One Health and Asthma Prevention in Baltimore
One Health and Asthma Prevention in Baltimore
Children who live in Baltimore households of low economic means suffer disproportionately from skin and lung diseases, including asthma.
The One Health Laboratory, helmed by veterinarian, and Baltimore City native, Meghan Davis, works on multiple projects to promote the health of inner-city Baltimore children and adults who have asthma. This work is in partnership with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the BREATHE Center (formerly the Center for Childhood Asthma in the Urban Environment.) Its work evaluates whether colonization or environmental exposure to bacteria, specifically certain strains of Staphylococcus aureus, contribute to asthma exacerbations through an allergic mechanism. This study will evaluate the burden of skin and respiratory disease among the dogs who live with them, through The City Dog Study: Dermatologic and Respiratory Disease among Inner-City Dogs Living in the Homes of Children with Asthma. Davis’ group also evaluates the health of pet dogs living with these children as part of the City Dog Study. Understanding how the health of people and their pets each is influenced by the other and by their shared environments will help us provide better medical and veterinary care to under-served communities and deliver more effective public health services.
