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According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Center for Information Management, 59% of households in the U.S. own at least one pet. The estimated population for 1998 is 53.6 million dogs and 61.1 million cats. These animals visit a veterinarian more than 150 million times each year. While there currently is no national population-based reporting system for cause-specific mortality and morbidity in companion animals, many medical conditions are diagnosed by veterinarians using laboratory and histopathological examinations. There is increasing use of computer systems in veterinary practices to record disease diagnoses and laboratory findings. This information could be utilized to monitor disease trends by region, over time, and to identify clusters of animals with environmentally related conditions.
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