News

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us one difficult lesson, it’s this---we, humans, should promote harmony with the other species of Earth as well as protect our global environment if we’re to avoid these horrific events in the future. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". While specific interventions can be initially effective, the toxic solutions and anti-microbials we use against pathogenic invaders will inevitably lead to the development of resistance and/or significant destruction of beneficial species. Specifically, our wide-spread use of antibiotics and insecticides over the past few decades, has resulted in super bugs (bacteria as well as insects) that no longer can be eliminated by their routine use. Further, although vaccines are an excellent way to protect us from a known bug, they are by design very specific and new ones must be developed each time (at enormous cost) a dangerous bacteria or virus spills over to humans.

But, even more important, what we have learned is that our approach to ensuring human, animal, plant and environmental wellness cannot occur in silos. Teams of scientists, health care providers and policy makers must come together to develop best solutions for all of the issues that confront us---spanning from global warming to prevention of invasive species that destroy crops or transmit diseases to humans and other animals. With this framework, the New Jersey One Health Steering Committee worked with the NJ legislation to provide the evidence for and encourage them to commence a multidisciplinary One Health task force committee. The task force will facilitate discussion among all disciplines such that short- and long-term solutions that promote a natural balance in nature and better health for all will result.

 

Comments submitted to the One Health Initiative team, August 4, 2021 by Drs. Gloria Bachman and Dina Fonseca:

Gloria A Bachmann, MD, MMS

Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine

Associate Dean for Women's Health

Director, Women's Health Institute (WHI)

Medical Director of the PROUD Gender Center of NJ

NJ Commission on Women's Reentry-Chair of Health Committee

Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

125 Paterson Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

email: bachmaga@rutgers.edu

and

Dina M. Fonseca, PhD

Professor, Entomology, Ecology&Evolution, Microbiology

SEBS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Director, Rutgers Center for Vector Biology

NJ Agriculture Experiment Station

180 Jones Ave. New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Email: dina.fonseca@rutgers.edu

Lab webspage: https://Fonseca-Lab.com

Center webpage: https://vectorbio.rutgers.edu