Simple wipes of the hospital settings with disinfectants could reduce nosocomial infection in veterinary clinics

Nosocomial infection in animal hospitals is possible through direct contact with contaminated hospital settings. To confirm whether the hospital settings contribute to harboring these pathogens, swab samples were collected from the environmental sites of six different veterinary hospitals. Cleansed and disinfected sites were investigated and bacterial counts were recorded accordingly. Isolated bacteria were tested for their resistance to antibiotics. Various bacterial counts were observed accordingly in comparison with the frequency of cleanness or disinfection state, respectively. Of particular interestingly, the surface of the stethoscope, to which little attention is paid with regard to sanitation, showed moderate bacterial contamination (>103 cfu/cm2), which was decreased by one tenth (>102 cfu/cm2) after a brief wiping with a disinfectant (chlorhexidine). In conclusion, first priority is maintenance of sanitary conditions in hospital settings; in addition, frequent wiping of the surface of stethoscopes with disinfectant could reduce occurrence of nosocomial infection at the first contact with patients who visit animal hospitals. These results can assist in development of improved infection control guidelines for animals in veterinary clinics in order to prevent occurrence of nosocomial infections.