Risk of acquiring zoonoses by the staff of companion-animal hospitals.
The aim of this study was to obtain information on the risk of companion-animal hospital staff members acquiring zoonotic diseases. We surveyed veterinary technicians to estimate the rate of acquisition of zoonoses from pets while working in companion-animal hospitals. About one in five veterinary technicians (19.4%) reported acquiring zoonotic infections in their small-animal practice. The rate of acquisition of zoonoses by those who had worked for more than 5 years was significantly higher than by those who had worked for less than 1 year (p < 0.001, odds ratio: 6.74). The list of zoonoses included the flea bites (62.3%), dermatophytosis (26.9%), cat-scratch disease (16.0%), tick bites (9.0%), and pasturellosis (6.1%). A small number of veterinary technicians had been infected with Q fever, toxoplasmosis, parrot fever, salmonellosis, tetanus, campylobacteriosis, or scabies.
Asano
Kimi
K
Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-8510, Japan.
Suzuki
Kazuyuki
K
Nakamura
Yuzu
Y
Asano
Ryuji
R
Sakai
Takeo
T
D017750:Animal Technicians; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015047:Zoonoses