Background
Hand hygiene is the single most important factor in the prevention and control of infection and is fundamental in protecting animals, pet owners and veterinary staff. Hands can become contaminated by direct contact with patients, indirectly by handling equipment or through contact with the general environment. The risk to the patients and the veterinary staff is greatly reduced if staff appropriately decontaminate their hands.
Today hand hygiene is no longer simply good practice or a healthy habit; it has become an essential method of protecting ourselves and our patients. Compliance with recommended hand washing standards and guidelines is today considered by many infection control professionals to be a cornerstone in addressing the challenge of infection control.
Infection Control within the veterinary practice is as important as it is within an hospital environment. All veterinary staff need to be aware, understand and adhere to infection control practices.
Proper glove usage within a Veterinary Practice is essential for Infection Control measures. For everyday protection in the veterinary practice disposable examination gloves are the ultimate solution and offer comfortable wear and barrier protection.
The British Veterinary Association warned that between 10 and 20 animals are found to carry the MRSA bug each year, the BVA says that this number is set to increase and vets should take hospital-style precautions to avoid passing the MRSA "superbug" to animals.
There is a great concern over MRSA among vets with the main aim to try and ensure there are as few cases as possible by encouraging veterinary surgeons to adopt best practice in operating procedures.
Correct glove usage and stringent infection control measures must be considered based on the conditions present in the hospital and simple strategies can effectively reduce the risk of infections.
Co-operation between medical and veterinary professions is a vital requirement to identify human carriers and to implement effective control measures. Well controlled hygiene and quarantine measures are needed to clear veterinary hospital epidemics and these hygiene strategies effectively reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections, including MRSA.
“Following a study we observed that if personnel pick the gloves up only by the CUFF END and don the glove prior to patient contact, the organism transfer rate is eliminated or very drastically reduced. While we do not advocate using gloves as a substitute for hand washing, CUFF END removal introduces a secondary control mechanism to reduce infections when personnel bypass other proper infection control procedures. When proper hand/forearm washing is combined with cuff end removal of gloves this is a very effective control measure that literally can prevent organism transfer and subsequent infections.”
Matthew P Maley, MS Shriners Burn Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio
Hand hygiene is the single most important factor in the prevention and control of infection and is fundamental in protecting animals, pet owners and veterinary staff. Hands can become contaminated by direct contact with patients, indirectly by handling equipment or through contact with the general environment. The risk to the patients and the veterinary staff is greatly reduced if staff appropriately decontaminate their hands.
Today hand hygiene is no longer simply good practice or a healthy habit; it has become an essential method of protecting ourselves and our patients. Compliance with recommended hand washing standards and guidelines is today considered by many infection control professionals to be a cornerstone in addressing the challenge of infection control.
Infection Control within the veterinary practice is as important as it is within an hospital environment. All veterinary staff need to be aware, understand and adhere to infection control practices.
Proper glove usage within a Veterinary Practice is essential for Infection Control measures. For everyday protection in the veterinary practice disposable examination gloves are the ultimate solution and offer comfortable wear and barrier protection.
The British Veterinary Association warned that between 10 and 20 animals are found to carry the MRSA bug each year, the BVA says that this number is set to increase and vets should take hospital-style precautions to avoid passing the MRSA "superbug" to animals.
There is a great concern over MRSA among vets with the main aim to try and ensure there are as few cases as possible by encouraging veterinary surgeons to adopt best practice in operating procedures.
Correct glove usage and stringent infection control measures must be considered based on the conditions present in the hospital and simple strategies can effectively reduce the risk of infections.
Co-operation between medical and veterinary professions is a vital requirement to identify human carriers and to implement effective control measures. Well controlled hygiene and quarantine measures are needed to clear veterinary hospital epidemics and these hygiene strategies effectively reduce the risk of hospital acquired infections, including MRSA.
“Following a study we observed that if personnel pick the gloves up only by the CUFF END and don the glove prior to patient contact, the organism transfer rate is eliminated or very drastically reduced. While we do not advocate using gloves as a substitute for hand washing, CUFF END removal introduces a secondary control mechanism to reduce infections when personnel bypass other proper infection control procedures. When proper hand/forearm washing is combined with cuff end removal of gloves this is a very effective control measure that literally can prevent organism transfer and subsequent infections.”
Matthew P Maley, MS Shriners Burn Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio
