Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Best Practices for Small Animal Veterinary Clinics

Infection control is an important aspect of veterinary practice.

These guidelines are available in accessible pdf format. The can be freely downloaded in their entirety, or you can download different sections/chapters individually by clicking on the corresponding text in the table of contents below. If you require assistance, please email oahn@uoguelph.ca.

Infection Prevention and Control Best Practices, 2020 (complete, 9.1 MB)

Section 1: Introduction

• Basic Principles of Infection Prevention and Control

– General concepts
– Rationale for routine practices – The chain of transmission
– Hierarchy of infection control measures

• The Infection Prevention and Control Program

• Surveillance

– Passive surveillance
– Active surveillance
– Syndromic surveillance

• Antimicrobial Stewardship

Section 2: Routine Practices

• Hand Hygiene

– When to perform hand hygiene
– Hand washing with soap and water
– Alcohol-based hand sanitizers
– Skin care
– Compliance

• Personal Protective Equipment

– Personal protective outerwear
– Additional personal protective equipment

• Patient Care and Handling

– Isolation facilities
– Wound care and bandages
– Feeding of raw meat diets and treats
– High risk admissions

• Hospital-Associated Infections and Other Infectious Syndromes

– Bloodstream infections
– Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
– Other sources of HAIs
– Management of specific infectious syndromes

• Cleaning, Disinfection, Sterilization

– Cleaning
– Disinfection
– Sterilization

• Laundry and Waste Management

– Laundry management
– Waste management

Section 3: Special Procedures

• Surgery

– Surgical environment and suite design
– Personnel considerations
– Equipment considerations
– Perioperative antimicrobials
– Surgical site management
– Surgical site infection surveillance

• Dental Procedures

• Blood Donation

• Rehabilitation and Physical Therapy

– Patient assessment
– Hydrotherapy
– Dry rehabilitation therapy

Section 4: Additional Considerations

• Safety of Clinic Personnel

– Bites and scratches
– Sharps
– Clinic laboratory
– Necropsies
– Vaccination of personnel
– High-risk personnel
– Training and education of personnel

• Client Visitation

• Non-Patient Animals

– Boarding / day care
– Staff pets
– Clinic pets
– Blood donor animals and colonies
– Research and teaching animals

• Education

• Reportable Diseases

• Clinic Design

• Vector Control

– Ticks
– Other ectoparasites