Coccidioides immitis is an emerging fungal pathogen in Washington State (WA). While the geographical boundaries of C. immitis in WA have not been well characterized, human infections have resulted from exposure in the south-central region of the state. Since 2010, only one dog has been identified as a probable locally acquired animal case, despite pilot canine serological surveys from south-central WA revealing a 9.8% seroprevalence. On the suspicion that clinical animal cases may be underdiagnosed and/or underreported, we assessed WA veterinarians' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding coccidioidomycosis. All veterinarians with active licenses in WA were invited to complete a self-administered, web-based survey from November 2018 to January 2019. Four hundred and twenty-five of 2,211 (19.2%) veterinarians returned the survey and were eligible for inclusion in the final analysis. Nearly, all respondents (98.8%) had heard of coccidioidomycosis, but only 31.5% and 25.6% knew that locally acquired animal and human cases, respectively, had been reported in WA. Only half (52.6%) of participants knew that the disease was reportable. Fewer than 20% of respondents reported confidence that their knowledge of coccidioidomycosis was up to date, and 76.9% "never" or "rarely" considered the risk of disease in their patients. A statistically significant predictor of a high knowledge score (≥70%), however, included practicing in endemic counties where the Washington State Department of Health had previously delivered outreach and education services. While the results suggest some success with these activities, it is clear that information on the emergence of coccidioidomycosis is not adequately reaching veterinary practitioners in WA. The data support that more frequent CE opportunities, and dissemination of public health communications through veterinary-specific modalities, would help fill the knowledge gap. In turn, improved diagnosis and reporting of animal cases would assist in our overall understanding the epidemiology of coccidioidomycosis in WA.

中文翻译：

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兽医对一种新兴疾病：华盛顿州球孢子菌病的知识，态度和做法的调查。

球孢子虫炎是华盛顿州（WA）的一种新兴真菌病原体。虽然西澳州的C. immitis的地理边界尚未得到很好的描述，但人类感染是由于该州中南部地区的暴露造成的。自2010年以来，尽管从西澳大利亚州中南部进行的犬血清学调查显示，血清阳性率为9.8％，但只发现了一只狗可能是本地获得的动物病例。由于怀疑动物临床病例可能未得到充分诊断和/或报告不足，我们评估了西澳大利亚州兽医对球虫病的知识，态度和做法。从2018年11月至2019年1月，邀请西澳州所有在职执照有效的兽医完成一项自我管理的基于网络的调查.225例中有2,211例（19。2％）的兽医退回了调查，并有资格纳入最终分析。几乎所有受访者（98.8％）都听说过球孢子菌病，但只有31.5％和25.6％的人知道西澳大利亚州分别报告了本地获得的动物和人类病例。只有一半（52.6％）的参与者知道该疾病是可报告的。不到20％的受访者表示相信他们对球孢子菌病的了解是最新的，而76.9％的“从不”或“很少”认为患者患病的风险。然而，具有高知识得分（≥70％）的具有统计学意义的预测指标包括在华盛顿州卫生部先前曾提供过推广和教育服务的地方县中开展医疗活动。结果表明这些活动取得了一些成功，显然，西澳州的兽医从业人员不足以了解有关球孢子菌病出现的信息。数据表明，CE机会的增加以及通过兽医特有的方式传播公共卫生信息将有助于填补知识空白。反过来，改善动物病例的诊断和报告将有助于我们全面了解西澳球虫病的流行病学。