One Health News

From the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE

For more information:

David Kirkpatrick

847-285-6782 (o)

847-409-0519 (c)

dkirkpatrick@avma.org

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) supports U.S. surgeon general’s call to action on walking and walkable communities

See: http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Call%20to%20Action%20Walking%20Press%20Release%20Final.pdf

(SCHAUMBURG, Illinois) Sept. 9, 2015 – The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) today joins U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and his office in their efforts to promote walking and walkable communities as a way to engage more people in the benefits of regular exercise and enhance human health.

“We couldn’t be happier that Surgeon General Murthy has recognized in this initiative the benefits of pet ownership and how regularly walking the family dog is great for both the pet and the pet owner,” said AVMA President Dr. Joe Kinnarney. “By including pets in the Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities, Surgeon General Murthy also recognizes the critical role our nation’s veterinarians play in maintaining both animal and human health. Healthy animals equal healthy people, and we are proud to say that veterinarians contribute enormously to the health and well-being of both.”

The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities is the first Call to Action that he is scheduled to release. It presents five goals and related strategies to support walking and walkability in the U.S., all with the objective of making it easier and safer for people to walk, use a wheelchair, ride a bike and be physically active in other ways.

“The AVMA is fully supportive of the surgeon general’s goals, especially those of making walking a national priority, and designing communities that make it safe and easy to walk for people of all ages and abilities,” Kinnarney said. “We need more sidewalks and more walkable destinations for both our people and their pets, because when people and pets can enjoy the outdoors and come together socially with other pets and their owners it’s a better world for all of us.”

In his commissioning and change of command remarks in April, Surgeon General Murthy said, “Public health doesn’t exist in a vacuum,” and that the nation needs to treat health as a shared responsibility. “That is why we have to build the great American community,” he said. As a champion of the one health concept, the AVMA supports the surgeon general’s call for more coordination and collaboration among the nation’s medical professionals.

“The surgeon general’s aim of building the great American community is reflective of our shared commitment to the one health concept,” Kinnarney said. “The AVMA is a founding member of the One Health Initiative, where medical, scientific and environmental professionals come together and use multidisciplinary approaches to advance health care for the 21st Century and beyond. One health is a movement whose time has come, with benefits for both people and animals.”

Responsible pet ownership, which includes an appropriate exercise program designed with the help of a veterinarian, improves both animal and human fitness, Kinnarney said.

“The AVMA has always encouraged regular exercise for our families’ pets for many reasons,” he said. “It not only improves cardiovascular health, helps maintain a healthy weight, and supports good mental health for both owner and pet, but it’s a lot of fun and strengthens the human-animal bond.”

The AVMA is also pleased that the surgeon general’s efforts include an emphasis on improving activity and mobility for those with disabilities. While veterinarians help our family pets stay well, Dr. Kinnarney noted, they also support healthy communities by caring for assistance animals that help those with disabilities function more independently, including facilitating their mobility and jump-starting social connections.

“The surgeon general’s efforts will make it easier and safer for people to walk, use a wheelchair, ride a bike and be physically active in other ways,” Kinnarney said. “Our nation’s veterinarians are pleased to support those efforts by working to keep the animal end of the leash a healthy part of the team.”

The AVMA has gathered a variety of resources on its website related to exercising with pets, disease precautions for dog walkers, tips on obesity in pets, and much more.

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The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world, with more than 86,500 member veterinarians worldwide engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine. 

Infection Ecology and Epidemiology (IEE) - The One Health Journal (Sweden)

http://www.infectionecologyandepidemiology.net/index.php/iee

Note: IEE has been and continues to be needed as a platform to publish cross disciplinary scientific work and scientific work with a One Health profile. 

·                                 Submit a Manuscript

·                                 Author Benefits

The Deans of the health schools of the University of Pennsylvania (Perelman School of Medicine, School of Nursing, School of Dental Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine) announce an Award for Excellence in promoting One Health initiatives and education.

The One Health concept is a worldwide strategy to expand interdisciplinary collaboration and communication in all aspects of healthcare. Interdisciplinary One Health efforts arose with the goal of sharing knowledge of healthcare and preventive measures to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. Government, professional and academic institutions around the world have committed to promoting these important One Health efforts to improve global health. For more information about One Health, visit www.vet.upenn.edu/one-health

The four-school One Health Committee invites nominations for candidates who are full-time staff or faculty members engaged in professional education that bridges two or more of the schools with outreach/innovation in training and service in clinics or to the community. Collaborative research focused on healthcare education, clinical outcomes or real-world impact will receive more favorable consideration than strictly laboratory collaborations. The winner(s) will be awarded the prize (including a $500 cash award) at a reception in October, with all four Deans in attendance. 

Examples: 

•    Developing a multi-school clinical service/teaching program,

•    Providing training in communications/outreach to more than one school’s professional students and or interns/residents,

•    Including more than one school’s students in a clinical experience,

•    Building bridges between healthcare specialties in animals and humans,

•    Creating multidisciplinary programs that improve healthcare or prevent famine or disease outbreaks,

•    Developing a research program or project that crosses schools to increase the impact of a promising line of discovery.

To nominate a staff or faculty member from the Penn Community, please send a letter of recommendation that describes the candidate’s contributions to One Health, Cerie O’Toole at cerieo@vet.upenn.edu by Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming 26th Annual Rabies in the Americas (RITA) conference held in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado, October 4-8, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

RITA is an annual international conference where research scientists, academics, students, public health officials, veterinary professionals, rabies program directors and others have the opportunity to meet, discuss and present the latest research in the fight against rabies worldwide.
Rabies is a global public health problem impacting humans, companion animals, livestock, and wildlife. Through meetings like RITA we can play a role in reducing the burden of rabies worldwide. To eliminate rabies in humans, it must be eliminated in dogs. By eliminating rabies in dogs, we are able to protect against 99% of human bites; preventing the death of 60% of children under the age of 15 years old and 55,000 deaths a year. The RITA conference provides opportunities to learn about the latest research developments of prevention and elimination of the disease. Last year in Cancun, Mexico, the 25th RITA was host to almost 500 participants from over 25 countries from around the world.

Please see: http://www.ritaconference.org/ & http://www.ritaconference.org/?page_id=4455

“One health genomics- why animal diseases matter for human health” – United Kingdom (UK)

“...At the PHG Foundation, a science and health policy think tank, we have been examining policy issues surrounding the prospective implementation of pathogen genomic technologies in the UK health service. Our most recent briefing note is titled “One health genomics- why animal diseases matter for human health”. The briefing outlines some potential benefits and considerations of human and animal health agencies conducting coordinated pathogen genomic surveillance. We thought the briefing might be of interest to you [the One Health Initiative team] given the remit of your organisation. ...

Please see entire briefing note at http://www.phgfoundation.org/briefing_notes/422/

In humans, pathogen genomics is beginning to improve diagnosis of infections, tracking of outbreaks and identification of antimicrobial resistance. Could a cross-species (‘one health’) approach, to include similar efforts with animals, benefit both animal and human populations?

• Animals are the source of around 75% of newly emerging human infectious diseases 
• The use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections in livestock means that if these infections are transmitted to humans they may already be resistant to many of the antibiotics we use to treat them 
• Epidemiological analyses to trace the transmission between animal populations and / or between animal and humans are rarely conducted 
• Pathogen whole genome sequencing (WGS) has several advantages over conventional methods for diagnosing pathogen infections and characterising outbreaks, namely rapid diagnosis, high sensitivity, and flexible analysis 
• Implementing a genomic cross-species surveillance (one health) would enable earlier detection of pathogens and their transmission within and between species 
• Wider policy issues surrounding the prospective implementation of pathogen genomics in a clinical and public health context are detailed in our report Pathogen Genomics Into Practice ...

And a further blog here: http://www.phgfoundation.org/blog/16913/.  Further information on the wider “Pathogen genomics into practice project” can be found here: http://www.phgfoundation.org/project/id. “

Provided to the One Health Initiative team/website by Dr. Rands August 28, 2015:

Chris Rands, PhD

http://www.phgfoundation.org/people/christopher_rands

Science Project Manager

PHG Foundation

Registered Office: 2 Worts Causeway, Cambridge, CB1 8RN, UK

Email: christopher.rands@phgfoundation.org

Web: www.phgfoundation.org

Twitter: @c_rands 

“ONE HEALTH” at International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID) Atlanta, Georgia - USA

August 26, 2015—One Health was featured in many of the presentations at the ICEID in Atlanta http://www.iceid.org/ this week (August 24-26, 2015).  Presentations ranged from water sanitation, avian influenza, microbial resistance and Ebola: See program schedule http://www.iceid.org/images/2015/ICEID2015_3-49.pdf and Poster and Oral Presentation Abstracts http://www.iceid.org/images/2015/ICEID2015_50-300.pdf.

There was also a well attended session on the concept of One Health and opportunities for using this approach for policy development and research and in the training of medical, wildlife and enviromental professionals with Carol Rubin, DVM, MPH, Gregory C. Gray, MD, MPH and Cheryl Stroud, DVM, PhD as featured speakers.

Dr. Rubin, a veterinarian, was formerly with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) One Health Office (OHO) http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dhcpp/one_health/index.html; Dr. Gray, a physician, is Professor, Infectious Diseases Division, Global Health Institute, & Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC and a member of the One Health Initiative team’s Honorary Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php; and Dr. Stroud, a veterinarian, is Executive Director of the U.S. One Health Commission https://www.onehealthcommission.org/. 

Reported to One Health Initiative website by:

Carina Blackmore, DVM, PhD

Florida Department of Health

http://egh.phhp.ufl.edu/personnel/faculty-2/carina-blackmore-ms-vet-med-phd/

Note: Dr. Blackmore, a veterinarian, is also a member of the One Health Initiative team’s Honorary Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php.

“One Health: A Concept for the 21st Century” World Medical Association (WMA) journal – July 2015

*Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP

Research Scholar, Program on Science and Global Security

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey (USA)

E-mail: lkahn@princeton.edu

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/LauraKahnBiography%20Feb%202015.pdf

Please scroll to pages 62-63 of the World Medical Association (WMA) journal July 2015 issue PDF:

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/WMJ%202%202015.pdf

http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/20journal/index.html

Permission to post on One Health Initiative website granted August 17, 2015 by:

Dr. Peteris Apinis

Editor in Chief, World Medical Journal

President, Latvian Medical Association, Skolas street 3, Riga, Latvia, Phone +371 67 220 661

peteris@arstubiedriba.lv, editorin-chief@wma.net

http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/20journal/index.html

*Note: Dr. Kahn, is a recognized international One health leader and co-founder of the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team/website www.onehealthinitiative.com.  She has authored and co-authored numerous One Health professional journal articles and book chapters.

International Society for Infectious Diseases/ProMED Symposium on Emerging Infectious Diseases at 2015 American Society of Microbiology’s Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC)/ International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection (ICC)

Please consider joining ISID, ProMED and ASM in a new one-day collaborative symposium, Emerging Infectious Diseases in the Time of Ebola, at ICAAC/ICC on Thursday, September 17, 2015.

With the goal of providing a critical update on emerging infectious diseases in a global context, an international panel of infectious disease experts will discuss updates on advances in understanding and investigating emerging diseases and evolving methods for predicting, detecting and managing outbreaks. Sessions will fully embody the "One Health" model of emerging diseases, recognizing the commonality of human, animal and environmental health.

The symposium is designed to create a lively atmosphere for discussion and exchange of knowledge. It is suited for researchers, clinicians, veterinary health specialists, microbiologists, virologists, public health officials and policy makers at all levels interested in emerging pathogens and outbreak control.

Partial list of session titles:

• Challenges and Trends in Emerging Infectious Diseases: A Global Perspective
• Drivers of Disease Emergence
• Preventing Emerging Pandemic Threats
• Innovations in Emerging Disease Detection
• Challenges and Controversies from the 2014- 2015 Ebola Outbreak and What We Can Learn

Website link: http://www.icaac.org/index.php/2015-01-26-21-25-33/scientific-sessions/icaac-isid-joint-symposium

Provided August 20, 2015 by:

Britta Lassmann, MD

ISID Program Director

National Academies of Practice (NAP) Addresses One Health in June 2015 Letter to U.S. President

June 15, 2015

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20500  

Dear Mr. President:

On behalf of the National Academies of Practice (NAP), representing 14 health care professions (Audiology, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatric Medicine, Psychology, Social Work, Speech & Language Pathology, and Veterinary Medicine) who strongly champion interprofessional health practice and education, I write in support of the sentiments shared by seven U.S. Senators in a February 12, 2015 letter and the May 21, 2015 letter from the American Public Health Association to you advocating for a multidisciplinary “One Health” approach to pandemic prevention. This approach considers the integral connections between human, animal and environmental health to more effectively address the current and future disease threat within the United States and globally. ...

Sincerely,

Satya B. Verma, OD, FAAO, FNAP, Diplomate

President, National Academies of Practice

Please read entire letter by clicking on NAP One Health letter to the White House.

Provided by: 

Cheryl Stroud, DVM, PhD, Executive Director, One Health Commission www.onehealthcommission.org/; cstroud@onehealthcommission.org; Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dept Clinical Sciences, NC State CVM, 224-622-1839

Note: Dr. Stroud is a longstanding One Health supporter http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php.

New Duke One Health training opportunities video now posted on YouTube

A Duke One Health Team video about international research opportunities and summer graduate courses

Please see:  https://youtu.be/WNpuipGzwlo  

This was chiefly developed to recruit graduate students from Duke, Duke-NUS, and Duke Kunshan University to Duke One Health research and training opportunities.

Learn more about One Health and One Health at Duke:

Duke Global Health Institute
http://globalhealth.duke.edu/

Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
https://www.duke-nus.edu.sg/

Duke Kunshan University
https://dku.edu.cn/

One Health Initiative
http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/

CDC One Health
http://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/