title: Risk of acquiring zoonoses by the staff of companion-animal hospitals.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, 1866 Kameino, Fujisawa, Kanagawa 252-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Kimi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Kazuyuki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Yuzu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Ryuji
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
mesh_terms: D017750:Animal Technicians; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D006762:Hospitals, Animal; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015047:Zoonoses