DEAR READERS: Some contend that the coronavirus associated with this pandemic is far less harmful than officials say. But there are many factors that can make this virus more dangerous for some than for others: genetics and preexisting health conditions, certainly, but also factors related to culture, socioeconomic status, nutritional habits and environmental factors.

Regarding the latter, particulate air pollution and poor room ventilation are especially important. This is an issue in schools, places of worship, theaters and sports stadiums. In these venues, and increasingly in people’s homes and workplaces, we also have concentrated electropollution to worry about. In laboratory studies, electropollution has been shown to impair the immune and neuroendocrine systems of many animal species when they are exposed to the kind of nonionizing radiation and electromagnetic fields generated by some telecommunication systems.

All of these factors make any new contagious virus potentially more harmful, and there are emerging viral pandemics on the horizon, according to epidemiologists.

So these factors all need to be addressed, especially the anthropogenic environmental contributions to our susceptibility to contagious diseases. Investing in more vaccinations and drug treatments will be profitable for a few, but not beneficial for most, and will not solve the root problem. Since animals both wild and domesticated are the sources of constantly mutating epidemic and pandemic diseases, our cruel, profit-driven exploitation of all animals should be terminated -- for their well-being, as well as our own.

DEAR DR. FOX: Just wanted to thank you for sharing your article entitled “Animal Affection: A Spiritual Connection.” As an empath, and someone who will never understand how people could kill an animal for “sport,” your words resonated with me.

Though my dog would not be considered a wild animal, I had a very strong spiritual connection with her, and your article evoked a number of fond emotions for me. The last one was when I had to say goodbye to DeeDee on my birthday earlier this year. I honestly believe she held out just for that day. -- B.M., Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

DEAR B.M.: I am glad that my brief essay resonated with you. Another reader wrote to me, complaining that I was anthropomorphizing animals and should stick to science and medicine. But subjective, emotional states of both the animal patient and the attending veterinarian are essential aspects of holistic healing -- and often, of diagnostics, which can become intuitive with enough experience.

Years ago, I cited scientific studies that showed that the attitude of farm workers toward the animals under their care greatly influenced animals’ health and productivity. Empathy is the key. But empathy may become impaired during the course of veterinary (and human) medical education, as other studies have documented: The patient becomes objectified and the empathy connection is broken. Sometimes this is a defense mechanism to distance oneself from another’s suffering. I feel for those dedicated staff in our hospitals today dealing with COVID-19 patients, just as I do with those who work in animal shelters and must euthanize healthy animals because of a lack of resources, if not expertise, to rehabilitate them into adoptable animal companions.

In the final analysis, as I see it, our redemption, the recovery of our humanity and our ultimate well-being will come in large part through our renunciation of a culture and economy of harm. Such a liberating redemption is at the core of all the world’s religions and secular humanism, when shorn of politics and human-centeredness. Reverential respect for all our nonhuman relations is long overdue.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Dr. Karen Shaw Becker, noted veterinarian, has posted an alert at healthypets.mercola.com relating to pet food recommendations.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association aims to act as an “educated, committed and collaborative global community of veterinary peers,” according to the group’s website. Dr. Becker writes: “WSAVA has 113 member associations and over 200,000 member veterinarians worldwide,” as well as a “Global Nutrition Committee that provides recommendations for selecting pet foods. Recently, Ryan Yamka, Ph.D., founder of Luna Science and Nutrition and the Guardian Pet Food Co., took an in-depth look at WSAVA’s recommendations and found them lacking. He determined they provide a false sense of security to anyone offering pet food advice based on the association’s criteria.”

For more details, go to healthypets.mercola.com.

Dr. Becker and I both recommend becoming a member of the Association for Truth in Pet Food (associationfortruthinpetfood.com), which is the only organization committed to holding the regulatory agencies accountable. I also recommend ordering Susan Thixton’s annual Truth About Pet Food List (truthaboutpetfood.com/the-list).

BOOK REVIEW: ‘BIG KIBBLE’

“Big Kibble: The Hidden Dangers of the Pet Food Industry and How to Do Better by Our Dogs” by Shawn Buckley and veterinarian Dr. Oscar Chavez

Every veterinarian in companion animal practice, every veterinary student and all people with dogs should read this book. It documents how a handful of multinational agribusiness-connected corporations recycle crop and animal wastes into highly profitable pet foods -- many of which are making our animal companions ill -- and they are still getting away with it, much like Big Tobacco did a few years ago on the human health frontier. These manufactured pet food monopolists profit even more by marketing “prescription diets” to correct many of the health problems in dogs and cats that result from them being fed these products in the first place.

This book is well documented and should help stimulate a long-overdue revolution in agriculture, and specifically in what we feed our dogs. The authors, who are also the founders of a new dog food company (justfoodfordogs.com), are enjoying the fruits of efforts by earlier writers and advocates to inform the public and improve pet nutrition. (A few of those previous works: “Foods Pets Die For” by Ann Martin; “Canine Nutrigenomics” by W. Jean Dodds, DVM and Diana R. Laverdure; and “Not Fit for a Dog!” by veterinarians Elizabeth Hodgkins, Marion E. Smart and myself.) It is also regrettable that they do not give any vegetarian recipes or mention the hazards of food-irradiation.

This new company is one of a growing number being supported by informed consumers who know that paying more for quality foods means paying less for health problems down the road. I spoke with the book’s co-author, Dr. Chavez, and was encouraged to learn that the company is also developing some biologically appropriate foods for cats, who have suffered in so many ways from the products from the Big Kibble pet food industry. For example, endotoxins from bacteria in the animal parts recycled into pet foods, along with mycotoxins from moldy grains, may cause intestinal inflammation, leaky gut syndrome, food allergies/intolerances and microbiome dysbiosis. This book does not index bacterial endotoxins, but covers enough about aflatoxins to make its point.

I would add another concern -- not a conspiracy theory, but reality -- about the link between the pet food and pharmaceutical industries. This is exemplified by the widespread TV advertising for pharmaceuticals, and by more and more veterinarians prescribing Apoquel for pets’ food allergies. Many vets rarely investigate what their animal patients have been given to eat, believing manufactured pet foods -- kibbles, in particular -- are safe for their patients to eat.

DEAR DR. FOX: I came across your webpage while searching for help for my 4-year-old chocolate Lab. For at least six months, my poor guy has had chronic diarrhea: It started as soft-serve ice cream consistency, but is now a watery/oily substance that he strains very hard to produce.

He has been to two different vets and has had multiple tests, food changes, steroids, antibiotics and probiotics. Nothing has made even a slight improvement in his bowels, but his ears have cleared up after previously having stinky, gooey discharge. His fecal tests show some white blood cells. He is in on Bravecto to stop fleas.

He is playful, will fetch a ball until you make him take a break, and drinks aggressively (but that is normal for him). However, he has not been eating as much as he used to, he drops some food out of his mouth while he is eating, and has lost a slight amount of weight.

I love my dog, and I am baffled as to what to do or try next. -- T.S., Tulsa, Oklahoma

DEAR T.S.: There are many possible causes for your dog’s intestinal issue. Giardia in the guts must be ruled out, since it is quite commonly picked up from infected dogs in parks and from water contaminated by infected wildlife. The anti-flea and tick medication could also be the problem: Bravecto is reported to cause diarrhea in dogs and cats. So can the lectins in some legume ingredients (such as peas and lentils) in grain-free chow.

Try giving him a tablespoon of aloe vera liquid before meals, and feed him three small servings a day of my dog food recipe (posted on my website). Be sure to add some unsweetened shredded coconut.

Keep me posted on your progress. A fecal infusion (microbiome transfer) from a healthy dog may be the ultimate solution. Chronic loose stools can lead to malnutrition and many health complications, including allergies, if there is gut inflammation.

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)

DEAR READERS: Currently, over 90% of corn, cotton and soybean acreage in the United States is planted with genetically engineered seeds. Most of these GE seeds are either herbicide-tolerant (HT) or insect-resistant (Bt, short for Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacteria used to treat the seeds). If seeds are both HT and Bt, they are called “stacked.” Soybean seeds with stacked traits are currently not commercially available in the United States but are being imported from Brazil. In addition, over 90% of the U.S. canola crop is engineered to have some level of herbicide resistance.

This means corn, soy and cottonseed cake and oil, and canola oil -- all variously incorporated into farmed animal and manufactured cat and dog foods -- can contain herbicide residues and Bt insecticide. These contaminants may disrupt the gut microbiome, leading to multiple health problems.

With climate change leading to increased rainfall and higher moisture content of certain crops, corn may be more susceptible to fungal infection or mold that can produce toxins like aflatoxin. Aflatoxin, when ingested, can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice from liver damage. According to the National Institutes of Health, aflatoxin is associated with liver cancer in humans.

Bt may reduce insect-transmitted fungal infections in stacked corn, but spraying crops with herbicide to accelerate drying prior to harvesting (also done with conventional wheat and other cereals) creates additional food and environmental contamination.

Aflatoxin contamination is one of the most frequent cause of pet food recalls, second only to salmonella from contaminated farmed animal ingredients. Just this past October, pet food maker Sunshine Mills recalled products (mainly dog and cat kibble) containing excessive aflatoxin levels. These products were sold under the following brand names: Champ, Family Pet, Field Trail, Good Dog, Heartland Farms, Hunter’s Special, Old Glory, Paws Happy Life, Pet Expert, Principle, Retriever, River Bend, Sportsman’s Pride, Sprout, Thrifty, Top Runner and Whiskers & Tails. Affected lot codes were 3/April/2020, 4/April/2020 and 5/April/2020.

Corn has no place in cat foods. To help reduce health risks to both human consumers and companion animals -- as well as avoid costly recalls and potential legal liability for the manufacturers -- all corn, soy and other ingredients in pet foods should be certified either organic or GMO-free.

DEAR DR. FOX: A friend was going to give me some information about using garlic to keep ticks and fleas off dogs. He swore by it. But he died from a heart attack, so I never got him to explain the details to me. -- D.R.H., Hanna, Oklahoma

DEAR R.H.: Sorry to hear about the demise of your friend. Garlic is a potent herbal product with many health benefits, and it is generally believed to help ward off fleas and ticks. I advise one finely chopped clove of garlic (about the size of your index fingernail) per 30 pounds of the dog’s body weight, mixed in with one meal every three or four days. Given without food, garlic will harm the lining of the stomach. I always advise combining garlic with nutritional yeast (NOT baker’s yeast): 1 half-teaspoon per 30 pounds of dog.

Garlic should not be given to cats, or to some dog breeds such as Akitas and shibus, because it can cause hemolytic anemia. Onions will also do this to cats and some dogs.

Garlic inhibits blood clotting, which can help in cases of thrombosis. It was used during WWI as an emergency antibiotic and antifungal wound treatment. Along with ginger, it helps clear lung congestion and has antiviral properties. Garlic also has antioxidant- and immune system-boosting properties, as well as helping to lower blood pressure and blood cholesterol. It is one of nature’s greatest gifts indeed!

(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.

Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)