VETgirl spotlights hand hygiene and glove use in practice
Bottom line
Version 1
VETgirl has published a new infection-control explainer focused on one of the most routine, and most inconsistently executed, parts of veterinary practice: hand hygiene and glove use. In the post, Amanda Shelby summarizes guidance from Dr. Katherine Brannick and lays out a practical framework for when teams should wash hands, when alcohol-based hand sanitizer is appropriate, and when gloves are indicated, with an emphasis on improving day-to-day compliance rather than treating gloves as a substitute for hand hygiene. That framing aligns with established veterinary guidance from AAHA and the NASPHV compendium, which say hand hygiene should occur before and after patient contact, before gloving, and especially after glove removal, while gloves should be reserved for situations involving body fluids, nonintact skin, diagnostic specimens, suspected infectious disease, and other higher-risk tasks. (online.flippingbook.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is less about new regulation than about operational discipline. Companion animal data suggest hand hygiene compliance in practice remains low: one observational study found overall compliance at 14%, with especially poor adherence before patient contact and before clean procedures, and another VETgirl summary notes compliance is often below 50% when indicated. AAHA’s infection-control guidance also stresses that clinics should build written SOPs, staff training, and compliance auditing around hand hygiene because it remains one of the most important tools for preventing cross-contamination, occupational exposure, and avoidable hospital-associated infections. (link.springer.com)
What to watch: Expect continued attention on practical infection-control workflows, including whether clinics formalize hand-hygiene protocols, assign oversight, and rethink routine glove use as both a biosecurity and workflow issue. (aaha.org)
Key facts
- Topic
- Hand hygiene and glove use in veterinary practice
- Author
- Amanda Shelby
- Source guidance
- Dr. Katherine Brannick
- AAHA guidance
- Hand hygiene before and after patient contact, before gloving, and after glove removal
- When sanitizer is preferred
- When hands are not visibly soiled
- When soap and water are encouraged
- When pathogens such as Clostridium spp., Cryptosporidium spp., or nonenveloped viruses such as parvovirus are suspected
- Glove indications
- Body fluids, nonintact skin, diagnostic specimens, suspected infectious disease, dentistry, necropsy, obstetrics, cage cleaning, and dirty laundry
- Observed compliance
- 14% overall in one video-observation study of 38 companion animal clinics
Version 2
A new VETgirl article is putting a familiar infection-control problem back in front of veterinary teams: knowing when to clean hands, when to glove, and how to get people to do both consistently. The post, written by Amanda Shelby and based on guidance from Dr. Katherine Brannick, argues for a practical, risk-based approach to hand hygiene and glove use in everyday practice rather than relying on PPE as a catch-all solution. That message is consistent with broader veterinary infection-control guidance, which treats hand hygiene as a core preventive measure and gloves as task-specific protection, not a replacement for clean hands. (online.flippingbook.com)
The backdrop here is longstanding concern that veterinary medicine still struggles with hand-hygiene compliance despite years of guidance. AAHA’s 2018 Infection Control, Prevention, and Biosecurity Guidelines were designed as the first clinician-focused, practice-oriented companion animal guidance on the topic, and they called for designated infection-control leadership, written SOPs, staff education, surveillance, and compliance evaluation. The NASPHV compendium and model infection control plan likewise spell out specific expectations for hand hygiene between patients, after contact with feces or body fluids, after glove removal, and before eating or touching clean surfaces. (aaha.org)
The details matter because the confusion is often operational, not conceptual. AAHA says alcohol-based hand sanitizer is preferred when hands are not visibly soiled because it is effective, fast, and easier to place at the point of care, but soap and water are encouraged when teams suspect pathogens such as Clostridium spp., Cryptosporidium spp., or nonenveloped viruses such as parvovirus. The same guidance says hand hygiene should happen immediately before and after patient contact, before putting on gloves, and especially after glove removal. NASPHV further notes that gloves are not necessary for handling healthy animals, but they are indicated for contact with feces, body fluids, vomitus, exudates, nonintact skin, diagnostic specimens, suspected infectious disease cases, dentistry, necropsy, obstetrics, cage cleaning, and dirty laundry. (aaha.org)
Research suggests the gap between policy and practice is still wide. In a video-observation study of 38 companion animal clinics, overall hand-hygiene compliance was just 14%. Compliance was highest after glove removal at 39%, but only 3% before patient contact and 2% before clean procedures. The study also found examples of staff touching cleaner surfaces before removing gloves or leaving and re-entering rooms in the same dirty gloves, reinforcing the point that glove use can create a false sense of security if workflow and doffing habits are weak. (link.springer.com)
Industry discussion appears to be shifting from “wear gloves more often” to “use gloves more deliberately.” In VETgirl’s July 2026 e-magazine, Brannick framed infection control through a broader risk-based lens, arguing that biological, chemical, and physical hazards should be addressed before the PPE stage whenever possible. That perspective also intersects with a newer JAVMA discussion on nonsterile gloves, which flags hand hygiene, waste, and sustainability as part of best-practice conversations around routine nitrile glove use. Taken together, the current conversation is less about adding another rule and more about building smarter, more consistent systems. (online.flippingbook.com)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, hand hygiene and glove decisions sit at the intersection of patient safety, team safety, client confidence, and clinic efficiency. Poor compliance increases the risk of cross-contamination between patients, contamination of records and equipment, and occupational exposure to zoonotic pathogens. Overuse of gloves, meanwhile, can undermine technique if teams skip hand hygiene or move between dirty and clean tasks without changing gloves. Practices that translate broad guidance into visible sanitizer access, clear task-based glove rules, staff training, and light-touch auditing are likely to be better positioned than clinics that rely on informal habits. (aaha.org)
What to watch: The next step is whether more practices turn this guidance into measurable protocol, especially as infection-control leadership, compliance tracking, and even sustainability questions around routine glove use gain more attention across companion animal medicine. (aaha.org)