Angus, the paws-itive hospital asset, hits road
The English springer spaniel credited with detecting and preventing superbug infections at Vancouver General Hospital is now lending his canine snout and germ detective duties to other hospitals in B.C.
Angus and his trainer/handler, Teresa Zurberg — who started work at Vancouver General Hospital in 2016 — went to Kelowna General Hospital on Monday.
Angus used his scent-tracking capabilities to detect minute reservoirs of Clostridium difficile (C. diff.), a fecal bacteria, in a few spots on two hospital wards.
In a brief period of time, Angus detected spores on a metal rack used for hospital equipment and on a hospital bed.
The Okanagan hospital is the first outside Vancouver Coastal Health where Angus has gone with Zurberg. Within VCH, he’s also worked at Lion’s Gate and Richmond hospitals to help identify areas that need more focused sanitizing to prevent the spread of C. diff., which can produce bowel-damaging toxins, causing severe diarrhea, abdominal pain, and even death in patients with weakened immune systems.
C. diff. infections can be acquired when people touch items contaminated with feces and then touch their mouths. Sterile surfaces and handwashing are of paramount importance in the prevention of such infections.
In 2016-17 there were 2,423 cases of C. diff. among hospital patients in B.C. That figure doesn’t include cases acquired outside acute-care facilities. About two-thirds of cases are acquired in acute-care hospitals. It was exactly a year ago when former health minister Terry Lake granted Angus his official working dog status and badge after he passed a probationary period and proved his worth.
Angus signals (with a sit) that he’s found C. diff.; he’s rewarded with a bit of kibble, praise or playtime. Then hospital disinfection staff clean the spot in a patient room, clinical area or equipment thoroughly.
C. diff. infections have been gradually dropping over the last five years, but VGH officials are hesitant to attribute improvements directly to Angus. In 2016-17, there were 123 cases at VGH (4.9 per 10,000 hospital in-patient days) while at the Kelowna hospital there were 71 cases (5.2/10,000). In the second quarter of the 2017-18 fiscal period, the most recent period for which such information is available, the provincial C. diff. new-case rate was 3.5/10,000 hospital in-patient days or 228 new cases, the lowest rate and number in about four years.
VGH has allocated $150,000 as a budget for the canine detection activities. Another spaniel named Dodger has also started work at VGH with a different handler employed by Zurberg.