Disease Prevention Strategies

Two aspects of infection prevention lend themselves more easily to intervention in the acute phase of an infectious disease outbreak and in a clinical, hospital setting: isolating the agent of disease and controlling spread of disease between animals. This chapter focuses on general principles of intervention in the infectious disease process by eliminating the reservoir for the agent, controlling the route of transmission of the pathogenic organism, and protecting the animal patient. Animal sources of infectious disease include both clinically healthy animal carriers of disease as well as clinically ill patients that are actively infected. The focus for controlling the source of the infectious agent must be on all hygienic practices performed within the facility. This includes hand hygiene, environment management, facility design, and equipment cleaning and disinfection. Cleaning must be done to remove dirt and organic materials before a disinfectant can be applied to the surface.