Large Animal Veterinarians' Knowledge, Attitutes, and Practices Regarding Livestock Abortion-Associated Zoonoses in the United States Indicate Potential Occupational Health Risk

Details

• Journal Article:
  Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
• Personal Author:
  Cherry, Cara C. ; Negrón Sureda, María E. ; Gibbins, John D. ; Hale, Christa R. ; Stapleton, G. Sean ; Jones, Emma S. ; Nichols, Megin C.
• Description:
  Objective: To understand large animal veterinarians' knowledge of select zoonotic diseases that cause livestock abortions and identify barriers to using personal protective equipment (PPE). Sample: A convenience sample of 469 veterinarians currently working with livestock. Procedures: We sent an electronic survey invitation to large animal veterinarians through various veterinary organizations. Respondents answered questions addressing knowledge and prior experience with select abortion-associated zoonotic diseases, resources available for infection control, attitudes and barriers to PPE use, and demographics. Results: Median participant age was 49 years (range, 22 to 82 years), and 54% (235/438) were male. Half of veterinarians (185/348) were contacted 5 or fewer times per year to consult on livestock abortions. No veterinarians surveyed answered all questions on zoonotic disease transmission correctly. Personal protective equipment access varied, from 99% (289/290) having access to gloves to 20% (59/290) having access to respirators. Concerns for spreading disease to other animals (136/289 [47%]) and to other humans (108/287 [38%]) ranked as the most common reported motivators for PPE use. Reported barriers to PPE use among survey participants were the inconvenience of taking PPE into the field (101/286 [35%]) and the inconvenience of wearing PPE (97/286 [34%]). Access to PPE was not correlated with PPE use. Clinical relevance: Surveyed veterinarians had limited knowledge of transmission of select abortion-associated zoonotic diseases. Incomplete understanding might lead to inappropriate PPE selection, preventable disease exposure, or missed opportunities for client education. Inconvenience was a primary reason PPE was not used. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Animals Communicable Diseases Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Health Personnel Livestock Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Surveys And Questionnaires Veterinarians Zoonoses

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• Keywords:
  Veterinarians; Veterinary medicine; Animals; Zoonoses; Livestock; Personal protective equipment; PPE; Infection control; Disease transmission; Gloves; Respirators; Disease control
• Source:
  J Am Vet Med Assoc 2022 Apr; 260(7):780-788
• ISSN:
  0003-1488
• Pubmed ID:
  35175930
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9524364
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  CC999999/ImCDC/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Tennessee
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering ; WSD - Western States Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  20 pdf pages
• Volume:
  260
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064716
• Contact Point Address:
  Cara C Cherry, Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch, Division of Vector-borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, Atlanta, GA
• Email:
  gpg6@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e1e2ca5f40b55294b50891e984e07d583f702ff572920953f8e604fd457e80e9bffb2c1e82fc193ff855d304dd113927c57e9680f51fce21d24d58168da9c89b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/121658/cdc_121658_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 390.43 KB ]