Page 68 - Zoo Animal Learning and Training

52 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

6. Describe basic sanitation as associated with animal handling
and clinical care:
a. clean and disinfect cages and kennels (stalls optional)
B. Animal care
1. Provide routine record‐keeping, and observation of hospital-
ized patients (i.e., stress importance of notations made when
cleaning and feeding)
11. Provide care and maintenance of nursing equipment (i.e.,
otoscope, ophthalmoscope, thermometer, etc.)

Basic Cleanliness

and Orderliness Reflection
Think about how diseases can be transmitted in
Veterinary assistants play a vital part in the prevention of everyday life between humans. What daily activ-
nosocomial infections. These are infections acquired at ities do you participate in that could directly or
a clinic or hospital. Animals become infected in one of indirectly cause you to become sick?
two ways:

1. Direct transmission from animal to animal by way
of contact with body fluids or secretions such as
blood, urine, feces, saliva, or tears. Ingestion or Organisms that cause disease are called pathogens.
absorption are the most common means of They are microscopic in nature and are referred to as
acquiring an infection. Bites, playing, living in microbes, although not all microbes are pathogens.
dirty conditions, rubbing against each other, or Pathogens are divided into categories based on their
lying together are all examples of direct genetic makeup. Those that cause disease include bacteria,
transmission. viruses, fungi, protozoans, and parasites. Nosocomial
2. Indirect transmission of disease to an animal can infections are caused by different types of bacteria,
occurs in several ways: viruses, and fungi that are “resident” pathogens, meaning
• Coming into contact with contaminated they are normally found in the environment. They can be
inanimate objects termed fomites. Fomites can deadly to animals that have a weakened immune system
be virtually anything; exam tables, clothing, which includes animals that have undergone major sur-
hands, shoes, grooming tools, phones, and gery, have cancer or another disease, are old or very
doorknobs are examples. An example of a young, or are extremely stressed. These sick or injured
fomite transmission would be a grooming tool animals are susceptible to secondary infections from
used on an animal with ringworm (fungus – not Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and other bacteria that are
always apparent – can be highly infectious) and commonly found in veterinary facilities.
then used on another, or a bandage scissor used Many animal diseases are species‐specific. For
to remove an extremely infected bandage is then example, feline leukemia virus (FeLV) can only infect
used to cut bandage material for another cats, and canine parvovirus can only infect dogs. This is
patient. important to know because some hospitals do not have
• Airborne disease is considered as indirect a quarantine area large enough to handle major out-
transmission. Infectious organisms are transmitted breaks, but you could house a cat with FeLV in the dog
by coughing, sneezing, or hissing. The organisms ward or a dog with parvovirus in the cat ward if
in the saliva are suspended as droplets or necessary.
absorbed by the dust in the air, then inhaled or Some pathogens that cause diseases in animals can
absorbed through the mucous membranes or spread to humans: this is called zoonosis. There are over
breaks in the skin. 200 zoonotic diseases that can be passed from animals to
• Vector‐borne diseases are transmitted indirectly by humans. There are also diseases that can be passed from
an intermediate host, often insects or rodents. humans to animals; this is called anthroponosis or
The organisms are transmitted through bites or anthroponotic diseases. For example, human influenza
are ingested by the animal. can be transmitted to ferrets.