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- All Subjects: Transmission
This thesis investigates the transmission of Covid-19 from humans to animals. Within the article, one will learn the inner workings of the background, history, and transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 infection seen worldwide. In addition, the research proposal/study focuses on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 observed from humans to minks.
As the pandemic hit back in 2019, an influx of pet adoptions occurred as more people were spending time home alone and saw the need for a companion. While SARS-CoV-2 is still circulating the globe, and mutating into different strains, people are continuing to work from home close to their animals. Evidence has shown that animals like dogs, cats, minks, and ferrets can contract the disease from their human counterparts, however, it is unclear if humans can contract the disease back from their animal companions [6]. While we have seen these Coronavirus outbreaks continually occur in the past several decades, we must be properly knowledgeable on the transmission capabilities of the virus to combat another wave of a SARS outbreak for future decades to come. Earlier coronavirus’ present in veterinary medicine has been noted to progress into more fatal and aggressive diseases when transmitted from one species to another [7], and therefore it is just as important that we understand the transmission possibilities of the virus in animals as we do ourselves. To determine if our pets can transmit the virus to us humans, a study is proposed where canines are purposefully inoculated with a selected SARS-Cov-2 virus and exposed to human volunteers to determine if the virus can spill back from canines to humans. To determine which virus strain will be utilized for the study, data regarding potential strain hosts will be collected from directly ill volunteers who also own canines prior to inoculation.
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This dissertation examines the benefits of DMM by comparing water services in three informal settlements in Kisumu city, Kenya: two slums where DMM has been implemented, and one, a control, where it has not. In addition, the research examined how school-based hygiene interventions could be designed to improve safe water and hygiene knowledge in urban informal settlements. This study compared outcomes of two approaches to hygiene education, one which combined messages with participatory water testing; the second used hygiene messages alone.
Results of the DMM study showed that DMM implementation had lowered water cost and improved provider accountability. However, unhygienic water collection and handling practices on the part of the service users could contaminate drinking water that was clean at the delivery point, thus preventing the intended health outcomes of DMM from being realized. Results of the hygiene education intervention showed that one week after the inventions, hygiene knowledge among students who received the intervention that combined hygiene messages with participatory water testing was significantly improved. Evaluation of the intervention 12 months after implementation showed that the hygiene knowledge gained was sustained.
The research findings suggest that: i) regular monitoring of water quality at the kiosks is essential to ensure that the DMM model achieves intended health outcomes, ii) sanitation conditions at kiosk sites need to be regulated to meet minimum hygiene standards, and iii) customers need to be educated on safe water collection and storage practices. Finally, school-based hygiene education could be made more effective by including hands-on water testing by students. Making sustainable impact on health and wellbeing of slum residents requires not only building effective partnerships for water delivery, but also paying close attention to the other points of intervention within the water system.