Abstract
BackgroundVeterinarians face the risk of contracting zoonotic pathogens. Infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines stress the importance of proper hand hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent transmission of these pathogens.ObjectivesWe aimed to assess how ambulatory livestock and equine veterinarians follow IPC guidelines, when working on farms and in stables.MethodsWe studied hygiene practices of livestock and equine ambulatory veterinarians (n = 129) in Finland. A web‐based questionnaire was used to obtain demographic information and information regarding hand‐hygiene facilities and practices, use and cleaning of PPE and cleaning of medical equipment.ResultsAccording to 66.9% of the respondents, hand‐washing facilities were often adequate on livestock farms, but only 21.4% reported that this was the case in stables (p < .001). While 75.0% reported washing their hands or using hand sanitizer always before moving on to the next farm, only 42.5% reported doing this before moving on to the next stables (p < .001). Universal protective coat or coverall use was more common in livestock practice than in equine practice (91.6% vs. 27.7%, p < .001). Stethoscope cleaning was reported to happen less frequently than once a week by 30.0% of the respondents.ConclusionsFinnish veterinarians’ self‐reported IPC adherence was far from uniform. IPC was more commonly followed in ambulatory livestock practice perhaps facilitated by better hand‐washing facilities on farms than in stables. The study suggests that education of veterinarians is still needed and that hand‐washing facilities need to be improved even in a high‐income country.
Highlights
Zoonotic pathogens are an occupational hazard for veterinarians (Baker & Gray, 2009; Jackson & Villarroel, 2012)
We focused on hand hygiene, use of protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning of veterinary equipment used by veterinarians on farms and in stables
This study showed that hand-hygiene facilities were poor in stables and suboptimal on farms, and even the self- reported hand-hygiene practices of the veterinarians did not meet
Summary
Zoonotic pathogens are an occupational hazard for veterinarians (Baker & Gray, 2009; Jackson & Villarroel, 2012). . | 1060 hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are an important part of standard procedures to prevent and control health care–associated infections, protect health care providers as well as to reduce the spread of microbes resistant to antimicrobials (WHO, 2019). Infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines stress the importance of proper hand hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) to prevent transmission of these pathogens. Objectives: We aimed to assess how ambulatory livestock and equine veterinarians follow IPC guidelines, when working on farms and in stables. Results: According to 66.9% of the respondents, hand-washing facilities were often adequate on livestock farms, but only 21.4% reported that this was the case in stables (p < .001). IPC was more commonly followed in ambulatory livestock practice perhaps facilitated by better hand-washing facilities on farms than in stables. The study suggests that education of veterinarians is still needed and that hand-washing facilities need to be improved even in a high-income country
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