Pallavi Oruganti, one of the anthropology undergraduates in the DECML lab, is supported by an REU grant. Pallavi is also working with Karla Moreno-Torres, a graduate student, and Rebecca Garabed, assistant professor, from Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

 

Pallavi’s research project examines hunters’ knowledge, attitudes and practices related to infectious wildlife disease in Southeast Ohio. There are a number of infectious diseases that pose risks for humans and/or livestock, including neosporosis, Brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis. Hunters potentially represent a critical link in the transmission of infectious diseases from wildlife to livestock because many hunters are also farmers. However, it is unclear how much hunters know about the potential risks of these infectious diseases and whether and how that knowledge informs hunting practices. Pallavi’s research will document hunters’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices of these infectious diseases as well as examine the connections between these three. For example, is there a correlation between knowledge and practice when it comes to minimizing the risk of exposure to infectious diseases when field dressing deer. In addition, Pallavi will examine how and from whom hunters learn about the risks of infectious diseases and how this affects their hunting practices. Her findings may contribute to more effective interventions that improve the health and well being of humans and animals in the region.