In light of the ongoing Ebola outbreak that has commanded the public's attention for weeks, the AVMA announced the publication of new guidance for health officials who are handling the pets of people exposed to Ebola.

The organization said previously that it has been working since early October to develop the guidance in conjunction with several groups including the USDA and CDC, as well as other experts and agencies. The documents, which are only available to AVMA members and require AVMA log-in credentials, are:

• Interim Guidance for Public Health Officials on Pets of Ebola Virus Disease Contacts: Guidance for the management of dogs and cats owned by Ebola virus contacts.
• Interim Guidance for Dog or Cat Quarantine After Exposure to a Human with Confirmed Ebola Virus Disease: This document describes the process for conducting a risk assessment for exposure of dogs and cats that had contact with a human with laboratory-confirmed evidence of Ebola. It also describes how to implement quarantine of dogs or cats if deemed appropriate by state and federal human and animal health officials.

New Ebola resources for veterinarians and pet owners

In addition to the new guidance documents, the AVMA also recently announced the release of two new resources geared toward veterinarians and pet owners. Both resources require AVMA log-in credentials to access.

The first resource is a Checklist for Practicing Veterinarians, which veterinarians can consult if they are faced with a patient or client who has potentially been exposed to Ebola. According to the AVMA, the checklist will be updated whenever new information becomes available.

The second Ebola resource is a flowchart called Pet Owner’s Guide to Ebola Exposure​​, which veterinarians can hand out to clients. Its information is based on the information from the "Interim Guidance for Public Health Officials on Pets of Ebola Virus Disease Contacts."