Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection

Abstract

The guidelines in this article provide veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and veterinary health care workers with an overview of evidence-based recommendations for the best practices associated with environmental cleaning and disinfection of a veterinary clinic that deals with small animals. Hospital-associated infections and the control and prevention programs necessary to alleviate them are addressed from an environmental perspective. Measures of hospital cleaning and disinfection include understanding mechanisms and types of contamination in veterinary settings, recognizing areas of potential concern, addressing appropriate decontamination techniques and selection of disinfectants, the management of potentially contaminated equipment, laundry, and waste management, and environmental surveillance strategies.

Risk reduction and management strategies to prevent transmission of infectious disease among dogs at dog shows, sporting events, and other canine group settings

“…90 For cleaning and disinfection to be successful, items and locations with close, repeated dog contact should be made of materials amenable to cleaning and disinfection or they should be dedicated for individual dog use. Organic surfaces such as grass and dirt are impossible to disinfect and are consequently nonideal for infectious disease prevention.…”

“…9,46,51,87,88 Existing guidance is available to direct appropriate cleaning and disinfection for fomites and the environment. 89,90 Recommendation: A cleaning and disinfection program should be developed and implemented for indoor and outdoor exercise, grooming, and housing areas. Key principles such as prompt removal of gross debris, cleaning with detergent and water, and correct use of a disinfectant (appropriate product, dilution, and contact time required for killing or inactivating pathogens that dogs may encounter in the setting) should be followed (category IA).…”

Microbial Decontamination: Understanding the Concepts and Types of Decontamination Methods, and Evaluating Their Usefulness

“…Although these pathogenic GN bacteria show more resistance to antibiotics than GP strains, they are more susceptible to decontamination methods and can be easily decontaminated. Comparatively, GP bacteria have more resistance to decontamination methods, but tend to be less harmful to humans (Howie, Alfa, & Coombs, 2008;Traverse & Aceto, 2015).…”

“…This is because outer lipid bilayer "envelopes" can be easily neutralized by various chemical and physical agents, and a virion is only infectious if it is fully intact. Hence, if the envelope is destroyed, a virion is no longer infectious (Gelderblom, 1996;Howie et al, 2008;Traverse & Aceto, 2015).…”

“…demonstrates the increasing order of resistance different microorganisms have to different decontamination methods (drawn based on data given from(Traverse & Aceto, 2015)). …”