research studies » completed studies
Since our founding in 1948, Morris Animal Foundation has funded hundreds of health research studies to protect, treat and cure the world's companion animals and wildlife.
Our studies have led to major advances in veterinary care, including vaccines and other preventions, diagnostic tools and new therapies for the diseases and health conditions that threaten the lives of the animals we love. Search our completed study database by species and/or disease to learn more about how our work has given animals longer, healthier lives.
Category
D05ZO-623: Prevalence of and use of Clinical Signs to Screen for Rift Valley Fever Virus Infection in Malaria Negative Patients Presenting to a Provincial General Hospital in rural Kenya
principal investigator: Alina Evans, student, University of Minnesota
Project Mentor: Marguerite Pappaioanau, DVM, PhD
completed
Year: 1 of 1. $0
This project conducted surveillance for Rift Valley Fever virus (RVFV) – an emerging, mosquito-borne, hemorragic disease that affects humans and hoofed animals. It can cause high mortality and abortion in animals and flu-like symptoms in humans. Because of bureaucratic delays surrounding the samples from humans, the project elected to focus on animal samples from the Kenyan Wildlife Service to determine what species are most likely to be positive for RVFV and what locations had the highest rate of positive samples. They found evidence of RVFV in seven surveyed species with particularly useful information found in the buffalo. They concluded that buffalo would be the best species to monitor in the future for RVFV because of their high rate of disease and large, widely distributed population.
Alina says, "From this research and previous experiences, I am gradually gaining a broader perspective of veterinary medicine, public health and conservation."
