As we start seeing a light at the end of the (long) tunnel, we have to think about how and when to restart various activities. One particular activity that I get a lot of emails about is pet therapy/visitation programs. These are great programs, where animals (usually, and ideally, dogs) are taken into facilities to
COVID-19 and Pet Visitation Programs
As things continue to gradually open up (more gradually in some areas than others), myriad questions of “can we do…” or “how do we do…” come up. One that I’m getting increasingly is about pet visitation or pet therapy programs. These programs can be very valuable to patients in hospitals and residents in
Pet therapy dogs and MRSA
My email and phone have been lighting up over the past few days about news reports describing a study presented at a recent scientific meeting in San Francisco. I wasn’t there and the results aren’t published, so I don’t have a lot to go on, but here are some highlights from the news article on
Clostridium difficile, hospital visitation and dog risk
A reader has been trying to post a question about an older post on C. difficile in visitation dogs. Here’s the question and my answer:
Do the dogs have a risk of getting sick from the C. difficile bacteria? I understand from the post that they can ingest and shed it in their feces
Personal pet visitation in a Hamilton hospital
I’ve had a lot of emails about some news reports describing a program at Juravinski Hospital in Hamilton (Ontario) that allows personal pets to visit. Zachary’s Paws for Healing is touted as the first of its kind in Canada (which is far from true, but perhaps it’s the most formal).
Animals in healthcare facilities are
New pet therapy guidance
A new Expert Guidance Document has been released by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology (SHEA) and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
R Murthy, G Bearman, S Brown, K Bryant, R Chinn, A Hewlett, BG George, EJC Goldstein, G Holzmann-Pazgal, ME Rupp, T Wiemken, JS Weese, DJ Weber. Animals in Healthcare Facilities: Recommendations
Exotic animals in hospitals
What zoonotic microorganisms do pangolins commonly carry?
Are some pangolins higher risk than others?
What infection control measures should be used?
I don’t know, and from a cursory review of the literature, I don’t think anyone really knows.
So, do we really want to be exposing them to some of our most susceptible individuals –
Hospital animal visitation in the news
The New York Times has a nice article on hospitals that allow patient’s pets to visit. This is a controversial area, with policies (when they are actually present) that range from wide-open access to complete prohibition. Like most things in life, there’s a middle ground that’s the most reasonable.
The positive aspects of people
Puppy ban
Following outbreaks of campylobacteriosis in a Canberra, Australia nursing home, health officials have recommended banning puppies from aged care facilities. Two outbreaks that involved at least 15 people occurred in one such facility last year, and a healthy puppy was identified as the cause. Unlike many reports in which people try to blame an
Dogs in the delivery room?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for pet therapy and animal visitation in hospitals – when it’s done logically. I’ve been involved in research in the area, helped develop international guidelines and am chair of the medical advisory board of one of the largest pet therapy groups in the US. Animals can do great things