Without effective infection control, prevention and biosecurity (AAHA Infection Control, Prevention, and Biosecurity Guidelines) implemented in the veterinary primary care and referral settings, the clinician’s efforts at disease prevention and treatment are compromised and sometimes nullified. Practices struggle on several fronts, from identifying infectious animals before they enter the practice to ensuring that staff wear personal protective equipment. Other challenges include creating and updating policies and protocols and enforcing requirements for cleaning and disinfection.
Hospital-acquired infection is “very much a silent problem of unknown dimensions.” Jason Stull, VMD, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM
Source: AAHA Trends Preview, September 26, 2019. Link. “Biosecurity is the frontline defense to [prevent] these emerging diseases from reaching the patients under our care and exploding in the surrounding pet community,” says Dr. Stull.
At its core, infection control and prevention is a management issue. Two management tools for improving overall performance are written policies and accountability. The ICPB guidelines recommend both.
INSIGHTS: AAHA’s biosecurity guidelines were published in November 2018 < link >. They approach ICPB from the perspective of the busy veterinary team member, often with little background in infection control, and distill the key practices with greatest potential for success into a succinct how-to manual.