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Amat victoria curam           –Victory favors the prepared- One Health Initiative WEBSITE Snapshots of EBOLA…  August 11, 2014 – NOTABLE “One Health in Action” Highlights:   ·         Ebola virus – A One Health History - In 1976, two eminent virologists, Drs. Karl M. Johnson [MD] a physician and Frederick A. Murphy [DVM, PhD] a veterinarian collaborated closely together (along with others) to help unravel the mystery surrounding the initial outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever and discovered its etiologic agent, the Ebola virus.  The most commonly seen and famous electron microscope photograph of the virus per se was originally taken by Dr. Murphy. http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/endorsements.php   Currently:   ·         University of Texas Medical Branch scientist/veterinarian Dr. Thomas Ksiazek [DVM, PhD] is now on the scene in West Africa http://www.utmb.edu/newsroom/article9735.aspx   Dr. Ksiazek, director of the high containment laboratory operations for the Galveston National Laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch, left for Sierra Leone on Aug. 11 to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Ebola outbreak control operations, assisting the government of Sierra Leone. His role is part of a massive effort being supported by research and medical professionals from the CDC as well as from other institutions from around the world. Ksiazek is director of the National Biodefense Training Center and a world-renowned virologist with 40 years of experience on the front lines of some of the worst infectious disease outbreaks the world has ever seen.   One Health Initiative team member, Dr. Jack Woodall (PhD research scientist/epidemiologist, co-founder of ProMED-mail and a recent American Veterinary Epidemiology (AVES) honorary diploma recipient) is periodically updating Ebola information on the One Health Initiative website’s ProMED Outbreak Reports page http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/promed.php.           The Critical Question Were Not Asking About The Ebola Outbreak - Huffington Post, July 31, 2014 – Posted One Health Initiative website NEWS page http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/news.php Saturday, August 02, 2014 Excellent One Health article on Huffington Post… The Critical Question Were Not Asking About The Ebola Outbreak Posted: 07/31/2014 6:39 pm EDT Updated: 07/31/2014 6:59 pm EDT “The ebola outbreak in West Africa has the world on edge: Will the virus spill into new communities? Will it cross more borders? Even oceans? How can caregivers raise the victims chances of survival, as well as reduce their own chances of getting sick? Some experts emphasize the importance of another, generally overlooked question: How can we thwart such deadly outbreaks in the first place? … “ Please read full article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/31/ebola-outbreak-causes_n_5638503.html?1406846385   Link graciously provided by Lynne Peeples lynne.peeples@huffingtonpost.com  ____________________   How to prevent the next Ebola outbreak - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 07/13/2014 - 20:48 – Posted One Health Initiative website NEWS Sunday, July 20, 2014 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 07/13/2014 - 20:48 How to prevent the next Ebola outbreak By Columnist *Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP Laura H. Kahn “The Ebola virus has emerged in three West African countries where it had not previously been reported: Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. In early July, health ministers from 11 countries and representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant partner organizations met in an emergency two-day meeting in Accra, Ghana, to strategize on containing the worsening crisis. So far, the outbreak is the largest and deadliest since the disease was first recognized in 1976 in northern Zaire. As of July 8, there had been 888 cases and 539 deaths, with a mortality rate over 60 percent. Previous outbreaks, in Central African countries, typically had mortality rates closer to 90 percent. … “…This is why a One Health approach—an approach that recognizes the connection between human health and animal and environmental health—is so important in Africa. Healthy livestock promote healthy humans. Unfortunately, developing countries have difficulty providing food for their human populations, let alone their livestock. Livestock production accounts for relatively little agricultural output in sub-Saharan Africa. Public health and agriculture experts must work together to improve agriculture and figure out how to meet Africans’ demands for animal proteins in an environmentally sustainable way.” Please read entire column at http://thebulletin.org/how-prevent-next-ebola-outbreak7312    *International One Health physician leader, Dr. Kahn is a Research Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security’ Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and Co-Founder, One Health Initiative Autonomous Pro Bono team and website. __________________   Tackling the ebola epidemic in west Africa: why we need a holistic approach [One Health] – Posted One Health Initiative website NEWS Tuesday, July 01, 2014 A TIMELY serious One Health issue… Tackling the ebola epidemic in west Africa: why we need a holistic approach Immediate medical action is not enough to manage the disease. We need cross-sector collaboration and integrated research [One Health] By Naomi Marks Guardian Professional, Thursday 19 June 2014 12.18 EDT As the death toll from ebola in west Africa continues to rise, there is a growing awareness of the threat of diseases transmitted from animals to people. Ebola, a haemorrhagic fever that causes uncontrolled bleeding, is dramatic in its manifestation and has a case fatality rate of up to 90%. Its emergence can be sudden and unexplained, and, as the recent crisis shows, it can spread across communities and borders with alarming speed. What the outbreak confirms is that if animal transmitted diseases such as Ebola – known as zoonoses – are to be tackled effectively, the response must go beyond media focus and immediate medical action when an epidemic hits. There is a crucial need for multidisciplinary working over the longer term to gain a holistic understanding of the drivers of these diseases. This so-called one health approach takes as its premise an understanding that human health, animal health and environmental health are all interlinked. It calls for collaborative efforts between natural and social scientists – including doctors, vets, environmental scientists, geographers and anthropologists – at local, national and international levels. Such a holistic understanding of health is not new. It is however increasingly gaining traction among those in the field, with the veterinary sector proving to be particularly quick to recognise the benefits of one health. A recent joint research initiative from the Department for International Development (DfID) and the social science, natural environment, medical and bioscience research councils, recognises the benefits of the approach. It aims to fund multidisciplinary research that would, among other benefits, reduce the impact of zoonoses on vulnerable people and their livestock. When natural and social scientists work together – not just alongside each other, but meaningfully integrate their findings – it can be very productive. However, breaking down the barriers between researchers is one thing. The real challenge is to persuade those with the funds and the power to make cross-sector action happen. One of the issues that urgently needs to be tackled is a reconsideration of funding models to help facilitate cross-sector working. Over the past 40 years more than 60% of emerging infectious diseases affecting people have had their origin in wildlife or livestock. Many of these zoonoses may cause death more slowly than Ebola, and remain unnoticed by anybody outside the immediate populations affected by them, but their effects are often devastating. An example is trypanosomiasis, a disease caused by parasites transmitted by the tsetse fly, which affects both humans and animals and is widespread in large parts of Africa. This disease is one of four zoonoses being studied by the multidisciplinary research programme Dynamic drivers of disease in Africa, which is considering the complex links between ecosystems, zoonoses, health and wellbeing. While there were 88 Ebola cases reported in 2012, 50 of them fatal, there are an estimated 30,000-50,000 new cases of trypanosomiasis reported each year, with some 48,000 deaths recorded annually. In addition, the disease is likely to be misdiagnosed as in its early stages it is often confused with malaria and in its later stages with Aids. Trypanosomiasis is fatal when left untreated and even when it is, it has a prolonged recovery period. As a result, it can ruin lives and livelihoods. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisation says the disease probably threatens rural development and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa more than any other disease. Like ebola, a multidisciplinary approach to understanding trypanosomiasis is essential if it is to be controlled. Take Zambia, where trypanosomiasis has historically acted as a limitation on human settlement, with families keeping away from fertile but highly tsetse-infested areas. Land pressure is increasingly leading to colonisation of these areas. Land clearance for cash crops such as cotton is also thought to be having an effect on tsetse populations, and thus the spread of the disease. In addition, there are likely to be social differences in vulnerability to trypanosomiasis, based on gender roles, livelihood patterns and the different ways in which people interact with their environment. These points are aside from other, macro changes, such as climate change and urbanisation, which may be having an effect on tsetse ecology and disease transmission. Thus, it can easily be seen how medical research on its own is insufficient to understand and tackle the disease. The stories behind a host of other zoonoses – from rift valley fever to ebola – are just as complex. Only multidisciplinary research can help to reveal and unravel their complexity. Without a holistic understanding of all the inter-related factors affecting the emergence, transmission and spread of zoonoses, disease management or elimination will remain beyond our reach. Naomi Marks works for the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium. Please see http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/jun/19/ebola-multidisciplinary-approach-stop-epidemic.   Permission to post on One Health Initiative website by:   Naomi Marks Communications Officer Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium STEPS Centre Institute of Development Studies Brighton, BN1 9RE UK Twitter @DDDAC_org Tel: +44 (0) 1273 915606