News

 

Wednesday, April 08, 2020

Opinion: Coronavirus outbreak stresses need for One Health and animal biotech advancement

By Dana O’Brien Executive Vice President, Food & Agriculture Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

SEE: https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/13437-opinion-coronavirus-outbreak-stresses-need-for-one-health-and-animal-biotech-advancement   

“... Society was woefully unprepared for this pandemic. We must employ modern approaches to be ready for future outbreaks. One Health collaboration eliminates barriers that often exist between human health, animal health, and environmental health strategies to create smarter, multi-faceted and coordinated efforts.

BIO supports legislation such as the “Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2019.” This bill would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to coordinate with other agencies and state and local leaders to advance a national One Health framework to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to zoonotic disease outbreaks like COVID-19. Congress and the White House must factor One Health into their efforts to address future pandemics.

Animal health and wellness is a critical component of One Health strategy. To help the U.S. better prepare for the future, we need changes to the U.S. animal biotechnology regulatory system. The U.S. government’s current approach to regulating animal biotechnology as a “new animal drug” has all but destroyed investment and blocked market access for a host of beneficial products. ... “

Note:

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Crisis Reinforces Necessity for Institutionalizing One Health concept/approach – Posted One Health Initiative website Tuesday, April 07, 2020

The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) crisis reinforces the essential and critical worldwide necessity for highlighting, recognizing and institutionalizing the principles of the One Health concept/approach i.e. “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.”   The One Health concept is a worldwide strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and communications in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment. The synergism achieved will advance health care for the 21st century and beyond by accelerating biomedical research discoveries, enhancing public health efficacy, expeditiously expanding the scientific knowledge base, and improving medical education and clinical care. When properly implemented, it will help protect and save untold millions of lives in our present and future generations. http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/about.php.