One Health Publications

PMGR: Strengthening One Health & Supporting Schools in the COVID-19 Response – Audio Description | Covid-19 | news-journal.com

“We really have to highlight the concept of one health. It’s not only about human health. We have to consider health in animals and the environment. And if you don’t look after these areas, we are the one that suffer at the end.”

— Leo Poon, head of the division of public health laboratory science at the University of Hong Kong

COVID-19 is not the last pandemic, and the next ones are quite likely, unless we come together to prevent it

“ … This study is critical in our understanding of One Health because of the interplay of three facets: the health of animals, humans and the environment,” says Prof Markotter, Head of UP’s Centre for Viral Zoonoses which leads in the One Health initiative to investigate zoonotic diseases. One Health refers to the interaction and intersection of the health of humans, animals and the environment.”

“ … There is growing recognition of the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration, including soaring advocacy for the ‘One Health’ approach — an integrated view of health that recognizes links between the environment, animals and humans. But, in general, this has yet to translate into action to prevent pandemics. …”

“ … Crucial in effectively using such new technologies is to have science make the One health approach a priority to improve health and security. That there is a sound basis for doing so is well documented via the One Health Initiative; U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the One Health Commission, and the proceedings of several International One Health Congresses. 

As embraced by many visionary advocates:

“One Health is the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, plants and our environment.”  “One Health implementation will help protect and/or save untold millions of lives in our generation and for those to come.” 

Thus, with the advent of synthetic biology, each element of the animal/plant/human/ecosystem interface can look to its horizon for important changes, ones that will have the impact of dramatically affecting us all.  …

… Paradoxically the COVID-19 pandemic has had a providential side-effect: It has accelerated worldwide recognition that a One Health approach is the best prescription for more expeditious and efficacious public health innovations. Simply put, all aspects of future biomedical advances are likely to benefit from a One Health interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach.”

• “…Develop a multidisciplinary Global Health Security workforce. Achieving global health security requires a multi-sectoral approach that incorporates an understanding of the linkages among human, animal, and environmental health– a “One Health” approach. As part of the U.S. Government’s Global Health Security programs, USAID is investing up to $85 million over five years to create a “next generation” health workforce. In 2021, USAID worked with more than 110 universities in 17 countries across Africa and Southeast Asia to train more than 18,000 current and future health workers for more effective disease surveillance and control. CDC has partnered with five leading international organizations to develop the Global Laboratory Leadership Programme (GLLP).  The GLLP is a comprehensive One Health-based training program for human and animal health laboratories. The GLLP is currently implemented in over 20 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. In addition, the CDC Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is recognized worldwide as an effective means to strengthen countries’ capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to public health threats through enhanced surveillance, epidemiology, and outbreak response functions. CDC works with partner countries to establish FETPs and to train epidemiologists across all levels of a country’s health system. To date, FETP has been implemented in more than 80 countries around the globe with more than 20,000 graduates with many FETP graduates becoming leaders and managers in  Ministries of Health or national public health institutes.  These activities accelerate progress of the United States Global Health Security Strategy, and will continue to help our partners build country-level capacities in line with their World Health Organization  Joint External Evaluations, National Action Plans for Health Security, and other tools the strengthen compliance with the International Health Regulations (IHR 2005). …”

“… “In bringing together experts in a transdisciplinary One Health approach, we bridged health, ecological and theoretical scientists to expand on traditional studies addressing impacts of parasites on individual hosts and host populations to better understand these impacts on the ecosystems where ruminant hosts and their parasites live,” said Sharon Deem, director of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine, a co-author of the new study.

The research effort was conducted by an interdisciplinary and international working group funded by the Living Earth Collaborative, a partnership among Washington University, the Missouri Botanical Garden and the Saint Louis Zoo. The team included biologists, wildlife veterinarians and epidemiologists, ecosystem ecologists, modelers and infectious disease specialists. …”

“Since the dawn of the space age in the last century, humans have sent animals into the nether regions to find out if living creatures could survive, to test for various benefits and risks for we humans. It is the way One Health uniquely integrates animals and environmental concerns, in a multidisciplinary context. 

We need to recognize that these animals are our explorers, our pathfinders, and heroes even if it isn’t by their choice.  …”

One Health Happenings News Notes is prepared and shared monthly by the One Health Commission    View archived issues: https://tinyurl.com/OHC-OH-Happening

“ … So what is the true economic impact of schistosomiasis? Only a One Health approach can answer this question.”

New research finds that climate change accelerates the spread of viruses among species causing increasingly frequent disease outbreaks

” … Indeed, the link between humans, animals, plants and the environment is the foundation of what is termed One Health, a concept bringing together experts from all disciplines across the spectrum of human and veterinary medicine as well as ecology and that is increasingly guiding public health policies at the World Health Organization and across the world. ”

In the Photo: Emerging/Reemerging infections worldwide
Photo Credit:  One Health Initiative

The program emphasizes One Health, an approach that reinforces that human health, animal health, and the environment are all connected.