There has been a significant rise in canine cough of late, with many vet clinics and dog kennels across the country reporting an increase in cases.
Being a highly infectious illness, it is very easy for dogs to become infected, particularly in environments where there are a lot of different dogs coming and going.
What steps do you need to take to prevent an outbreak?
Canine cough can be a really difficult virus to stop spreading. There is a misconception that canine cough is derived from kennels, however, this is not true. Canine cough can be transmitted anywhere where there are larger numbers of dogs together. Being highly contagious, just one dog with the virus can quickly lead to an outbreak. Plus, with dogs being infectious for several weeks after their symptoms dissipate, canine cough can easily spread without you seeing any signs of the illness in “dog zero”.
To prevent a canine cough outbreak, whether you run a pet boarding facility, vet clinic or animal shelter, a strict and thorough infection protocol is required. The best disinfection regimes are ones that are easy to understand, execute and repeat day after day – regardless of who is performing the task.
For dog kennels and pet boarding facilities, your disinfection regime should include clear processes to regularly clean and disinfect:
- Each individual animal housing
- Grooming tables
- Runs
- Crates
- Any other multi-use surfaces
For vet clinics, your disinfection protocol needs to ensure all key areas of your practice are cleaned after each patient, including:
- Waiting rooms
- Surgical areas
- Consult rooms
- Treatment areas
- Recovery cages
People can also transmit the virus to other dogs if they have handled an infected animal or their waste, so it’s important to also include regular disinfecting of non-public areas in both boarding facilities and vet clinics – such as staff areas, office spaces and pharmacies. Proper hand hygiene using effective hand washing or a virucidal hand sanitiser is also essential.
How can Safe4 veterinary disinfectant help prevent canine cough from spreading?
The key role of disinfectant in stopping the spread of canine cough is to eradicate the pathogens responsible for the virus. While bleach is effective in killing the canine cough bacteria, it can actually be quite harmful to both your staff and animals.
That’s why the Safe4 veterinary disinfectant cleaner was developed for the animal care industry. The founders of Safe4 worked for many years to formulate a cost-effective veterinary disinfectant cleaner that was completely safe for staff and the animals in their care, but still highly effective against harmful viruses and bacteria.
Safe4 veterinary disinfectant has been independently tested, with its effectiveness proven against a range of viruses, bacteria and fungi, including canine cough, parvovirus, coronavirus, FIV, E-coli, and MRSA. As an added bonus, the product is non-toxic, non-staining and a non-irritant, so you can use it with confidence on all hard surfaces throughout your clinic or boarding facility.
Need some disinfection advice?
When it comes to preventing the spread of viruses and diseases in your boarding facility or vet clinic, the Safe4 team are experts. If you have any questions about disinfection regimes or product options, call Julie on 1300 661 821 or send us an email.