Lessons from the Netherlands - [Demonstrates Need for One Health approach]

By Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP | 10 January 2011

“With more than 4,000 people falling ill since 2007, the Netherlands is experiencing one of the world's worst outbreaks of Q fever. A zoonotic disease (meaning it can be transmitted from animals to people), Q fever can cause sickness and even death in humans. The Dutch struggle to address the ongoing outbreak can be instructive in terms of how to improve the handling of public health crises, and the rest of the world would do well to learn from their experience. … … … … Building these bridges will require leadership, financial incentives, joint educational programs, shared conferences, and other efforts that introduce an interdisciplinary way of thinking. The Dutch response to the Q fever crisis not only shows that new steps must be taken to better protect public health, but also demonstrates how important an integrated approach, like One Health, will be in the future.”

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http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/laura-h-kahn/lessons-the-netherlands

 

Permission Granted to post January 11, 2011 by Mindy Kay Bricker, Senior Editor, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Chicago, IL 60637 (USA)