Biosecurity and infection control in a veterinary clinic: an operational framework

Every practice concentrates fragile patients, invasive procedures and a constant flow of people and animals. That makes it a natural amplifier of transmission, exactly like a human hospital. Infection prevention and control aims to break the routes by which microorganisms pass from one animal to another, from the environment to the patient, and from the animal to the person.

• Healthcare-associated infections: surgical site infections, catheter-associated urinary infections, bloodstream infections from intravenous lines, pneumonia in the critical patient. They were not present on admission and arise during the stay.
• Multidrug-resistant organisms: meticillin-resistant staphylococci, extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing enterobacteria, resistant enterococci. They move between patients, hands and surfaces and narrow the treatment options.
• Zoonoses to staff and clients: dermatophytosis, leptospirosis, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, some parasites. Staff are exposed continuously and often underestimate the risk.
• Persistent environmental contamination: parvovirus and panleukopenia survive on surfaces for a long time and resist many common disinfectants, keeping a silent reservoir alive.

A biosecurity programme does not ask for individual heroics, it asks for the right behaviours to become the easiest path to follow. That means dispensers where they are needed, clear protocols posted where the work happens, single-use materials on hand, and a culture in which flagging a suspected case is part of the job rather than a cause for blame.

If you could keep only one measure, it would be hand hygiene. It is by far the most frequent route of transmission and, at the same time, the cheapest to interrupt. Alcohol-based hand rub is usually preferable to soap and water because it is faster, more accessible at the point of care and gentler on the skin, which makes it more sustainable over a long shift. Two situations still call for soap and water: visibly soiled hands and suspected exposure to spores, where the rub is poorly effective.

1. Before touching the patient, to protect the animal from the germs on your hands.
2. Before an aseptic task, such as placing an intravenous line or a urinary catheter.
3. After the risk of exposure to body fluids, even if you were wearing gloves.
4. After touching the patient, before touching anything else.
5. After contact with the patient's surroundings, such as the cage, bowls and surfaces.

The framework rests on two levels. Standard precautions apply to every animal, always, because you cannot know in advance who is a carrier. Transmission-based precautions are added when a contagious agent is suspected or confirmed, and they change according to how that agent travels.

The logic is cumulative: transmission-based precautions do not replace the standard ones, they stack on top. Visual signalling matters: a colour-coded sign on the kennel indicating the precaution level prevents more errors than any internal memo, because it also speaks to whoever rushes in.

The most critical point is reception, where everything mixes. Catching a potentially contagious patient before it enters the waiting room stops a single infection from becoming an outbreak. Telephone and door triage exist for exactly this: to spot the warning signs and reroute the path.

1. 1

   Screen on the phone and at check-in

   Ask in advance about vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing, widespread skin lesions, vaccination status and contact with sick animals. An unvaccinated puppy with vomiting and diarrhoea is a suspected parvovirus until proven otherwise.

2. 2

   Separate the suspect at once

   Have the animal wait in the car or in a dedicated area, not in the shared waiting room. Give the owner clear instructions on what not to touch and where to stand.

3. 3

   Move to isolation by a dedicated route

   Use an entrance or a path that does not cross the clean areas. Prepare the room in advance with everything needed, so you never have to step out with contaminated hands to fetch supplies.

4. 4

   Dedicate equipment and staff

   Assign the thermometer, lead, bowls and instruments to the isolation room alone. Where possible, limit the number of people entering and name who is responsible for that patient.

5. 5

   Don and doff in the right order

   Put on the protective equipment before entering and remove it before leaving, inside or on the threshold of the dirty zone, always ending with hand hygiene. The removal sequence is the moment of highest self-contamination risk.

6. 6

   Disinfect the room after discharge

   Remove visible soiling first, then apply a disinfectant matched to the pathogen and respect the contact time. Parvovirus and panleukopenia need products active against non-enveloped viruses, not a plain detergent.

These are three distinct, non-interchangeable levels. Cleaning removes dirt and organic material and is the precondition for everything else: no disinfectant works well on a soiled surface, because organic matter inactivates it. Disinfection reduces the microbial load on surfaces, but it depends on the right product and, above all, on respecting the contact time. Sterilisation eliminates every living form, spores included, and concerns surgical instruments, not surfaces.

Two recurring mistakes undo the work: skipping the cleaning step and not respecting the contact time. A product meant to sit for ten minutes but wiped off after thirty seconds simply has not disinfected. It is worth writing the dilution and time on the dispenser, because memory under pressure is not reliable.

High-touch surfaces are the weak link most often overlooked: examination tables, door handles, keyboards, phones, stethoscopes, thermometers. They belong in a cleaning plan with defined frequencies and clear owners, not left to the good sense of the moment.

• Protective equipment: gloves for every patient, a dedicated gown or apron in infectious areas, mask and eye protection where splashes or aerosols are likely. Choose the item by transmission route, not by habit.
• Surfaces: clean before disinfecting, pay attention to high-touch surfaces between patients, choose products by the risk level of the area.
• Laundry: soiled blankets and towels carried in closed bags without shaking them, washed at an adequate temperature, clean kept apart from dirty in both routes and cupboards.
• Waste: correct separation of hazardous clinical waste, sharps and general waste, rigid puncture-proof containers closed at the point of use, disposal compliant with local regulation.
• Sharps: never recap needles with two hands, keep a rigid container within reach, handle in a way that protects whoever cleans up after you.

A programme only truly exists when it is written down, assigned and checked. Without a shared document, biosecurity depends on whoever happens to be on shift and collapses on the hard days, which are precisely the days it is needed most.

1. Appoint an infection-control lead, even part-time: someone who owns the topic, keeps the protocols current and coordinates the outbreak response.
2. Put the core procedures in writing: hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, triage and isolation, cleaning and disinfection by area, laundry and waste handling.
3. Train the whole team, not just the vets: reception, cleaning and nursing staff touch patients and surfaces as much as, or more than, the veterinarian.
4. Make the right path easy: dispensers where they are needed, signs on kennels, single-use materials available, dilutions and times written on the products.
5. Check with short, regular audits: observe hand hygiene compliance, verify contact times, measure a few indicators and feed them back to the team.
6. Close the loop: use the results to correct course, repeat the observation and recognise improvements instead of hunting for culprits.

Outbreak response needs a plan ready in advance: define the case, isolate the animals involved, reinforce cleaning and disinfection, temporarily pause non-urgent admissions to the affected area, inform at-risk owners and document everything. Improvising during an outbreak means reacting late and badly, once the contamination has already spread.