Veterinary Clinic Disinfection Protocols

To sanitize a surface, it must be cleaned and disinfected using a three-step process.

• The first step is the mechanical removal of organic material (feces, urine, blood, respiratory secretions, and dirt).

• Next, the surface must be thoroughly cleaned with soap or a general cleaner, rinsed, and dried. Once the surface is clean and dry you can apply the disinfectant, which must be allowed to sit for the required contact time (this varies by product but usually 3 to 10 minutes).

• Finally, rinse away the disinfectant with a damp cloth and dry the area well, and you’re left with a clean and disinfected surface.

Proper use of disinfectants:

• Carefully read the label to understand a product’s uses and dilution instructions. Some products both clean and disinfect, making them great for routine cleaning and disinfection.

• Some, like bleach, disinfect only, which means you must first clean 
the surface with a detergent before rinsing, drying, and applying the disinfectant.

• While bleach is a good and inexpensive disinfectant, it must be used on clean surfaces or it will not kill pathogens.

• When applied to a clean surface for 10 minutes, bleach kills parvo and panleukopenia, calicivirus, and adenovirus at a 1:32 dilution, and ringworm at 1:10.

MOST COMMON DISINFECTANT MISTAKES

• Disinfectants need to stay on surfaces for at least 10 minutes after spraying to make sure it does its job - to disinfect. Wiping it immediately doesn't clean nor disinfect anything.

• Do not use the wrong products around cats. A lot of people don’t know that Lysol or Pine-Sol can be toxic to cats, and so can quaternary ammonium compounds if they’re not diluted appropriately.

• Not diluting disinfectants properly: “Don’t follow the ‘more is better’ scenario when mixing product."

• Not rinsing disinfectant: “If it’s not rinsed properly and a puppy licks the cage, they will get disinfectant in their mouth."

• Put the disinfectant down, leave it for the contact time, then wipe it away with a clean towel and then a damp towel. A lot of times people forget about the cage bars, too, either they don’t disinfect the cage bars or they don’t rinse the disinfectant off."

• Cross contamination: “Moving from dirty to clean spaces and dragging a hose, mop bucket, or contaminated shoes across supposedly clean floors. It is critical to understand the line between clean and dirty spaces.”

• Using footbaths: “We never recommend footbaths. You need contact time. No one is going to stand in a footbath for 5 minutes, and if you’re using bleach and your shoes are dirty, it’s not going to work anyway. It gives a false sense of security. In wards with high-risk patients, use dedicated footwear.”

• Using a pressure hose on infectious material: “If you have animals that are sick with parvo or panleukopenia, if you clean with a high-pressure hose, you’re going to aerosolize all of that material, so that could get all over the hospital.”

Location: Different parts of the clinic will require varying levels of cleaning and disinfection.

• No matter which area you’re cleaning, always start with healthy animals (healthy puppies and kittens first, then healthy adults), then move on to sick animals and leave the isolation ward for last.

• To avoid cross-contamination, some hospitals use different cleaning equipment for each area, including a designated vacuum cleaner, mop, bucket, and disinfectants. Everything is color coded with tape.

• Color coding is probably the best thing because it’s so visual. Anyone can see if you’re in the wrong area with the wrong color, and you can immediately correct yourself.

• For healthy animals in boarding kennels and cages, or for those patients with non-infectious disease, spot cleaning is usually sufficient for the duration of their stay.

• In a housing area, we just want to spot clean. If it’s the same cat in the same cage, we don’t want to clean the whole thing until it’s time for them to leave. Between animals you certainly want to do a full clean.

• In areas that require the most stringent sanitation, like operating rooms and patient treatment areas, decluttering is key.

• Remove anything that doesn’t absolutely need to be there: desks, tables, chairs, paperwork, knickknacks, and even posters on the walls.

• Clutter makes cleaning more difficult and also creates more surfaces that could be contaminated.

Keep it simple

• The best sanitation protocols are those that are both effective and easy to understand and execute. Make sure your staff is trained on disinfection, and provide supplies they need, where they need them.

• Ensure hand sanitizing stations, gloves, cleaners, trash bins, etc., are conveniently distributed around your clinic.