What should COVID-19 have taught the veterinary sector?

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has focused many minds in respect of infection control, biosecurity, zoonosis and nosocomial infections, which is certainly a good thing. If anything positive can come from the pandemic, perhaps it might act as a "light bulb moment" just as cleanliness was to Florence Nightingale so many years ago, as well as in teaching us all' some important and uncomfortable home truths. COVID-19 was not the first, nor will it be the last, global pandemic. AM of us in health care sectors have a duty of care to patients, staff and populations alike to undertake basic infection control procedures. As references demonstrate, we cannot rely on human cleaning and disinfection in busy clinical settings. We must use procedures and techniques that can run simultaneously with "on-going clinical activities", and are proven to be safe (for patients, staff and the environment), and effective (to national or international standards) to match the requirements of that specific clinical setting. We must test and measure outcomes, we must record and investigate nosocomial and zoonotic incidents. We must continue to learn and improve.