Animal poisoning in Italy: 10 years of epidemiological data from the Poison Control Centre of Milan.
Authors: Caloni F, Cortinovis C, Rivolta M, Davanzo F
Journal: The Veterinary record
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Animal Poisoning Epidemiology in Italy Between 2000 and 2010, the Poison Control Centre of Milan compiled a decade of systematic data on animal poisoning cases, creating a computerised database that captured trends across species including companion animals, equines, ruminants and other livestock. Whilst the dataset was weighted towards small animals, the inclusion of equine and farm animal cases provided valuable insights into toxicant exposure patterns in production animals, which remain largely undocumented in the published literature. Pesticide exposure emerged as the leading cause of poisoning across all species, though the secondary toxicants differed markedly: in companion animals, veterinary and human pharmaceuticals posed the greatest secondary risk, whilst in horses and ruminants, plant toxins represented episodic but significant exposures. The research demonstrates that systematic poison centre reporting can serve as a crucial epidemiological tool for identifying regional poisoning trends and informing evidence-based prevention strategies. For equine professionals, these findings underscore the importance of understanding both common pesticide hazards and the less obvious but serious risks posed by phytotoxins on pasture, particularly given the scarcity of published toxicological data specific to UK and European equine populations.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Equine practitioners should be aware that pesticide exposure remains a significant poisoning risk for all domestic animals including horses, requiring proactive client education on safe storage and application
- •Drug-related poisonings in companion animals highlight the need for strict protocols around parasiticide dosing and preventing access to human medications on farms and facilities housing multiple species
- •Establishing relationships with regional poison control centres provides valuable epidemiological data to guide prevention strategies and inform treatment protocols for poisoning cases in equine and farm animal practice
Key Findings
- •Dogs were the most commonly affected species in poisoning cases reported to the Milan Poison Control Centre from 2000-2010
- •Pesticides were the primary group of toxicants responsible for animal poisoning overall
- •For pets, drugs (veterinary parasiticides and human medications) constituted the second most common toxicant class after pesticides
- •For horses and farm animals, phytotoxins were the second most common toxicant group, though only recorded episodically