Dissertation
METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS PSEUDINTERMEDIUS PREVALENCE AND INFECTION CONTROL IN COMPANION ANIMAL PRIMARY CARE HOSPITALS
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
01/2019
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/112124
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) is a common commensal bacterium of the skin and mucous membranes and frequent cause of difficult to treat skin and soft tissue infections in dogs and other companion animal species. Human carriage of and infection with MRSP is rare. We conducted a cross-sectional study among eleven small animal primary care hospitals in which we surveyed the environment and a representative from each hospital to measure the environmental prevalence of MRSP in these settings and to assess some basic hospital infection control practices. We found a 10% prevalence of MRSP in our environmental samples and no difference in MRSP environmental prevalence on predominantly hand-contact compared to animal-contact surfaces (P=0.38). Additionally, hospital representatives reported more frequent cleaning and disinfection of animal-contact surfaces compared to hand-contact surfaces and less frequent hand antisepsis after touching hand-contact surfaces compared to animal-contact surfaces. We also carried out a longitudinal study in which an evidence-based infection control intervention was implemented in six hospitals over a period of five months and a questionnaire was administered pre- and post-intervention to measure whether the intervention would change self-reported perceptions and behaviors about hand hygiene and cleaning and disinfection and if implementation of such an intervention would reduce MRSP environmental prevalence. Multiple factors reported as barriers to hand hygiene in these settings on the pre-intervention questionnaire changed positively on the post-intervention questionnaire. The reported frequency of cleaning and disinfection of hand-contact surfaces increased significantly (paired t-test P = 0.0242), and 71% of participants reported personally increasing their overall frequency of cleaning and disinfection of hospital surfaces and 75% of participants reported personally increasing their frequency of hand hygiene on the post-intervention questionnaire. The results from both the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies suggest that MRSP environmental contamination follows a stochastic process in which high peaks of environmental prevalence can be detected variably between hospitals as well as over time within hospitals. These findings highlight the role humans play in transmission of MRSP within small animal primary care hospitals and provide direction for primary care veterinarians to develop appropriate infection control programs.
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Details
- Title
- METHICILLIN-RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS PSEUDINTERMEDIUS PREVALENCE AND INFECTION CONTROL IN COMPANION ANIMAL PRIMARY CARE HOSPITALS
- Creators
- Andrea Vanda Perkins
- Contributors
- Margaret A Davis (Advisor)Debra C Sellon (Advisor)Eric T Lofgren (Committee Member)Dale A Moore (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Veterinary Medicine, College of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 132
- Identifiers
- 99900581615201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Dissertation