Zoonotic Disease Prevention Flashcards
7 cards from real AAT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Zoonotic Disease Prevention flashcards as text
An AAT program coordinator discovers that a therapy dog visited three hospital wards before being diagnosed with leptospirosis. What is the primary zoonotic concern?
Answer: Patients and staff who had contact with the dog should be assessed for exposure and symptoms
Leptospira is shed in urine and can penetrate mucous membranes or broken skin, requiring assessment of all individuals who had contact with the dog.
Which vaccination is specifically required for therapy dogs to protect against a disease transmissible to humans in bite or scratch scenarios?
Answer: Rabies
Rabies vaccination is legally required in most U.S. states and is mandatory for therapy animals because rabies is invariably fatal in unvaccinated humans post-symptom onset.
A therapy horse develops rain rot (Dermatophilus congolensis) lesions. What zoonotic risk does this present to AAT participants?
Answer: Potential for cutaneous infection in humans through direct skin contact with lesions
Dermatophilus congolensis can cause cutaneous infections in humans, particularly through contact with exudative lesions on an infected horse.
What is the purpose of maintaining a 'health log' for each therapy animal in an AAT program?
Answer: To document vaccination dates, health screenings, and any illness for infection tracing
Health logs enable rapid contact tracing and exposure assessment if a zoonotic illness is later identified in the therapy animal or a client.
A facility serving immunocompromised oncology patients is developing an AAT exclusion policy. Which condition in a therapy animal should permanently exclude it from visits to this population?
Answer: Chronic Giardia infection unresponsive to repeated treatment
Chronic, treatment-resistant Giardia indicates ongoing shedding of infectious oocysts, posing an unacceptable risk to severely immunocompromised patients.
Which of the following best describes the 'one health' concept as it applies to zoonotic disease prevention in AAT?
Answer: An integrated approach recognizing that human, animal, and environmental health are interconnected
The One Health concept emphasizes that preventing zoonotic disease requires collaboration across human medicine, veterinary medicine, and environmental health disciplines.
An AAT handler is told a patient they regularly visit has been placed on contact precautions for C. difficile. What should the handler do?
Answer: Consult with the patient's physician and follow facility infection control guidance
The appropriate step is to consult facility infection control staff, as C. difficile spores are highly resistant and can contaminate animal fur, potentially spreading to other patients.