. We have previously reported the development of a new prototype vaccine based on a detergent-extracted outer membrane protein preparation of C. abortus that was determined to be more efficacious and safer than the commercial vaccines when administered in two inoculations three weeks apart. In this new study, we have developed this vaccine further by comparing its efficacy when delivered in one or two (1 × 20 µg and 2 × 10 µg) doses, as well as also comparing the effect of reducing the antigen content of the vaccine by 50% (2 × 5 µg and 1 × 10 µg). All vaccine formulations performed well in comparison to the unvaccinated challenge control group, with no significant differences observed between vaccine groups, demonstrating that the vaccine can be administered as a single inoculation and at a lower dose without compromising efficacy. Future studies should focus on further defining the optimal antigen dose to increase the commercial viability of the vaccine.

Intelligence is morally unique—means and ends that are typically morally problematic are rendered justifiable by reference to the special purpose that national security intelligence serves. This is particularly the case with human intelligence (HUMINT), where operators and handlers might have to violate normal ethical principles as part of their job. Lying, coercion, and/or exploitation may feature as part of a HUMINT operation. This creates a moral risk, where individuals and institutions are excepted from normal moral constraints. Rather than looking at the immediate moral risks of HUMINT operations, this article looks at the relation between the moral risks encountered as part of HUMINT and moral injury. Moral injury may refer to two complementary phenomena: when a person is exposed to immoral activities and suffers psychologically because of dissonance between those immoral activities and normal moral behaviors, and when a person’s moral character is “numbed” because of them engaging in immoral activities. HUMINT exposes intelligence officers to both kinds of moral injury. There is a moral responsibility of intelligence institutions to be both aware of, and seek to mitigate, moral injury, while operating in a context where such moral risk is at times justifiable.

Human resources are an element that holds an important and indispensable role in a company, agency or organization. Companies must pay attention to good human resource management handlers so that the performance in the company runs smoothly and improves the quality and performance of its employees. This study aims to analyze the influence of the work environment on OCB, analyze rewards on OCB, analyze work environment on job satisfaction, analyze rewards on job satisfaction, analyze, indirectly analyze the influence of work environment on job satisfaction through OCB, and indirectly analyze the influence of rewards on job satisfaction through OCB. Samplingtechniques use saturated sampling techniques. The respondents used were 73 respondents. The data analysis method used is the Sructural Equation Model - Partial Leaste Square (SEM-PLS). The results of this study show that the work environment has a positive and significant effect on OCB, rewards have a positive and significant effect on OCB, work environment has a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, rewards have a positive and significant effect on job satisfaction, work environment indirectly has a significant and positive effect on job satisfaction through OCB, and rewards indirectly has a positive and significant effect on OCB through job satisfaction.

This text explores Search and Rescue (SAR) dog work, examining the interplay of Umwelt, semiosis, and behavior in both dogs and humans. Drawing on Uexküll’s notion of Umwelt, the discussion unfolds across two semiotic levels: endosemiosis, involving the constitution of species-specific Umwelten through non-mimetic processes, and exosemiosis, reflecting semiotic interactions within the established Umwelt. Emphasizing the Kantian influence on Uexküll, the text parallels the concept of transcendental schematism with monogram drafting, illustrating how organisms constitute their Umwelten. The exploration extends to Merleau-Ponty’s interpretation of the monogram in Kant and the Umwelt in Uexküll, framing behavior as melodic and underscoring the reciprocal influence between an organism and its Umwelt. Shifting focus to SAR dog teams, the essay elucidates the melodic teamwork between human handlers and dogs. It discerns the convergence of distinct search tones—human-driven rescue tones and dog-driven reward tones—harmonizing in a dynamic inter-species melody. The melodic metaphor, inspired by Merleau-Ponty, illuminates the shared behavioral space where humans and dogs contribute tonalities to the melody of SAR searches. The exploration underscores the handler’s role in facilitating this melodic collaboration, requiring interpretation deeply immersed in the movements of the dog, and a balance between guidance and trust in the dog’s autonomy during the search.

Unknown spa types, spa repeats, and relatedness of MRSA isolated from horses, dogs, cats, and their human handlers

Animal rehabilitation centres provide a unique opportunity to study the microbiome of wild animals because subjects will be handled for their treatment and can therefore be sampled longitudinally. However, rehabilitation may have unintended consequences on the animals' microbiome because of a less varied and suboptimal diet, possible medical treatment and exposure to a different environment and human handlers. Our study describes the gut microbiome of two large seal cohorts, 50 pups (0-30 days old at arrival) and 23 weaners (more than 60 days old at arrival) of stranded harbour seals admitted for rehabilitation at the Sealcentre Pieterburen in the Netherlands, and the effect of rehabilitation on it. Faecal samples were collected from all seals at arrival, two times during rehabilitation and before release. Only seals that did not receive antimicrobial treatment were included in the study. The average time in rehabilitation was 95 days for the pups and 63 days for the weaners. We observed that during rehabilitation, there was an increase in the relative abundance of some of the Campylobacterota spp and Actinobacteriota spp. The alpha diversity of the pups' microbiome increased significantly during their rehabilitation (p-value <0.05), while there were no significant changes in alpha diversity over time for weaners. We hypothesize that aging is the main reason for the observed changes in the pups' microbiome. At release, the sex of a seal pup was significantly associated with the microbiome's alpha (i.e., Shannon diversity was higher for male pups, p-value <0.001) and beta diversity (p-value 0.001). For weaners, variation in the microbiome composition (beta diversity) at release was partly explained by sex and age of the seal (p-values 0.002 and 0.003 respectively). We mainly observed variables known to change the gut microbiome composition (e.g., age and sex) and conclude that rehabilitation in itself had only minor effects on the gut microbiome of seal pups and seal weaners.

Animal rehabilitation centres provide a unique opportunity to study the microbiome of wild animals because subjects will be handled for their treatment and can therefore be sampled longitudinally. However, rehabilitation may have unintended consequences on the animals’ microbiome because of a less varied and suboptimal diet, possible medical treatment and exposure to a different environment and human handlers. Our study describes the gut microbiome of two large seal cohorts, 50 pups (0–30 days old at arrival) and 23 weaners (more than 60 days old at arrival) of stranded harbour seals admitted for rehabilitation at the Sealcentre Pieterburen in the Netherlands, and the effect of rehabilitation on it. Faecal samples were collected from all seals at arrival, two times during rehabilitation and before release. Only seals that did not receive antimicrobial treatment were included in the study. The average time in rehabilitation was 95 days for the pups and 63 days for the weaners. We observed that during rehabilitation, there was an increase in the relative abundance of some of the Campylobacterota spp and Actinobacteriota spp. The alpha diversity of the pups’ microbiome increased significantly during their rehabilitation (p-value <0.05), while there were no significant changes in alpha diversity over time for weaners. We hypothesize that aging is the main reason for the observed changes in the pups’ microbiome. At release, the sex of a seal pup was significantly associated with the microbiome’s alpha (i.e., Shannon diversity was higher for male pups, p-value <0.001) and beta diversity (p-value 0.001). For weaners, variation in the microbiome composition (beta diversity) at release was partly explained by sex and age of the seal (p-values 0.002 and 0.003 respectively). We mainly observed variables known to change the gut microbiome composition (e.g., age and sex) and conclude that rehabilitation in itself had only minor effects on the gut microbiome of seal pups and seal weaners.

Reading danger signals may save an animal's life, and learning about threats from others allows avoiding first-hand aversive and often fatal experiences. Fear expressed by other individuals, including those belonging to other species, may indicate the presence of a threat in the environment and is an important social cue. Humans and other animals respond to conspecifics' fear with increased activity of the amygdala, the brain structure crucial for detecting threats and mounting an appropriate response to them. It is unclear, however, whether the cross-species transmission of threat information involves similar mechanisms, e.g., whether animals respond to the aversively induced emotional arousal of humans with activation of fear-processing circuits in the brain. Here, we report that when rats interact with a human caregiver who had recently undergone fear conditioning, they show risk assessment behavior and enhanced amygdala activation. The amygdala response involves its two major parts, the basolateral and central, which detect a threat and orchestrate defensive responses. Further, we show that humans who learn about a threat by observing another aversively aroused human, similar to rats, activate the basolateral and centromedial parts of the amygdala. Our results demonstrate that rats detect the emotional arousal of recently aversively stimulated caregivers and suggest that cross-species social transmission of threat information may involve similar neural circuits in the amygdala as the within-species transmission.

Dogs are working alongside humans to help protect animals in the wild that are endangered. People who work in the field of animal conservation can train dogs to use their powerful noses to sniff out where certain endangered species have been. Dogs help their human handlers by finding the scat (poop!) that members of an endangered species have left behind. Scat contains important information about these species that help us preserve their populations. In this article, you will learn why some animals are endangered, why studying scat is so important, and how teams of dogs and humans can work together to find scat.

The startle response can be defined as a reflexive reaction to the sudden appearance of a novel stimulus that influences the survival and resilience of animals. In domesticated species, the behavioral component of the startle response can, in some cases, cause serious injury to the animal or human handlers if inappropriately expressed. Here, we describe a longitudinal study in a population of stock-type horses that quantified behavioral startle responses elicited by the presentation of a sudden novel object (rapidly opening umbrella). The study was performed in weanling foals across four consecutive years (n = 74, mean age = 256 days). Behavioral assays for the startle response phenotype focused on six behavioral variables: latency to return to the feed pan (seconds), maximum distance fled (meters), proportion of time spent walking or trotting (seconds), and how long a horse spent standing facing away from or toward the novel object. We observed behavioral startle response variables in relation to cardiac response, age, and sex for each individual. Each horse’s cardiac startle response pattern was determined and categorized into heart rate response cluster groups identified as accelerators and decelerators. Using principal component analysis (PCA) with a factor rotation, we identified “startle response” phenotypes that summarize the behavioral and physiological variables. The largest component of variation, Factor 1, comprised 32.5% of the behavioral variable with a positive correlation with latency and distance, and was not influenced by sex or age. Factor 2 comprised 23.2% of the variation, and was positively correlated with activity level performed such as proportion of time spent walking and/or trotting. Horses with the accelerator type cardiac response had significantly higher Factor 1 scores than decelerators but did not differ in Factor 2. Future work includes expanding our sample size to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify novel genetic loci influencing behavioral startle reactions using recorded behavioral and physiological phenotypes.

Simple SummaryPuppy raisers volunteer their time to take care of, and train, selected puppies until they are mature enough to undertake advanced training to become assistance dogs. Emerging evidence suggests a central role for puppy raisers in bringing out the best in assistant dog puppies. However, most puppy raisers are not professional dog trainers and, to optimise outcomes, they may require various kinds of support from the host organisation that places the puppy in their home, as well as from their personal networks and local communities. From a behaviour change perspective, coordinated efforts at different levels would be expected to better enable puppy raisers to improve training outcomes for the puppies. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential application of a well-established behaviour change framework to the practice of puppy raising. After discussing relevant findings, we suggest a holistic approach to supporting puppy raisers and propose a behaviour model to help volunteers improve their puppy raising practice.Puppy raising (PR) programs recruit volunteer community members (raisers) to raise assistance dog (AD) candidates from puppyhood until the dogs are ready for advanced training. Once qualified, ADs assist human handlers with a disability to live more independently. Unfortunately, about 50% of all puppies do not meet the behavioural standards required for further training after completing a PR program. This increases costs and lengthens the time taken for a handler to obtain an AD. Research has identified several factors that influence raisers’ experiences. It has also shown that raisers’ socialisation and training practices affect perceived puppy behaviour. Drawing on the argument that puppy raiser practices are central to improving overall puppy raising program outcomes, this paper interprets recent findings within the framework provided by the behaviour change wheel—an established behaviour change framework—to suggest a coordinated approach to supporting puppy raisers. The recommendations will allow future research to employ more objective measures and more rigorous experimental designs as the field attempts to corroborate existing findings and develop evidence-based models of practice.