One Health Publications

One Health High-Level Expert Panel, January 2023, The Lancet … One Health Approach for the Control of Zoonotic Diseases.

“The objective of this review was to assess the spread of members of the Rickettsiales in Europe from the One Health perspective [76]. This perspective broadens our understanding of disease through animal surveillance and environmental research, with the goals of early disease detection, a better understanding of threats and risk mitigation.”

“Public health challenges—like antibiotic resistance, vector-borne disease and a global pandemic—have eluded traditional public health tools and frameworks. As a result, public health leaders focus more and more on the intersection between the environment and human health. Searching for a better framework to understand emerging threats to human health, many in public health circles have united around the “one health” paradigm. …”

Merck Manuals, a comprehensive online medical reference, has developed a microsite, MerckManuals.com/OneHealth, where visitors can read insightful commentary, watch informative videos, and access relevant association resources related to One Health. One Health is the concept that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably linked. Therefore, medical and veterinary professionals as well as those in other scientific, health, and environmental disciplines should communicate and collaborate, instead of work in isolation.

“… Along with integrating huge amounts of disparate data into improved computer models, the collaboration will aim to build a community of researchers around a “One-Health (Human-Animal-Environment Systems) approach” they said is needed take on “the complexity, dynamics and the tele-coupling of HAES across multiple spatial and temporal scales and organization levels.” Peterson said he hoped the work also would strengthen the nation’s ability to track disease in birds and other species, as well as safeguard public health and prevent societal disruption. …”

Advancing Health Care in Humans, Animals and the Environment

OHC_WHI_Journal_3rdEditionFinal 12.8.2022

Preface

“Welcome to the third edition of the Writing Heals and Inspires Journal. Following the publication of the first two editions, we are excited to present our first entirely student-led edition of the journal. This edition illuminates student voices on the diverse applications of One Health: the concept that human, environmental, and animal health are all intimately connected and that interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for successful health outcomes in all three sectors. …”

For decades antimicrobials have contributed to the reduction of infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants, saving lives and increasing productivity. Their effectiveness is now in jeopardy. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when microbes such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi are resistant to antimicrobial treatments used in healthcare and in crop and animal production. Given the interconnection of human, animal, plant and ecosystems health, a ‘One Health’ response to AMR is essential.

“The story of how Programme for Monitoring Emerging Diseases (ProMED)-mail alerted the world to the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has attained something like folklore status in global health circles.  …

… It was precisely the kind of scenario that *Jack Woodall, Stephen Morse, and Barbara Hatch Rosenberg had in mind when they founded ProMED in 1994. SARS-CoV was a new virus spreading in human populations, yet it was not being publicised by local, national, or international authorities. It was not until after the ProMED-mail post that WHO received its first notification of the outbreak from the Chinese Ministry of Health.

“WHO and other official sources are constrained in their reporting by the need for bureaucratic clearance”, Woodall pointed out in 2001. “ProMED-mail has no such constraints, and posts outbreak reports 7 days a week.” A 2017 study subsequently linked SARS-CoV to a set of very similar virus strains in a horseshoe bat population in Yunnan province, China. The authors noted that “the risk of spillover into people and emergence of a disease similar to SARS is possible”.

Morse, who is now Professor of Epidemiology at the Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA, was the first to apply and explain the term emerging in connection with infectious diseases. The swashbuckling Woodall, who died in October, 2016, specialised in arboviruses. He coauthored one of the first papers on Zika virus. Rosenberg retired as Professor of Microbiology at the State University of New York, Purchase, NY, USA.  …”

_______________________

OHI website Editor’s note:

*Jack Woodall, PhD

“…Jack was an integral member of the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono team comprised of Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, Bruce Kaplan, DVM, Thomas P. Monath, MD and the late Lisa A. Conti, DVM, MPH.  Promotion and support of One Health with the goal of eventual implementation was of great importance to our esteemed colleague, Dr. Jack Woodall. …”

Dr. Woodall originated the posting of pertinent One Health related items on the ProMED Publications – One Health Initiative website page that was formerly managed by him from November 2009 until May 4, 2016.  This One Health Initiative website page (since November 4, 2016) has been and is being managed by Thomas M. Yuill, PhD.  Dr. Yuill’s outstanding accomplished management has resulted in this page becoming among the website’s most successful and highly accessed, i.e., News, Publications and the said ProMED Outbreak Reports to date. Notably, Tom Yuill was first introduced to the OHI team and highly recommended by our dear friend Jack Woodall.

“Presentation of the White Paper and summary of the main findings The purpose of this White Paper is to examine the One Health concept (also called “approach” or “dimension”) from an inter[1]national law and global governance perspective and to contribute to discussions on the integration of this term into the international legal system. It is largely based on interviews with twelve experts in the various domains related to One Health.

While the One Health concept arose in the international discourse around fifteen years ago, most of the international community, including those working in the field of health law, had not heard of the term or had at least not paid much atten – tion to it until recently. The COVID-19 pandemic singlehandedly changed all that, with the concept of One Health now receiving privileged attention within the draft pandemic treaty and Inter[1]national Health Regulations (IHR) reform discussions at the World Health Organization (WHO).  …”

Abstract

Successful public health interventions using the One Health (OH) approach require the broad committed collaboration of individuals, institutions and technical and policy organizations from all sectors of society. In many communities, city and district mayors (sub-national leaders) directly control the administrative functions that serve the well-being of their constituents and are important stakeholders in setting and implementing priorities and mobilizing local capacities, resources and concrete action. A multisectoral and transdisciplinary team composed of the Indonesian Ministries of Health, Home and Agriculture and the Association of All Health Offices; the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union); the University of Western Ontario, Canada and the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) convinced this established consortium of mayors, the Asia Pacific Cities Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT), to join forces and adopt and implement a One Health workshop with fellow Asia Pacific regional city and district mayors and decision-makers in preparation for the November 2022 G20 meeting in Indonesia. The main objective of this workshop was to highlight the pivotal, practical role mayors play in advocacy, action and accountability for current and future diseases at the human-animal-environment interface using the OH approach. The workshop was conducted on 2 June, 2022, with 2544 (1577 on zoom and 967 on YouTube) people attending this virtual event from 16 countries and 431 cities. An overwhelming majority of participants agreed that the OH approach can prevent outbreaks of zoonotic diseases. The mayors committed by signing a political declaration that addressed local challenges through the implementation of local strategies based on international standards using the OH approach. Activities were formulated and initiated to prevent the risks of future disease outbreaks, epidemics and pandemics caused by zoonotic diseases.

By *Claude Forthomme, BA, MA  – Senior Editor

January 22, 2023  in Health, Politics & Foreign Affairs

*Member One Health Initiative Advisory Board

Numerous other notable One Health publication contributions by Ms. Forthomme et. al. include:

One Health Archives – Impakter

“UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) has put forward the ‘One Health’ approach to identify zoonotic diseases.

This was done at a training workshop in partnership with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean.

The workshop, which targeted healthcare, environmental health, and animal health sector workers, focused on ‘One Health’ as an approach that requires collaboration between multiple sectors to combat zoonotic diseases. A zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen that can jump from a non-human (usually a vertebrate) to a human and vice versa.  …”

One Health and Wildlife: Current Outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in North America; Environmental fungicides and the development of …

“… of the GAP and guided by a One Health approach––a unifying concept recognising the interdependence of human, animal, and environmental health.”