Decontamination in a Disaster

It’s more than simply washing a few dogs.

Since the passage of the Pets Emergency and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act in 2006, tending to the needs of stranded, injured or lost animals in emergency situations has been the law of the land. But before those animals can be reunited with their owners or lodged in temporary shelters, one important step must take place – decontaminating them. That’s particularly important in floods, fires and chemical spills. Without decon, not only are the animals themselves vulnerable to harmful bacteria, but they may spread it to other animals and people.

Decontamination in a disaster is more than simply washing a few dogs, said Deborah Zoran, DVM, PhD, DACVIM, director of the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET), which provides medical support to search-and-rescue teams and resident animals in natural and manmade disasters.

“It’s chaos,” she said. “You’re decontaminating animals without their owners present, and they may have been in floodwater that’s filled with bacteria. Sometimes they’re covered in oil, which is a danger to the animals as well as people and animals around them.”

In February, Dr. Zoran and three colleagues – Shawn C. Bassinger, Christine M. Budke and Jennifer L. Fridley – published a paper in Cambridge University Press titled “Mass Decontamination of Companion Dogs in Disaster: Planning for Personnel, Water and Time Requirements.” Their findings and recommendations were based on their own research as well as years of experience.

The VET team’s first major flood deployment was to the Brazos River basin in Texas several years ago. “We had 40 to 50 animals coming from floodwaters per day – dogs, cats, horses, backyard livestock. And everyone was coming in with nasty substances, recalled Dr. Zoran. “We had to quickly figure out how we were going to accomplish this while still acting as veterinarians, not dog washers.

“In situations like that, it’s necessary to go to the community to recruit people who can wash animals safely – with veterinarian support. It’s a complex problem, and it’s something that communities need to think about before a disaster occurs. That’s a major reason why we did our study.”

The challenge

Because plans and protocols specific to companion animal decontamination in a disaster are generally lacking, the authors of the study intended to provide a baseline for average time requirements, water usage and containment resources, and personnel required to decontaminate many companion dogs.

“Hazardous materials (hazmat) are not only a byproduct of industrial or chemical, or other man-made, accidents but are represented by a wide diversity of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive materials, and are present to varying degrees in all natural and man-made disasters,” they wrote. “Hurricanes and other floodwater events are also known to contain toxic materials that have been collected from the effluent of households and affected businesses or industries as well as raw sewage.

“Decontamination of animals is a process that requires the physical removal of the contaminates, either by means of wiping dry particulates or aerosols from the coat surface, or wet decon (e.g., bathing) with application of emulsifying soaps and gentle working of lather into the coat to remove the materials trapped on the fur and oils of the skin.”

The study

Sixty-three dogs from a colony of canines housed at a state facility were included in the study. They were of one of two coat types: Labrador Retrievers (medium coat) or American Coonhounds or mixed breed of hound type (short coat). All were between one and four years of age and in visually good health, weighed between 20 and 35 kg, and were equally distributed by gender.

The dogs in the study were used to handling and were behaviorally stable, of similar housing conditions, and of relatively similar size to create a set of minimum standards for water usage, time required, and personnel for decon of generally lightly contaminated dogs. Two bathers were given just-in-time training for the decon bath procedures. Their work was observed by a single person, and questions or concerns about procedures or the dogs were handled by the staff veterinarian.

For the study, decon stations were set up in a facility designed to reflect the type of setup and location likely to be used by local jurisdictions (e.g., near water outlets and shelter locations, with good drainage).

Fifty-gallon Rubbermaid tubs served as the base to elevate the dogs and collect water, and smaller 15-gallon tubs were set inside to serve as the standing area. One-centimeter holes were drilled in the bottom for drainage to prevent the dogs from standing in wastewater. The tubs were strong and stable when placed on a flat surface. In disaster situations, a water hose can be connected to the drain in the larger bottom tub to drain water away from the tub into a drain, bladder or other collection device as needed, wrote the researchers. Also, the tubs can be placed on plastic stabilizers if needed for greater elevation or to allow better drainage of the bottom tub.

Glo-Germ, an oil-based lotion frequently used in veterinary and medical schools to test surgical scrub technique and effectiveness of doffing/donning protocols for assessment of trainees, was applied to the dogs as the test contaminant. This lotion is not visible to the human eye once applied and absorbed onto the coat or skin, but it can be detected with an ultraviolet light source.

The bathing procedures were as follows:

• Each dog was wetted from head to tail, top to bottom.
• Soap was applied along the top line of the dog (the maximum amount was 1 oz, but in some dogs, less than 1 oz was used), and the washer used their hands to work the soap into the coat of the dog – from front to tail, top to bottom on one side, then the other side.
• Once the dog was well-lathered, the rinsing process began – again head to tail, top to bottom, one side then the other – until all of the visible soap was removed, including from the feet.
• At completion of the rinsing procedure, the lights were dimmed to allow the UV flashlight to assess for any remaining Glo-Germ. If any residual was detected, the washing procedure resumed until the UV test was negative. All data was recorded by the observer immediately after the process was completed and the dog was returned to their kennel.

Dr. Zoran told Veterinary Advantage that the study team did test a veterinary product as cleaning agent. Although it worked well in terms of cleaning ability, cost and availability – particularly in the middle of a disaster – could be problematic. The team found that dish soap or baby shampoo could break through grease and oil just as well.

The researchers found that time and water requirements were significantly different between medium-coated dogs and short-coated dogs. On average, for a short-coated dog, the amount of time to complete decon was 7 minutes and the amount of water was 8 to 10 gallons. For medium-coated dogs, the time increased to 10 to 12 minutes and 12 to 15 gallons of water.

Real world caveats

The study was conducted under uniform conditions, with dogs of similar temperament – in other words, very different from conditions found in disasters, according to the researchers. In disasters, emergency planners and animal responders face a variety of challenges, including 1) the sheer numbers of companion animals needing decon, 2) differences in haircoat (thickness, length of hair, hair type) and body size among different types of companion dogs, and 3) the fact that companion dogs present with a much larger variety of temperaments and handling tractability compared with well-trained working dogs. “These variations will increase the physical time and water requirements, but also the functional requirements for animal handling expertise and veterinary medical support of the process,” according to the researchers.

For those reasons, the study should be considered as the first series of data needed for the creation of protocols and development of the necessary resources, including the baseline water usage, and time and personnel required, for decontamination of companion dogs following a disaster event. “Protocols developed and used by our team during disaster deployments and from several decon studies, including this one, are provided to assist in the development of [standard operating procedures] for all groups or jurisdictions preparing for the likelihood that companion animal decon will be needed in the future,” the researchers wrote.

Disaster deployments are about humans as much as animals

On February 26, 2024, the largest wildfire in Texas’ state history – the Smokehouse Creek Fire – broke out and quickly spread, ultimately burning more than 1 million acres in the Texas Panhandle. The Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) arrived in Canadian, Texas, to provide medical support to search-and-rescue teams and resident animals.

Dr. Zoran, had been on more than 25 deployments prior to Smokehouse Creek, but the fire was the first she worked as director of the VET. And with the deployment came “plenty of learning,” particularly about the human side of disaster support.

“It’s incredibly important for everyone on the team to stay very aware of the impact the deployment is having on them,” she said. “Fire deployments are especially tough. Yes, there are animal injuries in floods or tornadoes, but in fires, those injuries can be epic. So as a team leader, it’s important for me to stay very aware of that and to rotate people when it becomes too much.”

The second thing she learned – more as a reminder – was how much the mere presence of the VET means to people experiencing a disaster. “By our presence, people know that all is not over, that tomorrow will be another day. We’re showing them, ‘Know that people are here for you and it’s OK to take next steps.’

“We’re there to help animals, but even where we can’t, we’re still there.”

Mass Decontamination of Companion Dogs in Disaster

To view the article published by Cambridge University Press, “Mass Decontamination of Companion Dogs in Disaster: Planning for Personnel, Water, and Time Requirements,” by Debra L. Zoran, Shawn C. Bassinger, Christine M. Budke and Jennifer L. Fridley, scan here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/mass-decontamination-of-companion-dogs-in-disaster-planning-for-personnel-water-and-time-requirements/6EFDCFA48843CC7BEE8F2EEAD7193073

About VET

The largest and most sophisticated team of its kind in the country, the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) provides medical support to urban search-and-rescue teams and resident animals in response to natural and man-made disasters at the request of the Texas A&M Task Force or county jurisdictions, while training future Aggie Veterinarians in emergency preparedness and response. Learn more at vetmed.tamu.edu/vet.

Photos credit : Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team