Infection Ecology and Epidemiology Journal - Citation: Infection Ecology and Epidemiology 2011, 1: 8293 - DOI: 10.3402/iee.v1i0.8293

CASE STUDY

One health national programme across species on zoonoses: a call to the developing world

Asokan G. V., Dr¹*, Vanitha Asokan, Dr² and Prathap Tharyan, Dr³

¹College of Health Sciences, Kingdom of Bahrain; ²American Mission Hospital, Kingdom of Bahrain; ³South Asian Cochrane Network & Centre, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India

Abstract

Zoonoses constitute 868 (61%) of all known infectious diseases, 75% of the infections considered ‘emerging’ are zoonoses. Developed nations have national programmes, adjoining “One Health” concept to combat zoonoses, whereas inadequacies exist in developing nations. As a case study, role of national programmes in India, a developing nation with a large human and animal population, was explored, as we did have acquaintance of it. Data from PubMed was extracted using keywords “Zoonoses AND Prevalence/Incidence AND India AND Human OR Animal” till 2009. Additionally, some individual disease keywords were used for extraction, which were missed by the above comprehensive search terms. On appraisal, the health sector in India has only a few national programme on zoonoses where as none exists in animal husbandry sector. In the struggle against zoonoses -a major constituent of emerging infections, a system approach based, one national programme is urgently required for the developing world.

See Discussion:

“To accomplish the above desired needs, a strong public health infrastructure with a ‘One Health’-based national programme on zoonoses across species is required with greater community participation. Adjoining this, there could be several units on individual diseases graded for prevention, control, elimination or eradication depending on the prevalence estimates as well as priorities. This would be facilitated by a OneHealth approach, with enhanced communications across disciplinary and agency boundaries that involve complex human/animal/environmental systems in the struggle against zoonoses.

Ideally, an integrated ‘One Health national programme’ on zoonoses should encompass zoonoses causing most human and animal suffering and huge financial losses.To start of with at least notifiable zoonoses to control and prevent the major serious infectious diseases in India that is culturally and geographically diverse.”

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