In the report “Compendium of Veterinary Standard Precautions for Zoonotic Disease Prevention in Veterinary Personnel” (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2015;247:1252–1277), several paragraphs at the end of Appendix 4 (Model infection control plan for veterinary practices, 2015) were mistakenly omitted. The final sections of the appendix should read as follows:
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
Infection control and employee health management: The following personnel are responsible for development and maintenance of the practice's infection control policies, record keeping, and management of workplace exposure and injury incidents.
Staff responsible: __________________________
Record keeping: Current emergency contact information will be maintained for each employee. Records will be maintained on vaccinations, rabies virus antibody titers, and exposure and injury incidents. Changes in health status (eg, pregnancy) that may affect work duties should be reported to and recorded by the office manager so that accommodations may be made.
Pre-exposure rabies vaccination: All staff with animal contact must be vaccinated against rabies, followed by periodic titer checks and rabies vaccine boosters, in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Tetanus vaccination: Tetanus immunizations must be up-to-date. Report and record puncture wounds, animal bites, and other animal-related trauma. Consult a health-care provider regarding the need for a tetanus booster.
Influenza vaccination: Veterinary personnel are encouraged to receive the current seasonal influenza vaccine. The CDC website and healthcare consultation will be used for guidance (www.cdc.gov).
Documenting and reporting exposure incidents: Report incidents that result in injury or potential exposure to an infectious agent to: _____________________ Information will be collected for each exposure incident using OSHA forms 301, 300, and 300A. Incident reporting includes documenting the date, time, location, person(s) injured or exposed, vaccination status of injured person(s), other persons present, description of the incident, whether health-care providers and public health authorities were consulted, the status of any animals involved (eg, vaccination history, clinical condition, and diagnostic information), first aid provided, and plans for follow-up.
Staff training and education: Infection control and hazard awareness training and education will be documented in the employee health record.
Pregnant and immunocompromised personnel: Pregnant and immunocompromised employees are at increased risk from zoonotic diseases. If you are concerned that your work responsibilities may put you at increased risk, inform: __________________ so that preventive measures may be taken (such as increased use of PPE) and other accommodations may be made. Consultation between the supervising veterinarian and a health-care provider may be needed.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The following information is attached to the infection control plan:
• Emergency services telephone numbers—fire, police, sheriff, animal control, poison control, etc
• Reportable or notifiable veterinary diseases and where to report
• State department of agriculture or board of animal health contact information and regulations
• State and local public health contacts for consultation on zoonotic diseases
• Public health laboratory services and contact information
• Environmental Protection Agency–registered disinfectants
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations
• Animal waste disposal and biohazard regulations
• Rabies regulations
• Animal control and exotic animal regulations and contacts
• Other useful resources
Note that a modifiable electronic version of the model infection control plan is available on the National Association of State Public Heath Veterinarians website (www.nasphv.org).
