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Survey of rabies vaccination status of Queensland veterinarians and veterinary students
Author(s) -
Mendez D,
Foyle L,
Cobbold R,
Speare R
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/avj.12692
Subject(s) - veterinary medicine , rabies , vaccination , medicine , virology
Background To determine the rabies vaccination status of Queensland veterinarians and veterinary students and their perception of zoonotic risk from Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV). Design Cross‐sectional questionnaire surveys. Methods Questionnaires were sent by post in 2011 to veterinary surgeons registered in Queensland, to final‐year veterinary students at James Cook University via SurveyMonkey® in 2013 and to final‐year veterinary students at James Cook University and University of Queensland via SurveyMonkey® in 2014. Results The response rate for registered veterinarians was 33.5% and for veterinary students 33.3% and 30% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Of the 466 registered veterinary surgeons, 147 (31.5%) had been vaccinated, with 72 (15.5%) currently vaccinated. For veterinary students the rabies vaccination rate was 20.0% (4/20) and 13.0% (6/46) in the 2013 and 2014 surveys, respectively. More than 95% of veterinary students had received the mandatory Q fever vaccine. Both veterinarians and students regarded bats and horses as high‐risk species for zoonoses. Conclusions Queensland veterinarians and veterinary students have low levels of protection against ABLV. Although incidents of ABLV spilling over from a bat to a domestic mammal are likely to remain rare, they pose a significant human health and occupational risk given the outcome of infection in humans is high consequence. Principals of veterinary practices and veterinary authorities in Australia should implement a policy of rabies vaccination for clinical staff and veterinary students.