Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health — Content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (public domain).
Key points
* Veterinary medicine and animal care workers are exposed to a wide variety of environments and species of animals, based on their specialization.
* Workers are exposed to a variety of biological, chemical, physical, and psychological hazards depending on their workplace setting, types of animals, and types of tasks.
* NIOSH’s Healthcare and Social Assistance Sector Program is working to identify and address priority hazards of these workers.
Overview 
Dog being examined by a veterinarian. Image credit, MrVito, Getty Images Veterinary medicine and animal care workers provide medical, surgical, laboratory, preventive health, and animal care services for a variety of animal species. Services include routine care and disaster and emergency response. The industry covers a wide range of professionals, including veterinarians, veterinary technologists, technicians, assistants, and administrative staff, as well as laboratory veterinarians and animal caretakers. It also includes zoo and aquarium employees, such as animal caretakers and groundskeepers, workers in animal shelters and animal control, stable and kennel attendants, groomers, animal trainers, meat and poultry processing staff, and employees in pet and pet supply stores. In the United States, there are more than 596,000 veterinary medicine and animal care workers.[1, 2, 3, 4] Many veterinary medical workers are female, including 69% of veterinarians, 90% of veterinary technicians, and 80% of veterinary assistants and laboratory animal workers.1 Veterinary services rank fourth in incidence rates for nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses among all industries.2 Veterinary Medicine and Animal Care Workers and the NIOSH Healthcare and Social Assistance Industry Sector Learn more about veterinary medicine and animal care workers in the NIOSH Healthcare and Social Assistance Industry Sector. Resources National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV) American Veterinary Medical Association The Center for Food Security and Public Health, Iowa State University