ABSTRACT: Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are present in both human and veterinary hospitals with data for each. There is no surveillance into the numbers and types of HAIs in veterinary establishments, but studies have found that they are a problem. This article discusses some of the more common HAIs that can occur in the veterinary establishment as well as patient risk factors and ways of minimising them so that HAIs and their consequences can be kept to a minimum.

Author

Alison Mann BSc (Hons), Dip AVN (Small Animal), AFHEA, RVN

Alison graduated from Writtle College in 2005 with a BSc in Equine Science. She qualified as a small animal VN in 2009 while working in mixed practice in Bristol. In 2010 she moved to Langford Vets to work as a surgical nurse. During this time Alison achieved her Dip AVN (Small Animal). She now works as a clinical teaching nurse at Langford Vets, University of Bristol
, teaching practicals and lectures to undergraduate VNs in the Veterinary Nursing and Bioveterinary degree course, while still maintaining her clinical veterinary nurse skills.

Email: Alison.Mann@bristol.ac.uk

Keywords: HAI; hand hygiene; infections; risk factors

To cite this article: Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 33 (09) • September 2018 pp257-261

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