One Health Publications

 February 21, 2017

 One Health: New Term, Ancient Concept

“The One Health Initiative website has been serving as a global repository for all news and information pertaining to One Health since 2008.”

By Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP 

See more at: http://www.americanveterinarian.com/news/one-health-new-term-ancient-concept

“... To fill the communications gap between physicians and veterinarians, my colleagues and I cofounded the One Health Initiative. The One Health Initiative website has been serving as a global repository for all news and information pertaining to One Health since 2008. Please visit it. We look forward to any feedback that you might have.” 
 
[This article originally appeared online at MD Magazine.]
  

Dr. Kahn is a physician and research scholar with the Program on Science and Global Security at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University. In April 2006, she published the article “Confronting Zoonoses, Linking Human and Veterinary Medicine” in Emerging Infectious Diseases, which helped launch the One Health Initiative. She is also the author of Who’s in Charge? Leadership during Epidemics, Bioterror Attacks, and Other Public Health Crises (2009) and One Health and the Politics of Antimicrobial Resistance (2016).

   See more at: http://www.americanveterinarian.com/journals/amvet/2017/april2017 including:

Letter from the Chairman Making One Health a Priority

May 10, 2017  STUDENTS FOR One Health Announcement – One Health Commission

SEE: https://www.onehealthcommission.org/documents/news/51017_SOH_Intl_Webinar_1F836160E3443.pdf

“...The CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] recently established the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), however, which addresses the human-animal health link. Nonetheless, effective linkages between animal and human health remain elusive [https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/].

An approach that is gaining attention for addressing the animal, human, and environmental nexus is One Health, which seeks to bring together multidisciplinary expertise in animal and human health and the associated environmental ecosystems. The goal of One Health in this context is to fully address biological threats—whether natural or man-made— in a transdisciplinary manner by integrating research, knowledge, and other defense mechanisms, including all aspects that can impact human health. In order for this program to become effective, a One Health approach needs to be institutionalized and recognized at the federal level across departments/agencies, particularly HHS, USDA, USAID, DHS, Department of Interior, and even DOD. Today, USAID is ahead of other agencies, applying One Health approaches through its emergency pandemic threats program in the Bureau of Global Health.

Similarly, One Health needs to be applied locally by NGOs and universities toward the prevention of zoonotic infectious diseases at their source. ...”

2. Increased disease surveillance at the animal-human and wildlife-domestic animal interface is urgently needed.

 Increased surveillance is particularly important in highrisk areas. Examples include the Zoonotic Disease Unit in Kenya, which is developing capabilities for rapid detection, response, and control of zoonotic diseases using a One Health approach, and increased risk-based infectious disease surveillance and monitoring along the borders of Kruger National Park in South Africa to check for tick-borne disease transfer between wildlife and domestic cattle populations. ...

4. Institutionalize One Health and apply One Health approaches to pandemic prevention.

This was a recommendation made by the Blue Ribbon Study Panel for Biodefense.

One Health is intended to promote multidisciplinary collaboration between researchers and other nongovernmental officials.

The concept of integrating the knowledge and study of animal, plant, and human health is vital for protecting the United States from naturally occurring and man-made diseases. This integration should become more formalized across the federal interagency and implemented by NGOs, particularly in global high-risk regions where epidemics and pandemics are more likely to emerge. ...”

The Growing Threat of Pandemics: Enhancing Domestic and International Biosecurity March 2017

The threat posed by pandemics grows alongside increased globalization and technological innovation. Distant cultures can now be connected in a day’s time, and international trade links global health and economic prosperity. In this report, the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at The Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University details nine priority areas and accompanying action items that will help to address current pandemic response problems.

1.     Leadership: Strong leadership in biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response is the first area identified as needing improvement. Following the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Panel on Biodefense (2015), we recommend that United States leadership in biodefense be centralized in the White House, specifically within the Vice President’s office. Also in line with recommendations made by the Biodefense Panel, we recommend that a Biodefense Council, overseen by the Vice President, be established. Additional action items include the establishment of a new and overarching National Biodefense and Pandemic Preparedness Strategy. Beyond the panel’s findings, we recommend a detailed implementation plan, tied to a unified and integrated budget, with built-in accountability to ensure decentralized action. We also call for the re-prioritization of national and international pandemic preparedness and response exercises.

2.     International Response: We should re-evaluate pandemic response plans – in particular, the need to adopt the World Health Organization’s (WHO) reforms: WHO established an advisory group in 2015 to determine ways to improve their response to disease outbreaks and emergencies following an ineffective response to the Ebola outbreak in 2014. We endorse the recommendations for reform provided by the advisory group and urge priority action for reform implementation. We also recommend that WHO Regional Office Directors no longer be independent from WHO Headquarters, but report directly to the Director-General. Independence of the regional offices makes it difficult for unified WHO response and can impede efficient communication and organization during pandemic response.

3.     The Anti-Vaccine Movement: The increasing influence of the anti-vaccine movement in the United States is another growing threat. Leaders of the movement spread misinformation to parents with questions or anxiety over the safety of vaccines. Many within the anti-vaccine movement incorrectly believe that vaccines cause autism and the number of individuals seeking nonmedical exemptions to the vaccination requirements of schools is on the rise. In some states, like Washington and Texas, this puts public school populations dangerously close to falling below the threshold for “herd immunity”—which refers to the percentage of a population that needs to be vaccinated in order to provide protection to those who are unvaccinated. Dropping below herd immunity puts individuals who cannot get vaccinated – those that are either too young or immunocompromised -- at great risk. We recommend that public health authorities initiate education campaigns to communicate the risk that vaccine-preventable disease pose to unvaccinated individuals. Additionally, we strongly recommend that states re-evaluate their acceptance of personal belief or philosophical exemptions. These should be removed as exemption options.

4.     Animal – Human Health: Next we address the need to bridge the gap between animal and human health. The majority of emerging diseases are zoonotic. Whether due to living in close proximity with animals, destruction and encroachment of habitats, or lack of vaccinations, diseases originating in animals are increasingly making the jump into the human population. Some of our recommendations for bridging the gaps in this area include: expanded animal vaccination programs, institutionalization of One Health—which is a program that creates collaboration between human and animal health care professionals and researchers with the goal of developing an interdisciplinary strategy for animal, human, and environmental health—, increased disease surveillance along wildlife/livestock boundaries, and education and training for individuals who live or work in high risk areas.

5.     Uniform Health Screening: There should be uniform health screenings for individuals seeking permanent or extended temporary residence in the United States. Currently, there are discrepancies between the vaccination requirements for immigrants and the vaccination requirements for refugees. Immigrants are required to have all their vaccinations before entering the country, whereas refugees are only strongly recommended to do so. There are also limited health screening requirements for individuals who are not seeking permanent residence in the United States. It may not always be possible for refugees to receive their vaccinations overseas, so we suggest requiring immunizations upon entry and requiring health screenings for anyone staying in the U.S. more than 3 months. We also recommend implementing more risk-based infectious disease screenings that reflect the individual’s country-of-origin.

6.     Public Health and Health Care Infrastructure: In many developing countries, there is often insufficient infrastructure, expertise, and supplies to adequately provide for even basic day-to-day health care – let alone to detect, report, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks and other threats as required by WHO's International Health Regulations (IHR). Even the U.S., which has greater expertise and higher investment in healthcare, struggles with adequate surge capacity in the case of a high-impact infectious disease outbreak or other emergencies. In this section, we recommend investment in host country institutions, and restructuring hiring systems for health care professionals in developing countries. In addition, enhanced diplomacy and commitment to the Global Health Security Agenda will help support implementation of the International Health Regulations. We also recommend enhanced foreign aid investments in global health, specifically for pandemic prevention and preparedness, as they are essential to international security and U.S. national security.

7.     Effective Outbreak Response: The U.S. is often caught unprepared when an outbreak with pandemic potential strikes. Valuable time is wasted in the existing, cumbersome process of identifying the disease, predicting risk, and acquiring emergency appropriations to respond. To help create a more effective response, we recommend that Congress make funding for diagnostics and biosurveillance a high-priority budget item. In addition, the United States should use USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance’s (OFDA) financial authorities and resources, which are not earmarked, as an international pandemic emergency response fund to reduce the need for supplemental emergency appropriations. We further recommend that the new national biodefense and pandemic preparedness strategy affirm OFDA’s role as the lead coordinator of the United States’ international response for pandemic emergencies, similar to its lead role for all other international disaster responses.

8.     Cultural Competency: Ebola demonstrated that disease control protocols and cultural rituals can collide with devastating results. In this report, we suggest that cultural anthropologists and crisis communicators are consulted and included in U.S. public health missions to other countries.

9.     Academic Collaborations: Academic institutions situated in developing countries have pre-established relationships with the affected people in their local communities and regions, and will be around long after the acute response phase has ended. There are also growing global academic and scientific university-based collaborations between faculty and students in developed and underdeveloped countries. We suggest building university-based public health extension programs designed to work within local communities, communicate disease research to a non-academic audience, and incorporate host country universities and their established, global academic collaborations into the overall disease response.

View "The Growing Threat of Pandemics: Enhancing Domestic and International Biosecurity" White Paper here.

http://bush.tamu.edu/scowcroft/white-papers/The-Growing-Threat-of-Pandemics.pdf

Research (Published online: 05-05-2017)

3. Brucellosis: Community, medical and veterinary workers’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices in Northern Uganda - Harriet Muloki Nabirye, Joseph Erume, George William Nasinyama, Joseph Morison Kungu, Jesca Nakavuma, Duncan Ongeng and David Okello Owiny

International Journal of One Health, 3: 12-18

Abstract

Aim: This study aimed at determining the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the community, medical and veterinary workers regarding brucellosis.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at selected health facilities in Apac, Gulu, Lira, and Pader districts of Northern Uganda using a standardized questionnaire. A total of 251 patients testing positive for brucellosis using the Brucella plate agglutination test, 59 medical and 29 veterinary workers were studied. Chi-square test at 95% confidence level was used to analyze data.

Results: Only 8% patients, 15.3% medical, and 21.4% veterinary workers were knowledgeable on transmission methods and symptoms for brucellosis and knowledge differed according to the level of education among patients (p=0.001), medical (p=0.001), and veterinary workers (p=0.012). Over 80% patients, medical and veterinary workers had a positive attitude. Only 8% patients, 13.6% medical, and 7.1% veterinary workers had good practices regarding brucellosis control.

Conclusion: Poor knowledge, poor practices, and positive attitude provide an opportunity for health education and policy formulation for the control of brucellosis. The prevalence studies of human and animal brucellosis are recommended to determine the magnitude of the problem.

http://www.onehealthjournal.org/Vol.3/3.html

Arab Official Magazine...

Advancing Sustainable Social Development and Well-Being For All

 George R Lueddeke, PhD , Chair, One Health Education Task Force , One Health Commission Southampton, United Kingdom

 19 March 2017

The One Health movement and ‘the world we need’

“... The One Health movement - spearheaded by the One Health Commission and the One Health Initiative - that  recognizes ‘the inter-dependencies in the health (and well-being) of people, other animals and the environment in which we live” unquestionably provides the essence for the enduring “unity” the WWF Director General is seeking. ...” 

http://www.arabhealthonline.com/issues/issue-2-2017/advancing-sustainable-social-development-and-well-being-for-all-implementing-the-un-2030-global-goals-through-the-one-health-concept-and-education/

Environmental amoebas came before animals as hosts to bacteria

Citation: Strassmann JE, Shu L (2017) Ancient bacteria–amoeba relationships and pathogenic animal bacteria. PLoS Biol 15(5): e2002460. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2002460

http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2002460

Abstract

Long before bacteria infected humans, they infected amoebas, which remain a potentially important reservoir for human disease. Diverse soil amoebas including Dictyostelium and Acanthamoeba can host intracellular bacteria. Though the internal environment of free-living amoebas is similar in many ways to that of mammalian macrophages, they differ in a number of important ways, including temperature. A new study in PLOS Biology by Taylor-Mulneix et al. demonstrates that Bordetella bronchiseptica has two different gene suites that are activated depending on whether the bacterium finds itself in a hot mammalian or cool amoeba host environment. This study specifically shows that B. bronchiseptica not only inhabits amoebas but can persist and multiply through the social stage of an amoeba host, Dictyostelium discoideum.

“WVA President Dr. René Carlson says: “The availability and use of antimicrobials are essential to ensure the good health and welfare of animals as well as people. After years of promoting awareness about the dangers of misusing antimicrobials, it is time we recognise the actions organisations around the world are taking to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in both animals and people to prevent further development of antimicrobial resistance and the proper disposal of antimicrobials to protect our environment, such as our waterways and oceans. This is a One Health issue for which all health care providers, both human and veterinary, must take personal responsibility”.”

The OIE and the WVA jointly celebrate World Veterinary Day 2017

On World Veterinary Day, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Veterinary Association (WVA) http://www.worldvet.org/ pay tribute to the crucial role played by veterinarians in the fight against antimicrobial resistance. This year, the event focuses on the action the profession can take to preserve the efficacy of antimicrobial treatments, which are essential resources to protect human health as well as animal health and welfare. Throughout the day, and all around the world, the many initiatives led by veterinarians to raise awareness on this essential issue in their countries will come under the spotlight.

THEME 2017

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE - FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION

Paris/Brussels, 29 April 2017 – The availability and use of antimicrobial drugs has transformed the practice of human and animal medicine. Infections that were once lethal are now treatable, and the use of antimicrobial agents has advanced global health as well as animal health, which is a key component of animal welfare, food security and safety.

Safeguarding the efficacy of these life-saving medications, as well as their availability and effectiveness for both human and veterinary use, is essential to preserve our future. However, overuse and misuse of these drugs in humans, animals and plants sectors has dramatically accelerated the emergence of resistance to antimicrobials.

During its General Assembly in September 2016, the United Nations acknowledged that “Antmicrobial resistance reduces our ability to protect the health of animals and therefore is threatening safe and sustainable food and agriculture production". 

Veterinary practitioners have a key part to play in the fight against antimicrobial resistance: they are the direct interlocutors of paraprofessionals as well as farmers and animal owners, and can trigger a sustainable change in behaviour towards a responsible and prudent antimicrobial use.

“Through their role in supervising the use of antimicrobials, offering professional advice to farmers and animal owners and collaborating with the human health sector, veterinarians have a key role to play in combatting the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance. They are at the forefront to promote sound animal husbandry hygiene methods and the implementation of accurate vaccination strategies” highlights Dr Monique Eloit, OIE Director General. “They have the responsibility to raise awareness among farmers and animal owners on the prudent use of antibiotics and these actions are supported worldwide by the OIE Global Strategy against antimicrobial resistance”. 

WVA President Dr René Carlson says: “The availability and use of antimicrobials are essential to ensure the good health and welfare of animals as well as people. After years of promoting awareness about the dangers of misusing antimicrobials, it is time we recognise the actions organisations around the world are taking to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in both animals and people to prevent further development of antimicrobial resistance and the proper disposal of antimicrobials to protect our environment, such as our waterways and oceans. This is a One Health issue for which all health care providers, both human and veterinary, must take personal responsibility”.

 ARTICIPATE IN THE WORLD VETERINARY DAY AWARD 2017!

Spread the word on the activities which you held at this occasion or during the year and take the chance to win the World Veterinary Day Award!

The competition is open to all WVA member associations, alone, or in cooperation with any other selected body. The winner will be announced at the Opening Ceremony of the OIE 85th General Session on 21 May 2017 (Paris, France) and the award will be presented to the winner during the World Veterinary Congress 2017 from 27th -31st August 2017 (Incheon, Rep. of Korea).

How to enter the competition?

Entries accepted until 10 May 2017

Useful links:

• OIE Strategy on Antimicrobial Resistance and the Prudent Use of Antimicrobials

• OIE Director General‘s Editorial on AMR

• OIE web portal on antimicrobial resistance

  WVA Position paper on responsible use of Antimicrobials

International Journal of One Health, 3: 7-11 ... http://www.onehealthjournal.org/

The importance of timely introduction of vancomycin therapy against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia and severity of MRSA bacteremia at Teaching Hospital, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka - Jayaweera Arachchige Asela Sampath Jayaweera, Malika Karunarathne and Wikum Widuranga Kumbukgolla

Abstract l PDF See: http://www.onehealthjournal.org/Vol.3/2.pdf

New Publications in the One Health Journal Veterinary Sciences — Basel, Switzerland

The new online Open Access journal Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vetsci) published a new issue in 2017:

Vet. Sci., Volume 4, Issue 1 (March 2017)

Full text are available free of charge.

Table of Contents:

Provided to the One Health Initiative website 25 April, 2017 by:

Margie Ma

Managing Editor

Veterinary Sciences