REVENUE & INFECTION CONTROL
takeaway from the study, conducted in the kitten nursery of the Arizona Humane Society, was an 87.3% reduction in upper respiratory infections. A “significant reduction” as described by the researchers. The researchers further concluded that the airborne transmission of feline respiratory pathogens may be “more important than has been previously recognized.” The AJVR study, published earlier this year, was conducted by researchers at the University of Arizona’s College of Public Health, Environment, Exposure Science & Risk Assessment Center. This university study found that our UV equipment, in combination with our proprietary sizing methods, reduced airborne concentrations of pathogenic surrogate and vaccine strains up to 99.96%. Tested pathogens included Bordetella bronchiseptica (canine cough).
Read the science, not the Facebook, and always keep learning.
In previous test results from an independent laboratory using strict test methods, our UV systems killed more than 99% of tested virus and bacterial pathogens, including Bordetella brochiseptica, parvovirus, distemper, calicivirus, and canine influenza.
And if the learning shouldn’t come from often politically influenced memes in your Facebook newsfeed, where should it come from? Look to reliable sources like IBPSA who talk to and work with experts. Take advantage of the CDC’s expansive website and the search bar at the top (https://www.cdc.gov). From canine influenza to the common cold, there is a wide variety of information for four-leggeds and two-leggeds. The CDC also has a robust section devoted to “One Health,” the initiative that recognizes the interconnection between people, animals, and the environment; a potentially valuable source of information for those who work in the animal care industry. The AVMA also has a section devoted to One Health and has
As these field and university studies and independent lab tests were conducted using UV equipment manufactured by my company, in combination with our proprietary sizing methods, I can’t speak to the efficacy of other UV, but do your research, ask for studies, and know that UV, along with normal surface cleaning procedures, can be part of your arsenal to protect against the spread of infectious disease in your animal care facility.
There’s never been a time when it’s easier and faster to get information…and misinformation…and disinformation. Sorting through what’s correct and actionable and what’s from the extremist fringe can be a challenge, especially when it’s popping up in your Facebook newsfeed. Also, it’s important to understand that information can be evolving. There can be a tendency to point back and say “but, that’s not what the experts said then.” In 1949, an advertising campaign that “more doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette” was still making the rounds, just a few years before five large retrospective studies linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer were published. With research and studies comes increased knowledge.
PET CARE PRO QUARTERLY | Q3 2020 | IBPSA.COM/PETCAREPRO | 22
