One Health Movement News / One Health Topics 'in' the News
View articles of interest about One Health topics gathered from media around the world here. Send One Health related news to: ohc@onehealthcommission.org
Recent years have seen a drastic increase in the rates of overweight and obesity among people living in some developed nations. There has also been increased concern over obesity in companion animals. In the latest article in Veterinary Record's series on One Health, Peter Sandøe and colleagues argue that the relationship between obesity in people and in companion animals is closer and more complex than previously thought, and that obesity should be treated as a One Health problem.
An estimated 6051 tons of active substances went into the production of veterinary pharmaceuticals (VPs) for the treatment of food animals in the European Union (EU) in 2004, including 5393 tons of antibiotics and 194 tons of antiparasitics (1). With global meat production projected to increase (2) and the growing market for companion animal pharmaceuticals (3), the use of VPs will continue to increase. Although VPs may benefit the health and welfare of domestic animals and the efficiency of food animal production, they can contaminate the environment through manufacturing, treatment of animals, and disposal of carcasses, offal, urine, feces, and unused products (4) (see the chart). This contamination is a threat to nontarget species, including humans. With Spain having recently authorized marketing of a VP that was banned in South Asia in the past decade in light of environmental impacts, we recommend strengthening of current procedures and addition of a more proactive, holistic, One Health approach applicable to all VPs.
Characterizing the health consequences of interactions among animals, humans, and the environment in the face of climatic change, environmental disturbance, and expanding human populations is a critical global challenge in today's world. Exchange of interdisciplinary knowledge in basic and applied sciences and medicine that includes scientists, health professionals, key sponsors, and policy experts revealed that relevant case studies of monkeypox, influenza A, tuberculosis, and HIV can be used to guide strategies for anticipating and responding to new disease threats such as the Ebola and Chickungunya viruses, as well as to improve programs to control existing zoonotic diseases, including tuberculosis. The problem of safely feeding the world while preserving the environment and avoiding issues such as antibiotic resistance in animals and humans requires cooperative scientific problem solving. Food poisoning outbreaks resulting from Salmonella growing in vegetables have demonstrated the need for knowledge of pathogen evolution and adaptation in developing appropriate countermeasures for prevention and policy development. Similarly, pesticide use for efficient crop production must take into consideration bee population declines that threaten the availability of the two-thirds of human foods that are dependent on pollination. This report presents and weighs the objective merits of competing health priorities and identifies gaps in knowledge that threaten health security, to promote discussion of major public policy implications such that they may be decided with at least an underlying platform of facts.
.....summarizes remarks by and an engaging discussion with Dr. Rima Khabbaz, Dr. Stuart Levy, Dr. Margaret (Peg) Riley, and Dr. Brad Spellberg on Antimicrobial Resistance: A Problem Without Borders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified antimicrobial resistance as one of five urgent health threats facing the United States this year. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health security threat that will demand collaboration from many stakeholders around the world. This report highlights the crosscutting character of antimicrobial resistance and the needs for many disciplines to be brought together to be able to deal with it more effectively.
Summary: Today, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a report, Combating Antibiotic Resistance. The report was released simultaneously with a National Strategy on Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria as well as with a Presidential Executive Order, emphasizing to the Nation the importance of addressing this growing challenge.
Summary: The Obama administration announces a comprehensive set of new federal actions to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and protect public health.
The current Ebola outbreak highlights the links between health, global environmental change and socio-ecological systems – and shows how exploring those links is key to finding solutions.
Homeless persons in San Francisco, California, USA, have been shown to have head and body lice infestations and Bartonella quintana infections. We surveyed a self-selected population of homeless persons in San Francisco to assess infestations of head and body lice, risks of having body lice, and presence of B. quintana in lice. A total of 203 persons who reported itching were surveyed during 2008–2010 and 2012: 60 (30%) had body lice, 10 (4.9%) had head lice, and 6 (3.0%) had both. B. quintana was detected in 10 (15.9%) of 63 body lice pools and in 6 (37.5%) of 16 head lice pools. Variables significantly associated (p<0.05) with having body lice in this homeless population included male sex, African–American ethnicity, and sleeping outdoors. Our study findings suggest that specific segments of the homeless population would benefit from information on preventing body lice infestations and louse borne diseases.
Published with the permission of Michael San Filippo (msanfilippo@avma.org) 1-847-285-6647.
Excerpt: "Even during the last weeks of summer, it's important to remember children and pets are at greater risk of being infected with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Because people and their pets often spend time in the same environments where Lyme and other disease-transmitting ticks are found, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) are working together to offer advice to households with children and pets."
"Today the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) launched the U.S. Stakeholder Forum on Antimicrobial Resistance (S-FAR) and released the Forum’s foundational principles. More than 75 national organizations, representing medical and allied health professionals, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, patients and consumers, public health, research and advocacy, industry, and international health organizations have joined the partnership so far. Partners will convene for the inaugural S-FAR meeting in Philadelphia on Oct. 9, 2014."
Bartonella could be responsible for a hidden epidemic of disease in animals and humans, according to a US veterinary infectious disease expert.
Edward Breitschwerdt, from the Centre for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, updated doctors and veterinarians at the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Zoonoses conference in Brisbane last month.
India needs to tweak her public health policy on eradication of endemic and emerging zoonotic diseases by replacing the pathogen-centric approach with a holistic human-animal-environment approach. Public health experts and scientists at an international conference looking at a variety of zoonotic pathogens – bugs which jump from animals to humans – felt that India urgently needs to put in place a ‘One Health’ programme that focuses on factors beyond pathogens.
The cold-temperate regions of the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans, from about 40°N latitude to the Arctic fronts, support large and productive fisheries (1), particularly in the northernmost regions: the Bering Sea in the Pacific and the Barents Sea in the Atlantic. The two main near-bottom fish species in the Bering and Barents seas are walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) and Atlantic cod (G. morhua), respectively. In the past decade, the two species have responded differently to ocean warming. These response patterns appear to be linked to a complex suite of climatic and oceanic processes that may portend future responses to warming ocean conditions.
Within the context of Earth’s limited natural resources and assimilation capacity, the current environmental footprint of humankind is not sustainable. Assessing land, water, energy, material, and other footprints along supply chains is paramount in understanding the sustainability, efficiency, and equity of resource use from the perspective of producers, consumers, and government. We review current footprints and relate those to maximum sustainable levels, highlighting the need for future work on combining footprints, assessing trade-offs between them, improving computational techniques, estimating maximum sustainable footprint levels, and benchmarking efficiency of resource use. Ultimately, major transformative changes in the global economy are necessary to reduce humanity’s environmental footprint to sustainable levels.
The recent exponential rise in the number of reported cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is of major global concern. The Fifth Meeting of the International Health Regulations Emergency Committee concerning MERS-CoV was convened on May 13, 2014, by WHO's Director-General and concluded that, although the seriousness of the situation had increased, there was no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission and that conditions for a Public Health Emergency of Intern ...
"The Department of Pathology, in conjunction with the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), hosted a special Grand Rounds by marine mammal expert and pathologist Gregory Bossart, V.M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Animal Health, Research, and Conservation and Chief Veterinary Officer at Georgia Aquarium. In his May 1 presentation, “Marine Mammals as Sentinels for Ocean and Human Health,” Bossart discussed the application of aquatic species as sentinels for the effects of global climate change, ecosystem and human health."
Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), which has sickened at least 495 people, killed 141, and now popped up in the United States, has much in common with other recent outbreaks, including SARS, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed some 775 patients in 2002 and 2003: They can spread rapidly across borders, stir up fear in the public, and be transmitted from human to human.
"The little boy could soon be back. El Niño, a periodic warming in the waters of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, will probably emerge in the coming months, according to a forecast issued yesterday by the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If strong, the El Niño event could not only wreak havoc on weather around the world, but could also trigger a resumption of global warming that has been seemingly stalled for the last 15 years."
Infectious diseases pose a serious threat to the wellbeing of both human and animal populations. Here, in the fifth in Veterinary Record's series of articles promoting One Health, Mathew Dixon, Osman Dar and David Heymann examine lessons learned from previous disease outbreaks; they also consider current threats and how a better understanding of underlying risk factors could stimulate a paradigm shift from treatment to prevention of zoonotic infectious diseases
30 APRIL 2014 | GENEVA - A new report by WHO–its first to look at antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, globally–reveals that this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the world and has the potential to affect anyone, of any age, in any country. Antibiotic resistance–when bacteria change so antibiotics no longer work in people who need them to treat infections–is now a major threat to public health.
One Health refers to the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. Although the usefulness of the One Health approach is widely appreciated, thanks to a growing body of evidence, its uptake remains limited and health management is still largely organized by sector.
James Steele, DVM, MPH, passed away on November 10, 2013, in Houston; he was 100 years old. Jim Steele was an extraordinary man. All of the dimensions of his life were on a grand scale. He was larger than life in so many ways; his vision, his leadership, his accomplishments in public health, his worldwide friendships, his mentorship of scores of young acolytes who came within his orbit, his extraordinary memory, his bear hugs, and his longevity were all manifestations of his boundless enthusiasm for life.
In this book editors Ronald M. Atlas and Stanley Maloy have compiled 20 chapters written by interdisciplinary experts that present core concepts, compelling evidence, successful applications, and the remaining challenges of One Health approaches to thwarting the threat of emerging infectious disease. It is a valuable resource for physicians, veterinarians, environmental scientists, microbiologists, public health workers and policy makers, and others who want to understand the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health.
