There is good news at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center large animal hospital–cultures have shown the Salmonellae infection that closed the hospital was limited in its scope, and work is proceeding quickly to renovate the hospital so it is more resistant to these types of problems in the future.

Staffers scrubbing offices, treatment rooms, barns, and equipment are wearing Tyvek suits, facemasks, and gloves since the bacteria that caused the hospital to close on May 10 can affect humans. Many steps beyond simple cleaning and disinfecting are being undertaken to allow aisleways, stalls, walls, and floors to be cleaned more thoroughly in the future.

“Since we closed on May 10, we have scrubbed the entire hospital,” says Bruce Rappoport, director of the George D. Widener Hospital for Large Animals. “We have cultured the more than 70 buildings at New Bolton Center as well as our entire animal population–cows, horses, llamas, and pigs.” None of the animals were positive.

Rappoport notes that there has been no human case of salmonellosis at New Bolton Center, nor have any of the resident animals come down with the disease