Guidelines for reducing pathogens in veterinary hospitals: disinfectant selection, cleaning protocols, and hand hygiene.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem in the hospital setting. Organisms that cause hospital-acquired infections are generally highly resistant, requiring expensive antibiotics and further hospitalization. As a result, many owners of infected pets choose euthanasia. Appropriate hospital disinfection and staff hygiene practices can prevent such infections by reducing the pathogen load in a facility in accordance with the "nosocomial prevention triad"-appropriate antibiotic usage, staff and patient hygiene, and hospital maintenance and disinfection. This review outlines the development and implementation of hospital disinfection protocols and hand hygiene practices in small animal veterinary hospitals.

Guidelines for reducing pathogens in veterinary hospitals: hospital design and special considerations.

Prevention of nosocomial infection begins with the hospital layout and identification of special considerations for particular patients. The construction of a new hospital or renovation of an existing hospital requires careful planning and consideration of the needs of the expected patient population and hospital staff. This article discusses considerations for preventing cross-contamination of pathogens through hospital design, as well as special considerations for particular patients, specifically those in isolation areas and surgical suites.