Survey to assess infection control practices and zoonotic diseases

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This past summer, an outbreak of monkeypox demonstrated the need for veterinarians to be protected from the inherent risk that zoonotic diseases pose to themselves and their staffs. This outbreak highlighted the importance of veterinary personnel understanding the current knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding infection control.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention thus asked the AVMA to collaborate on conducting a survey of veterinarians on their awareness regarding the use of infection control precautions to prevent the transmission of zoonotic diseases in veterinary settings. In November, the Executive Board gave the go-ahead for the survey. The CDC and AVMA hope that understanding these practices will facilitate the development of guidelines for infection control procedures in veterinary settings.

The AVMA will provide input into the development of the survey, approve the survey, and provide the AVMA mailing list to send the survey to a predetermined number of veterinarians. The Association will also review the survey results, provide input into their interpretation, and assist with distributing the results.

The CDC expects AVMA staff to donate time to the project, but does not anticipate that the Association will incur any other costs.

The Council on Veterinary Service recommended the project.