title: Occupational health hazards in veterinary medicine: zoonoses and other biological hazards.
abstract: This study describes biological hazards reported by veterinarians working in western Canada obtained through a self-administered mailed questionnaire. The potential occupational hazards included as biological hazards were zoonotic disease events, exposure to rabies, injuries due to bites and scratches, and allergies. Only 16.7% (136/812) of responding veterinarians reported the occurrence of a zoonosis or exposure to rabies in the past 5 years; the most commonly reported event was ringworm. Most bites and scratches (86%) described by 586 veterinarians involved encounters with cats; 81% of the resulting 163 infections were due to cat bites or scratches. Approximately 38% of participants reported developing an allergy during their career, with 41% of the affected individuals altering the way they practiced in response to their allergy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4, Canada. tasha.epp@usask.ca
authors.forename: Tasha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Epp
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Waldner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000150:complications; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002415:Cats; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D018634:Veterinarians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014730:Veterinary Medicine; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses