The structure of diseases leading to the death of dogs and cats in the ecological conditions of the city of Irkutsk

Abstract

For all industrial cities, the problem of the impact of habitat on animal health is relevant. Studies conducted in the environmental conditions of the city of Irkutsk in the period from 2018 to 2020 allowed us to establish that its atmospheric air contains high concentrations of benz(a)pyrene, formaldehyde and nitrogen dioxide. The maximum average daily concentration of potentially carcinogenic heavy metals was exceeded in all snow samples. During the period under review, a fatal outcome was recorded in 3967 cases in dogs and in 3024 cases in cats. The structure of diseases that caused the death of animals is dominated by diseases of non-infectious origin, among which tumor pathology took the first place in dogs. Diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, as well as injuries, gunshot wounds and bites were among the leading ones. In cats, cancer, urinary tract diseases, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases were noted as the leading causes of death. The largest number of dogs and cats who died from cancer and diseases of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems lived in the central part of the city with the most polluted surface layer of the atmosphere.