Agenda - 10-01-2002-10a - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 5. September 23,2002 Dr.Summers Page 2 chipped on walls or ceilings;uncertainty about whether concrete floors were sealed;and presence of lay-in,acoustic tile ceilings. " Sanitation practices should be reviewed,in particular the effective"shelf life"of bleach solutions.We're not certain what those guidelines should be,but a week between changes of bleach baths may be excessive to ensure effectiveness;presence of organic matter may compromise effectiveness even sooner.(Are fresh solutions made daily for cage cleaning?)Foot baths have inherent shortcomings,i.e.,rapid build up of organic matter and difficulty in ensuring adequate contact with shoes,including adequate contact time.In our facilities,it is more typical to use disposable shoe covers when contamination by this route is of concern. We discussed possible limitations in use of a hand disinfectant;we're not aware of actual data that would help judge whether this is actually effective in killing parvoviruses.One consideration would be for staff to use disposable gloves when working in quarantine/isolation,or perhaps even routinely during an outbreak.We didn't discuss other fomites,but this is an important consideration in preventing transmission of infectious agents among animals.What protective clothing is used by staff when handling animals?In our facilities,it is typical in quarantine/isolation conditions for personnel to change outerwear(anywhere from lab coats to full-dress coveralls with cap,boots,and gloves)for each such room.In some cases;the protective clothing is left in the room and re-used but,with higher level concern,new disposable apparel is used by each person each time they enter.We didn't ask about the shelter cat,but she also is a potential fomite.Wild mice also have the potential to act as fomites,although we're not aware of specific data to indicate this for feline and canine parvovimses. It's useful in an outbreak situation,and perhaps routinely,to think in terms of susceptible individuals;infection can only be spread/maintained in a facility if there are susceptible animals exposed to those that are shedding the virus.We don't know with respect to the outbreak this past Spring to what extent the infection continued because of incoming infected,.animals compared with maintenance in the facility,but this seems an important consideration to attempt. Sanitation practices and traffic patterns can minimize transmission within the facility,and effective quarantine can minimize exposure of healthy animals to new arrivals.Vaccination on arrival seems prudent,but if an incoming animal has no immunity when it arrives,this vaccination would not prevent disease if it exposure occurs shortly thereafter.This means that effective quarantine is key and,given the incubation period of the virus,the length of quarantine (or at least time before adoption)will be important in preventing adoption of animals that have been exposed but not yet showing signs.Can/should pre-weaning kittens be vaccinated? It seems inappropriate for us to judge the proper level of euthanasia in the face of an outbreak; clearly there are competing,if not conflicting,shelter objectives.To the extent that the adoption of healthy animals is a key objective,it may be necessary in an outbreak to decrease the number of adoptions,increase the holding period and/or limit public access to certain areas of the shelter. Effective biosecurity should control the public as well as shelter staff. One consideration we didn't discuss was the role of the spay/neuter program in a disease