Julianne Meisner is a veterinarian getting her MPH at the
University of Washington Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, and is an Occupational Health at the Human-AnimalInterface (OHHAI) Training Scholar. Her practicum rotation has her looking at
the occupational health of livestock farmers in Uganda.
The OHHAI program supports a small number of funded scholars in the development of competencies for research and provision of preventive occupational health services to workers in a wide range of animal contact settings including research facilities, veterinary hospitals, zoos, and
agriculture from a One Health perspective. OHHAI Scholars complete the requirements for the MPH in Environmental and Occupational Health as well as coursework in zoonotic infectious disease and One Health.
Julianne’s field work in Uganda during the summer of 2016 had
two objectives: (1) to assist in ongoing sampling for the Neglected Zoonotic
Diseases in Uganda Study, which Veterinarians Without Borders has been implementing
for over two years, and (2) to develop and implement the Uganda Animal Worker
Health Survey.
The Neglected Zoonotic Diseases in Uganda Study study gathers
survey data on household practices relevant to zoonotic disease transmission
and samples human household members and their animals (cattle, sheep, goats,
and pigs) for neglected zoonoses.
“We (myself, the Center for One Health Research faculty and
staff, and Dr. Thomas Graham of Veterinarians Without Borders) developed the
Animal Worker Health Survey earlier this year, and this summer I implemented it
alongside of the zoonotic disease survey” said Julianne.
“Livestock
agriculture in Africa, like most of the world, is trending towards more
intensified production systems and away from traditional systems. While there
is an ongoing debate as to the costs and benefits of this change, little
attention has been paid to the occupational risks associated with traditional
livestock keeping systems.”
The Animal Worker Health Survey collects data on delegation
of livestock-associated tasks within households, hygiene practices associated
with livestock work, frequency and nature of exposure to potentially infectious
material, animal-related injury history, and potential risk factors for injury
such as the keeping of uncastrated (intact) male animals.
Not only is Julianne an impressive scholar, but she is also an outstanding photographer. When she isn't busy with her research she is taking beautiful photos of her travels, which she shares on her travel photography website, juliannemeisner.com!
