Focus Topic Gastrointestinal Infections

Nosocomial gastrointestinal infections in veterinary medicine (GI)

Hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infections often go undetected and are often not detected until an outbreak of infectious diarrhea occurs. The symptoms are often clear, but the causes cannot always be clearly identified. 

In veterinary medicine, salmonellosis is the most commonly described nosocomial gastrointestinal infection. ^{​[1, 2]} Transfection from animal patients to veterinary staff is also a serious risk. ^​[2]

Overall, however, there is little data on the prevalence of gastrointestinal nosocomial infections. One author has stated an incidence of 4.1 to 5.7 percent. ^[3]

Endemic gastrointestinal infections are transmitted via vets’/employees’ hands, but also via direct patient contact and environmental contamination. ^​[4]

On account of their infectivity and tenacity, pathogens such as Clostridioides spp, parvoviruses and Giardia represent potential pathogens that should be given particular attention in daily hygiene.

_{[​1] Benedict KM, Morley PS, van Metre DC. Characteristics of biosecurity and infection control programs at veterinary teaching hospitals. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2008; 233(5):767-73.
[​2] Wright JG, Tengelsen LA, Smith KE, Bender JB, Frank RK, Grendon JH et al. Multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium in four animal facilities. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11(8):1235-41.
[​3] Ruple-Czerniak A, Aceto HW, Bender JB, Paradis MR, Shaw SP, van Metre DC et al. Using syndromic surveillance to estimate baseline rates for healthcare-associated infections in critical care units of small animal referral hospitals. J Vet Intern Med 2013; 27(6):1392-9.
[​4] Monegro AF, Muppidi V, Regunath H. StatPearls: Hospital Acquired Infections. Treasure Island (FL); 2022.​}