Hi all.
I am a veterinary assistant at a small animal clinic and I work around 40 hours a week. I recently took in 3 foster kittens that are about 6 weeks old. On Saturday (yesterday) at the clinic, we had a patient come in for a recheck examination. The patient had been seen through a local emergency clinic and was diagnosed with panleukopenia 2-3 weeks ago. The patient recovered well and was coming to us for a recheck. Since I have 3 very young, unvaccinated kittens at my home, I asked another technician to do the appointment so that I wouldn't come into contact with the patient and risk exposing my foster kittens to panleukopenia. My co-worker took the appointment and I NEVER ACTUALLY EVER TOUCHED THE CAT OR ENTERED THE EXAM ROOM WHERE THE CAT WAS. However, I was walking around near my co-worker (the one that did interact with the cat) and I went out the front door of the clinic. I think I am WAY overthinking this, but I am worried that I touched the handles of the front door of the clinic because the cat's owner had to touch the same handles to enter and exit the clinic and I am worried that she would have some of the virus on her hands (from touching her cat) and then she spread it to the door handles, which I then touched. I went home and took my scrubs off in the garage and changed into clean clothes. I also took my work shoes off in the garage and sprayed them with Virkon (a veterinary grade disinfectant - one of the few that will kill panleukopenia). I also sprayed down my keys and phone. I took a shower when I got home and then went upstairs to interact with the kittens. All 3 kittens are unvaccinated (they all have their first vaccine visits next week). I also spoke to one of the veterinarians at the clinic about my concerns and she said that it was nearly impossible for the kittens to be exposed to panleukopenia this way and she was sure they would be fine. I figure I would have had to actually get the cat's secretions onto me (I think it's spread via secretions like saliva, urine, and feces... right?) So the cat would have had to be actively shedding the virus, I would have had to touch the cat and/or it's secretions and then not wash my hands for this to be an issue, right? I am just looking for reassurance as I am really anxious and losing sleep over this.
I am a veterinary assistant at a small animal clinic and I work around 40 hours a week. I recently took in 3 foster kittens that are about 6 weeks old. On Saturday (yesterday) at the clinic, we had a patient come in for a recheck examination. The patient had been seen through a local emergency clinic and was diagnosed with panleukopenia 2-3 weeks ago. The patient recovered well and was coming to us for a recheck. Since I have 3 very young, unvaccinated kittens at my home, I asked another technician to do the appointment so that I wouldn't come into contact with the patient and risk exposing my foster kittens to panleukopenia. My co-worker took the appointment and I NEVER ACTUALLY EVER TOUCHED THE CAT OR ENTERED THE EXAM ROOM WHERE THE CAT WAS. However, I was walking around near my co-worker (the one that did interact with the cat) and I went out the front door of the clinic. I think I am WAY overthinking this, but I am worried that I touched the handles of the front door of the clinic because the cat's owner had to touch the same handles to enter and exit the clinic and I am worried that she would have some of the virus on her hands (from touching her cat) and then she spread it to the door handles, which I then touched. I went home and took my scrubs off in the garage and changed into clean clothes. I also took my work shoes off in the garage and sprayed them with Virkon (a veterinary grade disinfectant - one of the few that will kill panleukopenia). I also sprayed down my keys and phone. I took a shower when I got home and then went upstairs to interact with the kittens. All 3 kittens are unvaccinated (they all have their first vaccine visits next week). I also spoke to one of the veterinarians at the clinic about my concerns and she said that it was nearly impossible for the kittens to be exposed to panleukopenia this way and she was sure they would be fine. I figure I would have had to actually get the cat's secretions onto me (I think it's spread via secretions like saliva, urine, and feces... right?) So the cat would have had to be actively shedding the virus, I would have had to touch the cat and/or it's secretions and then not wash my hands for this to be an issue, right? I am just looking for reassurance as I am really anxious and losing sleep over this.
