A hazai állatorvosok növényismerete: út egy toxikológiai adatbázis megalapozása felé

Abstract

Knowing poisonous plants is essential for both small and large animal vets. Some European countries already have a governmental “Poison Centre” collecting data on phytotoxicoses. However, such data have not been systematically collected in Hungary yet; animal poisonings are rarely reported. The reason for this could either be an actual low number of cases or the insufficient botanical knowledge of Hungarian vets. Thus, we aimed to assess their botanical knowledge. We arranged an online survey with 50 single choice questions classified into 5 sections: a) identify toxic plants from picture, b) decide whether the plant shown is toxic, c) match the right symptom related to the plant shown without plant name, or d) with plant name, e) choose the plant related to the symptoms shown. 133 vets and, as a reference, 62 veterinary students participated in the survey. Both groups performed similarly; however, vets reached higher scores in section e) perhaps by their greater practical experience. Everybody reached low scores in section a) identifying Solanum nigrum and Senecio/Jacobaea spp. In section b), 54% of all answers was correct. They chose more correct symptoms when both the plant picture and name were shown (sections c, d). In section e), symptoms caused by Lupinus spp. and Hypericum spp. were almost familiar to everyone but the effects of Quercus spp. were rather unknown. Effects of Sambucus nigra, Cotoneaster horizontalis, Lilium spp., and Nerium oleander were rarely known; moreover, toxicity of Acer pseudoplatanus and Solanum pseudocapsicum was rather missing. In conclusion, vets need further training (presenting case studies) on plant toxicoses. To help vets publishing more cases and make evidence-based diagnosis easier a toxicological database should be created in Hungary.