One Health Publications

Save the Dates: April 21 – 23, 2024

“Dr. Samira Mubareka, infectious disease physician, medical microbiologist and scientist at Sunnybrook, has received an Applied Public Health Chair, co-funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). …”

“… The focus of Dr. Mubareka’s Chair is to use a One Health approach that examines the interconnections between humans, animals and their environment in order to develop adaptive and innovative approaches to prevent zoonotic pathogen spillover between species. This builds on collaborative research with wildlife disease ecologists, computational biologists, epidemiologists, virologists, and many other colleagues in human and animal health.

The honour highlights Dr. Mubareka’s ongoing leadership in One Health, pandemic response, and surveillance of viral zoonoses like SARS-CoV-2. In the past few years, she has chaired the Royal Society of Canada’s COVID-19 Task Force’s One Health Working Group, and collaboratively co-founded a multidisciplinary research collective, the Wildlife Emerging Pathogen Initiative (Wild EPI). In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Mubareka and colleagues isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a Level 3 containment facility, which helped researchers in Canada develop better diagnostic testing, treatments and vaccines and gain a better understanding of SARS-CoV-2 biology. Dr. Mubareka will continue working with the Royal Society of Canada and other key partners on knowledge mobilization around One Health.  …”

“… Dr. Mazet’s spoke to ODU students and faculty at her first lecture. The topic of her talk was on “Using One Health to Rank the Risk of Spillovers & Pandemic Potential for Novel Viruses.” Her talk centered around utilizing a One Health approach to emerging health threats including newly appeared or previously viral diseases that are increasing in incidence. She gave examples of various activities that occurred during the COVID-19 global pandemic but concluded with the observation that we have changed nothing to prevent or address things that could be applied to the next pandemic. Students and faculty asked questions at the completion of her talk and Dr. Mazet carefully and thoughtfully answered each and every question posed. Throughout the course of her visit on campus, Dr. Mazet also met with many graduate students. “She provided some excellent mentoring during her talks with the many graduate students interested in One Health in the Department,” said Holly Gaff, chair of ODU’s Department of Biological Sciences. …”

Abstract

The culling of animals that are infected, or suspected to be infected, with COVID-19 has fuelled outcry. What might have contributed to the ongoing debates and discussions about animal rights protection amid global health crises is the lack of a unified understanding and internationally agreed-upon definition of “One Health”. The term One Health is often utilised to describe the imperative to protect the health of humans, animals, and plants, along with the overarching ecosystem in an increasingly connected and globalized world. However, to date, there is a dearth of research on how to balance public health decisions that could impact all key stakeholders under the umbrella of One Health, particularly in contexts where human suffering has been immense. To shed light on the issue, this paper discusses whether One Health means “human-centred connected health” in a largely human-dominated planet, particularly amid crises like COVID-19. The insights of this study could help policymakers make more informed decisions that could effectively and efficiently protect human health while balancing the health and well-being of the rest of the inhabitants of our shared planet Earth.

Animal health, biodiversity, ecological, environmental and plant health are key to addressing existing and future infectious disease risks

Volume 11, No. 3, March 24, 2024

Sharing news from mid-February to mid-March 2024

Also see: Partners | Public Health Vaccines, LLC (phvaccines.com)

“… There have been subsequent avian flu outbreaks, but continued surveillance, reporting, and actions to contain the spread have meant far less cost and economic impact to those who raise flocks and society as a whole.

This is a good example of how a multisectoral One Health approach in addressing emerging infections of animal origin, as well as plant and environmental health, can be invaluable on many levels. …”

The United Nations Environment Assembly (Unea) this year embraced the theme of One Health, which recognises the interdependence of human-, animal-, and environmental health

… “From an outbreak perspective, we need to know the source so we can prevent it in the future,” says Popescu. “If you look at the likelihood that it is a zoonotic spillover event, then we can focus on addressing that from a One Health perspective, we can look at increasing biosurveillance, we can look at the risks from deforestation and climate change that are increasing, you know, animal habitats changing and our interactions with animals.”

It suggests that focusing on the virus’s likely zoonotic nature guides preventive measures and promotes a view of pandemic preparedness. It sees the discussion as a chance to improve global health security through better collaboration and information exchange.  …