One Health Publications

“This field test project is unprecedented and illustrates the importance of One Health, a collaboration between human and animal health sectors,” Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M. said. “It will be a game-changer for animal agriculture and the food supply chain and raise Tennessee’s standing as a national leader in enhanced disease surveillance and testing. We’re grateful for USDA’s recognition with this grant award.”

November / December 2020 | Volume 19, Number 6

December 2020 One Health Happenings

In Memoriam This Issue of One Health Happenings is dedicated to long time One Health Champion Lisa Conti, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, CPM who left this earth on November 7 after a long battle with cancer. Even when we see and know it is coming, losing this precious One Health champion (https://bit.ly/3ljp9mR) is heart-wrenching. Lisa, you are a beautiful soul. Your warm, calm, level-headed, insightful, respectful, knowledge and never ceasing commitment to the One Health movement cannot be replaced. You have left a hole in all our hearts. We promise to carry on, to keep the faith, and just keep swimming towards a day when One Health truly is the default way of doing business around the world. Sending you Hugs in Heaven. The One Health Commission

Dr. Conti was a cherished member of the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team:

Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP ▪ Bruce Kaplan, DVM ▪ Thomas P. Monath, MD ▪ *Lisa A. Conti, DVM, MPH ▪ Thomas M. Yuill, PhD ▪ Helena J. Chapman, MD, MPH, PhD ▪ Craig N. Carter, DVM, PhD ▪ Becky Barrentine, MBA  *Deceased November 6, 2020

“It is this ideal of intersectoral collaboration that is embodied in the One Health framework to tackle zoonotic diseases. One Health requires that

all relevant sectors and disciplines across the human–animal–environment interface are involved to address health in a way that is more effective, efficient, or sustainable than might be achieved if not all relevant sectors were engaged. (WHO-FAO-OIE 2019)”

Whither One Health in India?Challenges to Adopting Global Strategies for Tackling Zoonotic Diseases

The COVID-19 pandemic has sharply brought into focus how intrusions into natural landscapes are not just environmental concerns, but are also intricately entangled with public health. Little attention has been paid to systemic causes such as large-scale biodiversity loss that underlie the emergence and re-emergence of these diseases. Institutional networks of public and animal health in India that are involved in the surveillance and control of zoonoses are outlined herein. It is shown that the lack of a systematic framework that explicitly involves institutions that manage biodiversity and wildlife health leads to gaps in operationalising a One Health framework in India. Addressing these lacunae requires a supra-ministerial mechanism that brings together public health, ecology, and veterinary and social sciences to combat the threats posed by existing and emerging zoonoses.

 This study was conducted as a part of the preparatory phase project of the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Well-being, which is catalysed and supported by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

November 2020 Impakter Magazine “One Health” Publications with co-author…

 *Richard Seifman, JD, MBA: Former World Bank Senior Health Advisor and U.S. Alternate Representative to Food Agricultural Organization.

1. Health Illiteracy – Why a Silent Epidemic Needs a “One Health” Approach, Bruce Kaplan & Richard Seifman, November 27, 2020
2. COVID-19: Why More than Vaccines are Needed—One Health Approach, Bruce Kaplan & Richard Seifman, November 13, 2020
3. How COVID Disrupts Education and Training of Physicians and Veterinarians, Bruce Kaplan & Richard Seifman, November 6, 2020

*Member One Health Initiative Advisory Board (Hon.)

Abstract

Background

Birds can act as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens and can also disperse pathogen-containing ticks to both nearby and remote localities. The aims of this study were to estimate tick infestation patterns on migratory birds and the prevalence of different Borrelia species and tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) in ticks removed from birds in south-eastern Sweden.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages globally, interest in antiviral treatments has never been higher. Antibodies are key defence components, and engineering them to better exploit their natural functions might boost therapeutic options.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages globally, interest in antiviral treatments has never been higher. Antibodies are key defence components, and engineering them to better exploit their natural functions might boost therapeutic options.

The use of antibodies to combat human disease dates back to the 1890s. At that time, the physiologist Emil von Behring used blood extracts from rabbits infected with the bacterium that causes diphtheria to tackle that infection. It was discovered only later that antibodies targeting the bacterium were the active ingredient. Amazingly, such serum therapy is still practised today. For example, blood (described as convalescent plasma) donated by people who have recovered from COVID-19, which contains antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is used as a treatment for people with coronavirus infection. Writing in Nature, Bournazos et al.¹ report progress in efforts to aid antiviral responses by engineering human antibodies to enhance their antiviral activity.

Antibodies are a key component of what is called the adaptive branch of the immune system. They can recognize a part of a foreign molecule called an antigen and mobilize various immune processes to neutralize the threat posed by the disease-causing agent. From the work in this area since von Behring’s discovery, punctuated by multiple Nobel prizes, we have learnt much about the regulation, structure and function of antibodies, and their use in the clinic has grown exponentially (see go.nature.com/3kltoq7) . Nevertheless, efforts to manipulate, engineer and improve antibodies remain highly topical.  …

The discovery that the receptor protein LDLRAD3 is essential for infection of human cells by Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus could inform strategies to combat this potentially lethal infection.

When viruses jump from animals to humans, disease outbreaks can follow. A striking example is Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV). This virus causes sporadic disease outbreaks in horses in Latin America that frequently spill over into humans, resulting in often-deadly neurological disease1. Because of its pathogenicity in livestock and humans, VEEV has been studied as a biological weapon by several countries, including the United States2. Treatments for the disease are therefore highly desirable. It has been unknown how VEEV co-opts cellular pathways to establish infection in people — in particular, which host receptor protein allows VEEV to cross the cell membrane and initiate its replication cycle. Writing in Nature, Ma et al.3 describe the long-sought receptor for VEEV, and show that it is essential for viral replication in both human cells and mouse models.  …

Abstract

“Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that is the causative agent of toxoplasmosis, an infection with high prevalence worldwide. Most of the infected individuals are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, but T. gondii can cause severe neurologic damage and even death of the fetus when acquired during pregnancy. It is also a serious condition in immunodeficient patients. The life-cycle of T. gondii is complex, with more than one infective form and several transmission pathways. In two animated videos, we describe the main aspects of this cycle, raising questions about poorly or unknown issues of T. gondii biology. Original plates, based on electron microscope observations, are also available for teachers, students and researchers. The main goal of this review is to provide a source of learning on the fundamental aspects of T. gondii biology to students and teachers contributing for better knowledge and control on this important parasite, and unique cell model. In addition, drawings and videos point to still unclear aspects of T. gondii lytic cycle that may stimulate further studies.

Background

“…Recently, EcoHealth Alliance, a global nonprofit working at the intersection of animal, environmental and human health, announced the establishment of an international task force to investigate these questions as part of The Lancet COVID-19 Commission. Dr. Danielle Anderson, scientific director of Duke-NUS Medical School’s Animal Biosafety Level 3 (ABSL3) research facility in Singapore, is among the taskforce’s 12 members, who hail from a diverse set of scientific disciplines and backgrounds, with expertise in One Health, outbreak investigation, virology, lab biosecurity, and disease ecology.”

“The World Health Organization defines a zoonosis as any infection naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. The pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been classified as a zoonotic disease, however, no animal reservoir has yet been found, so this classification is premature. We propose that COVID-19 should instead be classified an “emerging infectious disease (EID) of probable animal origin.” To explore if COVID-19 infection fits our proposed re-categorization vs. the contemporary definitions of zoonoses, we reviewed current evidence of infection origin and transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 virus and described this in the context of known zoonoses, EIDs and “spill-over” events. Although the initial one hundred COVID-19 patients were presumably exposed to the virus at a seafood Market in China, and despite the fact that 33 of 585 swab samples collected from surfaces and cages in the market tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, no virus was isolated directly from animals and no animal reservoir was detected. Elsewhere, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in animals including domesticated cats, dogs, and ferrets, as well as captive-managed mink, lions, tigers, deer, and mice confirming zooanthroponosis. Other than circumstantial evidence of zoonotic cases in mink farms in the Netherlands, no cases of natural transmission from wild or domesticated animals have been confirmed. More than 40 million human COVID-19 infections reported appear to be exclusively through human-human transmission. SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 do not meet the WHO definition of zoonoses. We suggest SARS-CoV-2 should be re-classified as an EID of probable animal origin. …”