Study Says UV-C Beneficial Disinfection Method for Veterinary Hospitals

A new study published in American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR) sought “to determine the effect of a mobile UV-C disinfection device on the envi­ronmental bacterial bioburden in veterinary facilities.” Bioburden is the measure of bacteria on a surface that has not been disinfected. The study, conducted by researchers in Australia, tested UV disinfection in operating rooms and ultimately concluded:

“Disinfection with UV-C light may be a beneficial adjunct method for termi­nal disinfection of veterinary operating theaters to reduce environmental bioburden.”

UV-C Light Helps Prevent Surgical Site Infections

As noted in the study: “Novel disin­fection strategies, such as UV-C light, that reduce the bioburden show great promise to help prevent SSIs (surgical site infections) in veterinary and human patients and reduce the risk of zoonoses.” Among the authoritative references cited by the researchers for that premise were two studies conducted with Aerapy UV products:

• Jaynes RA, Thompson MC, Kennedy MA. Effect of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation of the air on the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections in kittens in a nursery. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2020;257:929–932.

• Pearce-Walker JI, Troup DJ, Ives R, et al. Investigation of the effects of an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation system on con­centrations of aerosolized surrogates for common veterinary pathogens. Am J Vet Res 2020;81:506–513.

Aerapy Animal Health has manufactured UV equipment for the animal care industry since 2008 but, despite the growing body of proof that UV helps prevent the spread of infectious diseases, widespread recognition of the effectiveness of UV in animal care settings has not come easily. The veterinarian who made Aerapy aware of this latest study added this personal note: “I don’t come across many studies evaluating UV-C in vet facilities, so thought I’d pass along this recent pub that came across my desk.”

While research dedicated to studying UV applications in animal care settings may be less common than studies for human health care, the conclusions are almost all universally the same: when properly used, high quality UV can help stop the spread of infectious disease.

This recent study, Effect of ultraviolet-C light on the environmental bacterial bioburden in various veterinary facilities, is published in the July 2021 issue of AJVR.