This study utilized the electronic medical records of six
veterinary hospitals (operated by Banfield, The Pet Hospital®)
in the vicinity of Fairburn, Georgia, to assess the health of
dogs and cats following the unintentional release of propyl
mercaptan from a waste-processing facility. Standardized
electronic medical records were used to define clinical
syndromes (eye inflammation, gastrointestinal, respiratory,
fever, general weakness/change in mental state) in dogs and
cats. The frequency and geographic distribution of each syndrome
was evaluated before, during, and after the chemical release,
using control charts, density maps, change in average mean
distance from a suspected point source of chemical release,
space-time statistics, and autoregressive integrated moving
averages. No consistent pattern of change in syndromic events
was observed following the suspected release of propyl
mercaptan. Some syndromes, including respiratory syndrome in
cats, gastrointestinal syndrome in dogs, and eye inflammation sy