REVENUE & INFECTION CONTROL

GETTING PEOPLE HYPED to learn about infection control can be challenging. I know, I’ve worked in infection control for the animal care industry for over a decade. As an educator on the subject, I’ve written articles for trade publications like this one and presented at conferences. While it’s my passion, as those who get my vigorous texts and emails about infectious diseases can confirm, I also understand when presented with the option of an educational

course on increasing revenue versus one on infection control, the former probably wins. But what if revenue is inextricably linked to infection control? The economic impact of the last several months would indicate that may be the case. From global economies, to local revenues, to your animal care facility’s bottom line, the spread of infectious disease can have a profoundly painful financial impact. Are you ready for the next outbreak?

NOT THE FIRST PANDEMIC, WON’T BE THE LAST.

COVID-19 is not the world’s first pandemic nor its first crash course in zoonotics, diseases that spread between animals and humans. The world has become well-versed in the history of the Spanish flu of 1918. Despite its name, the origins of what is believed to have been an avian flu are uncertain. It gained its moniker because Spain was one of the hardest hit countries with a free media that was openly reporting on the tragedy unfolding there. The first reported case, on March 11, 1918, was in the U.S. at Fort Riley, Kansas. We’ve also had a refresher on the more recent SARS (a zoonotic disease that most likely first jumped from bats to humans in China) and MERS (zoonotic that initially jumped from camels to humans in Saudi Arabia). As we live through the current pandemic, others may already be brewing. At the end of June, at the same time Dr. Anne Schuhat, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said in an interview that the U.S. has “way too much virus across the country” to control and that the recent surge was “really the beginning,” a report broke of a new potential pandemic: a recently emerged strain of flu carried by pigs that can infect humans. Identified by scientists in China, and as reported by the BBC, “the researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.” (“Flu virus with ‘pandemic potential’ found in China.” June 30, 2020.) That’s probably the last thing any business wants to hear right now, but the more we know, the more prepared we can be for the future. If we have (or should have) learned anything from the current one, it’s that pandemics don’t magically go away.

RISK OF ANIMAL OUTBREAKS ALSO DID NOT MAGICALLY GO AWAY (BUT UV CAN HELP).

As boarding and daycare facilities were temporarily forced to close or bookings significantly dropped, so did the risk for the spread of airborne infectious diseases like canine cough, canine distemper, and feline calicivirus. But as the animal care industry chugs back to life, as guests return, so, too, does the risk for outbreaks. In 2008, I founded my company to help create healthier environments for animals through the use of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI or UV). Reading about the science behind using UV to help control the spread of infectious disease by disinfecting the air is one thing, but I’ve also had the opportunity to personally see what UV can do. Recently, two studies using UV systems manufactured by my company, in combination with our proprietary sizing methods, were peer reviewed for the American Veterinary Medial Association (AVMA) publications: the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAVMA) and the American Journal of Veterinary Research (AJVR). The JAVMA study, slated for publication this year, in a three-year retrospective field study at an animal shelter where our UV equipment was installed. The big

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). 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.

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. Read the science, not the Facebook, and always keep learning. 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. 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

addressed the particular needs of and information unique to animal care since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic (https://www.avma.org). What we knew about COVID-19 five months ago is significantly less than what we know about it today. What we know about canine influenza today, versus just 15 years ago when it was first detected in the U.S., is immeasurable in many respects. Most, if not all, animal care professionals have updated their infection control protocols over the last several months. But a learning point to be taken away from this pandemic is this: your infection protocols should be a living document, regularly updated as we continually learn. This pandemic has ushered in a

new normal. We’ve always known that a canine cough outbreak could lead to a facility shutdown, reputation damage, and a negative impact on the financial bottom line. We’ve now seen that on a global scale. We can’t control whether a new strain of flu carried by pigs in another country will jump to humans and whether those humans will board planes for other countries, but we can control what we do at our businesses. It may never be as exciting as other business topics, but infection control is just as inextricably linked to your revenue, and making it a priority is the new normal.

Annette Uda is the founder and CEO of PetAirapy, manufacturers of UV systems for the animal care industry. Learn more at https://petairapy.com.