Narratives of One Health In Action

From 2013 – 2020, Lincoln Park Zoo and Montana’s Northern Cheyenne Reservation collaborated on an ambitious community conservation partnership to help the blackfooted ferret population recover. In 2014, zoo scientists explored the relationship between people and animal health on the reservation and gathered information to assist the tribe with the development of a management plan for the free-roaming dog and horse population, which is a potential health hazard to both animals and people. Dogs can present public health risks for zoonotic diseases, such as rabies (when left unvaccinated) and Leptospirosis. Dogs can also carry canine distemper virus, which poses a threat to ferrets.

K-12 Teacher Amy LeBoeuf shares her son's journey through bartonellosis and points out urgency of teaching children how to prevent vector-borne diseases.   See also Amy's video commentary about their story and call for One Health education for young people and public to teah them how to 'prevent' vector-borne diseases.

Author:  Catherine Aimone   In:  Duke One Health Newsletter, December 2020

"Metagenomic Next-Generation sequencing (mNGS) can be a helpful tool for identifying and tracking new viruses in the animal-human nexus. Just this year, mNGS was used to identify more than 213,000 hCoV-19 sequences that were shared via GISAID, a database for tracking viral infection and spread globally. mNGS has not only helped identify and track CoV-19, but has also been used in surveillance of viral movement between animals and humans (3)."

A group of researchers, doctors and veterinarians explain why the management of emerging epidemics calls for a global approach, known as “One Health”, which integrates different sectors and disciplines of human, animal, plant and environmental health.

Blog post by Dr. Tony Fooks, lead scientist for International Development in the APHA, in celebration of One Health Day 2020

Author:  John Drake    In:  Forbes

Although one health — understanding that the health of humans, animals, and the environment — isn’t the only way to think about emerging diseases, it is perhaps the most comprehensive. It also underscores the role of ecology as an integrative science for the planet.

How do diseases spread from wildlife to humans? What can be done to limit the risks and the impact on society? A white paper and a policy brief suggest ways of preventing and detecting diseases, and taking rapid action if necessary. Both documents were produced as part of the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) programme and presented at the Global Landscapes Forum on 28 October 2020.

Author: Jake Robinson   In:  The Conversation

1. Healthy soils sustain life on earth

2. Our relationship with nature if failing

3. Indigenous cultures and knowledge is being lost

4. Human health is dependent on ecosystem health

“This promising body of work is demonstrative of Penn Vet’s uniquely poised, multi-dimensional expertise in addressing the interdisciplinary human, animal, and environmental health needs of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Althouse, DVM, PhD, Associate Dean of Sustainable Agriculture and Veterinary Practices at Penn Vet.

Researchers from CIRAD, the Royal Veterinary College and Mahidol University call for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to be included in efforts to make the One Health approach more operational driven by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal health (OIE). The goal is to make ecosystem health central to this approach, which addresses health holistically.

Author: Kristi Fender    In:  Today’s Veterinary Practice

When you’re in the midst of a busy day in your clinic—running between exam rooms, taking calls from clients, trying to keep up with medical records—One Health might be the last thing on your mind. This interdisciplinary concept that examines the relationships among animals, human beings, and the environment might seem more a subject for philosophical opinion pieces in academic journals than anything relevant to your bustling veterinary practice. But according to experts, you as a veterinarian are likely already “doing” One Health—even if you’re not stopping to think about it.

Video by Amy LeBoeuf      A Call for K12 One Health Education of Vector Borne and Zoonotic Disease

This Issue Brief provides a critical analysis of the various concepts proposed to integrate human health into its animal and ecological environment, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses, considered from the perspectives of the effective integration of sustainable development dimensions and their policy implementation.

Author: Christoph May    In: https://welttierschutz.org/

A report from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) holds hope in these dark times: German development aid is to be given a new focus that could benefit millions of animals in emerging and developing countries. The key word is "One Health", the ministry wants to set up a separate unit for this. But what does "One Health" mean? And what's behind it?

Author: Richard Seifman  In: IMPAKTER

"COVID-19 now joins the “Annual One Health Locust Pandemic”. Annual because it’s been happening (nearly) every year for thousands of years. One Health because it involves both humans and animals (in this case insects)."

Author:  Steve Osofsky     Post on Cornell University's Medium.com

Principle 7

 “Reduce the demand for and better regulate the international live wildlife and bushmeat trade not only to protect wildlife populations but to lessen the risks of disease movement, cross-species transmission, and the development of novel pathogen-host relationships. The costs of this worldwide trade in terms of impacts on public health, agriculture and conservation are enormous, and the global community must address this trade as the real threat it is to global socioeconomic security.”

Author:  Ami Papi, Northeast U.S. One Health Regional Consortium   In: TapInto.net

Through the efforts of Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, the One Health Regional Consortium was established.  The One Health Regional Consortium addresses collaborative approaches for One education, research and community outreach………….. In NJ, our government is promoting One Health by being the first state with legislation pending to have an interdisciplinary One Health Task Force. As written in Senate Bill S347 Legislative Statement: “One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment.

Author:  Mark Bekoff    In: Psychology Today

"Given that humans have to be part of the healing process, I decided to revisit the One Health movement………………. I am a strong supporter of this initiative …………and you can read more about it in an interview I did with the University of Denver's Sarah Bexell, .....

Dr. Bexell correctly notes, if we harm one of the three pillars of the One Health movement—humans, other species, and the natural environment—all three are harmed. The pillars are closely interlinked. On the positive and hopeful side, when we work to protect one pillar, all have a better chance of positive outcomes and surviving……

Regardless of future possibilities, for now, while we're here, we need to deal with our ubiquitous presence. We must work together and do much better than we've done."

Sun J, He W, Wang L, Lai A, Ji X, Zhai X, Li G, Suchard MA, Tian J, Zhou J, Veit M, Su S, Trends in Molecular Medicine, In Press

" Similarities of receptor sequence binding to 2019-nCoV between humans and animals suggest a low species barrier for transmission of the virus to farm animals. We propose, based on the One Health model, that veterinarians and animal specialists should be involved in a cross-disciplinary collaboration in the fight against this epidemic. "

Comments from Dr. Sharon Deem of the Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)

By George Lueddeke in PEAH, Policies for Equitable Access to Health, March 2020

Proposition #7 is pivotal for all others ...

What If?... THE UNIFYING ONE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING CONCEPT became the cornerstone of our education systems and societal institutions, thereby helping to create a “more just, sustainable and peaceful world” (UN-2030 Global Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs)?”

Author:  Laura Kahn    In: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist

Aurthor: Brian Dunleavy  In: Contagion Live, Infectious Diseases Today

Those who require a reminder of the importance of the One Health approach need look no further than the ongoing 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak (2019 n-CoV).
One Health, which is designed to foster and streamline communication between infectious disease professionals engaged in human as well as veterinary health, is essentially where the rubber meets road when an outbreak occurs. Although we still have a lot to learn about the origins of 2019 n-CoV, it’s safe to assume that One Health protocols and principles have played, and will likely continue to play, a key role in getting the ongoing crisis under control

Author: Connor McCoy BioechNow Blog post

Biotechnology is leading to breakthroughs for human, animal and environmental health, but is there a way we can address these outbreaks before they spread from animal to human?         Yes, and the concept is called One Health.

So, what is One Health? It is a public health approach that ensures all areas of government are coordinated and working together to foster and advance innovation that is critical in protecting against diseases and malnutrition. The ability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases such as coronavirus, Ebola, Zika, avian influenza (HPAI) and MERS depends on an improved understanding of the interconnectedness of human, animal and environmental health.

Outbreak News Today! Podcast interview by Robert Herriman.

Author:  Olga Jonas, Senior Fellow and Economic Adviser, Harvard Global Health Institute

Most infectious diseases with epidemic and pandemic potentials are of animal origin; control at the source thus requires detection in animals, before the threat extends to human populations. Core veterinary and human public-health systems that use One Health approaches are the first line of defense against contagion and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Adequate financing for core veterinary and human public-health systems is important for their performance. Despite the remarkably low costs of core public-health systems, financing has been inadequate, and spending has not even been officially monitored.

"Zooeiya" is the term that describes the positive benefits to the health of people as a result of interacting with animals, and the primary focus of zooeyia studies is the ways that pets improve the health of their people.

'While seeing a CRE outbreak in veterinary medicine did not come as a surprise, especially at a large veterinary hospital, this veterinary hospital was not prepared for it, and they don't think the profession is prepared for it. They are getting the word out about the outbreak, and having discussions with public health agencies, human medical colleagues, and experts in environmental monitoring, will result in some guidance for veterinarians.   "It's a really good One Health opportunity........It's a great opportunity to bring everyone together."