The Implementation of Active Environmental Surveillance in a Veterinary Referral Hospital Setting
Authors: Feyes Emily , Mollenkopf Dixie , Wittum Thomas , Diaz-Campos Dubraska , Horne Rikki 
Published: November 2020

Emily Feyes, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Dixie Mollenkopf, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Thomas Wittum, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Dubraska Diaz-Campos, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine; Rikki Horne, The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine

Background: The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSU-CVM) Antimicrobial Stewardship Working Group (ASWG) uses monthly environmental surveillance to understand the effectiveness of our veterinary medical center (VMC) infection control and biosecurity protocols in reducing environmental contamination with multidrug resistant organisms. Monthly surveillance allows us to monitor trends in the recovery of these resistant organisms and address issues of concern that could impact our patients, clients, staff, and students. Methods: The OSU-CVM ASWG collects samples from >100 surfaces within the companion animal, farm animal, and equine sections of our hospital each month. Sampling has been continuous since January 2018. Samples are collected from both human–animal contact and human-only contact surfaces using Swiffer electrostatic cloths. These samples are cultured for recovery of Salmonella spp, extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE), and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus spp. Results: The recovery of these antibiotic resistant target organisms is low in the environment of our hospital. Recovery from human-only contact surfaces (19.8%) is very similar to recovery from human–animal contact surfaces (25.5%). We commonly recover Enterobacteriaceae (E.coli, Klebsiella spp, and Enterobacter spp) that are resistant to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (496 of 2,016; 24.6%) from the VMC environment. These antibiotic-resistant indicator bacteria are expected in a veterinary hospital setting where use the of β-lactam drugs is common. Recovery of both Salmonella spp and CPE has remained very low in our hospital environment over the past 19 months: 16 of 2,016 (0.7%) for Salmonella and 15 of 2,016 (0.8%) for CPE. Discussion: The active environmental surveillance component of our antimicrobial stewardship program has allowed us to reduce the threat of nosocomial infections within our hospital and address environmental contamination issues before they become a problem. Our consistently low recovery of resistant organisms indicates the effectiveness of our existing cleaning and disinfection protocols and biosecurity measures. Due to the nature of our patient population, we do expect to find resistant organisms in the patient-contact areas of the hospital environment. However, our similar rates of resistant organisms from human-only surfaces (eg, computer keyboards, door handles, telephones, and Cubex machines) indicates a need to improve our hand hygiene practices. These data are now supporting the implementation of a new hand hygiene campaign in our veterinary hospital.

Funding: None

Disclosures: None