Monday, November 4, 2013

CDC's New Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in HIV-Infected Adults and Adolescents

The CDC has come out with its new guidelines for HIV patients regarding prevention of zoonoses and opportunistic infections. It once again wisely advises patients to use meticulous hygiene around pets and emphasizes that there is no need to "get rid of the cat".

The guidelines just emphasize what we vets already know about basic handwashing and commonsense pet husbandry. HIV patients should of course avoid contact with cats less than 1 year old, cats or kittens with diarrhea, and cat feces in general. And cats should be on an appropriate external and internal parasite control regimen.