Franklin County shelter takes safety measures due to upper respiratory infection in dogs
The Franklin County Dog Shelter and Adoption Center is advising its volunteers and staff to wear personal protective equipment and take precautions while working with the dogs, citing what the director is calling a "low-risk" upper respiratory infection that has spread to some dogs at the shelter.
Kaye Persinger, director of the shelter, told the Dispatch Friday evening that hese types of infections are common, especially during the summer months when the shelter takes in more stray dogs into their care that are likely not vaccinated. She also said the risk of the infection spreading to humans is low.
"The [dog] shelter is like any jail or hospital; the more dogs we bring in, the more diseases we have to manage," Persinger said.
Persinger said that the shelter is "blessed" with a good medical team that is testing infected dogs so they can learn how to treat them, and that they've enacted strict cleaning protocols to stymie the spread. Dogs that have been infected have been separated from the healthy ones, she said.
Two emails sent this week by a coordinator at the shelter regarding the upper respiratory infections have been obtained by The Dispatch. One written Wednesday, May 22, warned there were "multi-drug resistant organisms" in some of the wards at the shelter and advised staff and volunteers who help there to not move any dogs from their kennels unless instructed to do so.
Teams cleaning the kennels must wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and change it while moving in between wards. Staff are also required to spray their shoes with Rescue, a disinfectant for animals.
The coordinator wrote that all dogs would be tested to assess the number of dogs affected by the outbreak.
The second email sent Friday, May 24, instructs staff and volunteers to wear PPE at the shelter due to the outbreak, but only for a short time, and that volunteers should make sure to swap out their PPE after working in a ward before going into another one and interacting with the dogs so as to prevent contamination.
"Hopefully this is just a short term — one week — spell of PPE wearing," the email states. "...I will let you know the moment things change…"
Persinger emphasized that the risk of the infection spreading to humans is low, and that they would have to be directly in contact with the feces of an infected dog. She also took the opportunity to remind pet owners to get their dogs vaccinated and to immediately take them to the vet if they start exhibiting symptoms, such as heavy wheezing and any nasal discharge.
@ShahidMeighan
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Safety measures at Franklin County Dog Shelter over infection
