FUer A. and V. Zivnova: Microbial contamination in the environmentofa clinic for small animals at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Bmo. Acta vet. Brno, 63, 1994: 25-31. The microbial contamination of the air and defined surfaces in'the waiting room and four surgeries of the clinic for small animals was studied between January and September 1989. The waiting room and surgery I, in which patients were examined to be treated immediately or referred for further examination to specialists, were taken as an example of veterinary practice. During the period studied, 8,876 animals were seen there. On 12 occasions, the air was examined by sedimentation and aeroscopic methods and the defined surfaces by swabbing. Air microflora in both the waiting room and surgery I increased between the opening and closing hours. In the other investigated rooms with different working regimens (surgery II, m, and IV), microbial counts in air samples were usually higher before than after surgery hours. The average surface contamination of tables and floors in these surgeries was higher than that in surgery I. From the surfaces tested, the lowest contamination with lactose-utilizing microbes was found on the preparation tables in all four surgeries and on the examination table in surgery I both before and after surgery hours. From the micrococci isolated from air samples, 32.8 % were found to be staphylococci positive in the plasmacoagulase test.
Microbial contamination, air, surface, veterinary surgeryIn hospitals for small animals, microbial contamination of the air and surfaces may increase to such an extent that it may become a source of acquired infection for the animals treated there (B e c h -N i e I sen 1979). In both human and veterinary medicine this condition is called a hospital-acquired or nosocomial infection (P 0 s P U iI 1978: May r 1983) or Krankenhaus Infektion (G ru n d etal. 1985). Theiroccurrenceranges from 2 % to 20 % (D a s c h n er 1979 cited by Grund et al. 1985). UttIe information, however, has been published on studies in small animal practice (Silberg etal. 1967;Baker 1969;Live and Nichols 1960; Grund etal.1985).With a continuing privatization of veterinary practice in our country, which leads to the establishment of surgeries for small animals, data on hygienic standards will be needed. The requirements for arrangement and furnishing of private veterinary consulting rooms and surgeries have been described by Williamson (1967). The present study provides information about microbial contamination of the air and defined surfaces in selected outpatient surgeries of the Internal Clinic for Small Animals at the University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences in Brno. Some issues associated with the sanitary regimen of the new veterinary surgeries are discussed.
Materials and Methods
•The period of study lasted from January 11 till September 13, 1989. During that time, 8,879 patients were treat-• ed in surgery I with an attached waiting room. These rooms were situated in building no....