Frequent hand washing is one of the most effective ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness, but it is also frequently ignored–even in hospitals, where studies have shown that physicians are often the worst offenders.

That phenomenon piqued the curiosity of Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) graduate student Maureen Anderson, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, who is investigating hand-hygiene compliance in veterinary clinics with the support of a three-year PhD fellowship from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

"People working in human hospitals are certainly aware that their patients can be infectious, and that they can infect their patients, and they know that they should wash their hands to minimize the risk," said Anderson, who co-ordinates the Worms and Germs blog along with her PhD supervisor, Scott Weese, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVIM, in the Department of Pathobiology.

"In veterinary clinics, and in our homes, millions of people are in close contact with animals every day but they might not consider the risks of infection, despite evidence that pathogens such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Clostridium difficile may be zoonotic