Survey of rabies vaccination status of Queensland veterinarians and veterinary students
2018
Mendez, D | Foyle, L | Cobbold, R | Speare, R.
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.
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