One Health News

World Veterinary Association President Reiterates Strong Endorsement of One Health Concept

“The World Veterinary Association (WVA) has practiced support of the One World-One Health concept in principle since its inception in 1863 even though the name applied to One Health may have changed over the years.  However, the 21^st century brings major new challenges and an increased urgency for multi-disciplinary cooperation to address these challenges, which the One Health Initiative has clearly helped highlight around the world.  The WVA supports such collaboration in approaching these problems, especially in terms of infectious disease, zoonotic disease, the use of antimicrobials, and environmental protection.  Let’s change the paradigm from silos of professional interests to collaboration together, from reaction and treatment to prevention, from restoring health to maintaining health, from crisis management to strategic protection in the first place.  We know the best way to prevent human rabies is vaccination of dog populations as a “protective barrier” between the risks of pathogens in wildlife reservoirs and people.  That model would work for an infinite number of other examples.  With better education, efficacious health-related infrastructure, and increased research and development of new emerging technologies, such as vaccines and genetics, could we prevent some of the “spillover” across species, such as future Ebola outbreaks?  If we work together to prevent disease in the first place, the health and welfare of people, animals, and our shared environment will be vastly improved with less suffering and at less economic cost.” 

Please see the March 20, 2014 official WVA One Health endorsement statement http://www.worldvet.org/library.php?item=315&cat=1&view=item and http://www.worldvet.org/uploads/docs/wva_position_paper_on_one__health_concept.pdf.

Provided to One Health Initiative website March 7, 2015 by:

René A. Carlson, DVM, President, World Veterinary Association

Note: Dr. Carlson https://www.avma.org/About/Governance/Leadership/Pages/AVMA-Officers-Dr-Rene-A-Carlson.aspx, a past President of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), is a longstanding One Health leader/supporter/advocate http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php.

*Previously reported on the One Health Initiative website NEWS, a historic milestone World Veterinary Association/World Medical Association GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON ONE HEALTH is scheduled for May 21-22, 2015 in Madrid, Spain. SEE: http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/news.php?query=World+Veterinary+Association%2FWorld+Medical+Association+GLOBAL+CONFERENCE+ON+ONE+HEALTH and program draft http://www.wma.net/en/50events/20otherevents/80onehealth/ONE-HEALTH-2015---DRAFT-AGENDA_20150220.pdf. 

Ovarian Cancer Symptom Awareness Organization (USA) Endorses One Health Concept

“The Ovarian Cancer Symptom Awareness Organization (OCSA) www.ovariancancersymptomawareness.org applauds and endorses the collaborative and synergistic efforts of the One Health Initiative.   Our organizations share the mutual goals of advancing education, public awareness, and health for women in partnership with both the human and veterinary medical communities.”  

Each year, over 20,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 14,000 women die from the disease. There is an urgent need to share the silent symptoms so early detection and treatment are achieved, and lives are saved. 

Provided March 3, 2015 to the One Health Initiative website by:

Julian Schink, MD

OCSA Board of Director’s member

Chief of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women's Health

Spectrum Health Medical Group

648 Monroe Ave., NW; Suite 115 | MC 999

Grand Rapids, MI  49505

and

Vallie M. Szymanski

Executive Director & Co-Founder

OCSA

3225 W. Main Street

St. Charles, IL 60175

www.ovariancancersymptomawareness.org

M: 630-335-5225

Note:  The One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Team: Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP ▪ Bruce Kaplan, DVM ▪ Thomas P. Monath, MD ▪ Jack Woodall, PhD ▪ Lisa A. Conti, DVM, MPH strongly supports the goals of the OCSA and their One Health approach using interdisciplinary collaborative efforts to help save human lives from ovarian cancer.

“Physicians, Farmers, and the Politics of Antimicrobial Resistance.” – Texas A & M One Health Seminar – March 4, 2015 (USA)

See http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Kahn%20Flyer.pdf

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 4, 2015! Co-Founder of the One Health Initiative, Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, will be giving a talk over “Physicians, Farmers, and the Politics of Antimicrobial Resistance.” This seminar will be from 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm at the Texas Institute for Preclinical Studies (TIPS) Auditorium (please see flyer below/attached).  An informal lunch for faculty, staff, and students to visit with about Dr. Kahn about her career path, life work, and advice. The lunch will be held following Dr. Kahn’s seminar at 1:30 pm in the Mark Francis Room at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Please RSVP by 3:00 pm on Monday, March 2 to onehealth@tamu.edu

A native of California, Dr. Kahn holds a B.S. degree in nursing from UCLA, an M.D. from Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and a Master of Public Policy from Princeton University. Dr. Kahn is a fellow of the American College of Physicians (ACP) and is a recipient of the New Jersey Chapter’s Laureate Award. In 2010, the American Veterinary Epidemiology Society (AVES) awarded her with an honorary diploma for her work in One Health. In 2014, she received a Presidential Award for Meritorious Service from the American Association of Public Health Physicians. For more on Dr. Kahn, please visit http://onehealth.tamu.edu/seminars/dr-laura-kahn

If you have any questions, please contact the One Health office at onehealth@tamu.edu or 979-845-1393.

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"Integrating One Health in Environmental Policymaking": Former Mayor of Moscow, Idaho (USA) to speak at University of Idaho Geography Seminar – Tomorrow – March 4, 2015

See http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/geog_seminar_spr_15_chaney.pdf

Nancy Chaney, RN, MS – Environmental Science– Past President, Association of Idaho Cities and Board member, National League of Cities, former mayor, City of Moscow Idaho (USA) and member of the One Health Initiative team’s Honorary Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php will be a speaker at the University of Idaho’s Geography seminar https://sites.google.com/site/uigeographyseminar/ on Wednesday [tomorrow], March 4, 3:30 pm, McClure 209.  The title is "Integrating One Health in Environmental Policymaking."  

Abstract: “One Health is a strategic initiative to expand cooperation among human, animal, and environmental health professionals. The concept has implications for community planning, resource conservation, conflict resolution, climate adaptation and resilience, food security, energy production, human rights, animal welfare, public health, environmental quality, and more. It also has implications for policymakers, whose worldviews may be informed by academic and vocational backgrounds apart from broad-based integrative disciplines like environmental science and geography. To approximate sustainability, policymakers must internalize the connectedness of issues and economic factors that make the argument for One Health so compelling.”

Another Outstanding One Health program…

Center for One Health Illinois – USA

http://vetmed.illinois.edu/initiatives/center-for-one-health-illinois/

“One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment.”

JA Herrmann, DVM, MPH, DACT
Director, Center for One Health Illinois
Director, DVM-MPH Program
Clinical Associate Professor, Veterinary Clinical Medicine1008 West Hazelwood Drive, MC 004
Urbana, IL 61802P: 217-265-6585

The Center for One Health Illinois focuses on fostering human, animal, and ecosystem health through the three broadly defined areas of education, research, and public outreach:

• Education: To educate of a new cadre of health professionals who understand the determinants and contributing factors affecting human, animal, and ecosystem health (One Health), how public health policy affects the health of all three, and how public health policy is developed
• Research: To understand disease processes that occur at the interface of human and animal activities and their effects on the environment
• Outreach:  To improve our society’s preparedness and response to natural and intentional exposures of biological, chemical, and physical agentstreach is an important component of the mission of the Center for One Health Illinois. The center facilitates communication among experts in human health, animal welfare, and ecosystem health.

Past projects include:

• Conducted the first “One Health Illinois” summit with invited key leaders from state and local agencies, universities, non-governmental organizations and industry to determine how groups may better collaborate to address human, animal, and ecosystem health issues in Illinois.
• Surveyed workforce needs of local health departments in Illinois. This was a follow-up survey to one completed in 2003.
• Used the MAPP model to assess community health in Stephenson County, Ill. (2009, 2013) and Champaign County, Ill. (2011, 2014) as part of the Illinois Plan for Local Assessment of Needs.
• Designed and conducted a two day, national forum entitled: The University of Illinois Colloquium on One Medicine: Designing an intra-university public health program at the interface of human, animal and ecosystem health
• Designed and conducted a functional exercise for the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies to test the readiness of state and local agencies in the face of a food-borne illness outbreak associated with intentional bacterial contamination. Journal Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Vol. 6, #1, article 49, 2009.
• Hosted a one-day workshop entitled, “Tools for Integrated One Health Surveillance,” for invited experts from academia, state public health agencies and private industry.
• Completed “Flu at the Zoo,” a multi-state, functional, USDA-funded react and respond to an outbreak of avian influenza exercise for zoos.
• Continue to work with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications on the development of an integrated One Health surveillance system in Illinois.
• Hosted a free community forum series entitled “One Health & You: News You Can Use.” Topics included animal welfare, food safety, emerging tick-borne diseases, and public health perspectives on marijuana, energy drinks and antimicrobials in milk, meat, bottled water and vaccinations.
• Developed and completed a four-part continuing medical education series for physicians and veterinarians, in conjunction with Carle Hospital Foundation, entitled “One medicine, one health, one community.”

Partners

o        Conservation Medicine Center of Chicago

o        UIC School of Public Health

o        University of Illinois Zoological Pathology Program

Steering Committee

[In the true spirit of One Health, this committee reflects an interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary/transdisciplinary approach]

The Center for One Health Illinois steering committee consists of:

• • Mark Dworkin, MD, MPHTM, Epidemiology Section Coordinator, School of Public Health, University of Illinois-Chicago
  • Ned Hahn, PhD, Associate Professor Emeritus, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Jack Herrmann, DVM, MPH, Director of DVM/MPH program, Center for One Health Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Ron Hershow, MD, Interim Division Director, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois-Chicago
  • Lois Hoyer, PhD, Associate Dean for Research and Advanced Studies, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Yvette Johnson, DVM, PhD, Clinical Epidemiologist, Center for One Health Illinois, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • James Slauch, PhD, Director of the Medical Scholars Program, College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Herb Whiteley, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

See more at: http://vetmed.illinois.edu/initiatives/center-for-one-health-illinois/#sthash.Lk5YWFKi.dpuf

Note:  Dr. Herrmann is a recognized longstanding One Health leader/supporter.

National Forum of Comparative Medicine in Romania Endorses One Health Concept

February 24, 2015—On behalf of the National Forum of Comparative Medicine in Romania, Professor Dr. Nicolae Manolescu sent the following official One Health endorsement message http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Endorsment%20Letter%20One%20Health%20Initiative%20(4).pdf to the One Health Initiative team:

THE ROMANIAN ACADEMY

OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

BUCHAREST,. Stefan cel Mare Avenue, no. 19-21, District 2, Tel/: Fax +4 021/ 311 53 (82) (80)

February 24, 2015

From:

The National Forum of Comparative Medicine

The Vice President’s Office

To: One Health Initiative team, USA

Esteemed colleagues,

Thank you first of all for the good intentions you have shown towards our lucrative structures regarding the One Health concept, as to accept our endorsement letter. We highly appreciate your activity that has a major impact for the entire international community.

Within the globalization concept, medicine could not have represented an exception. It can only be a part of it and at the same time, the exceptional ambassador for it is the One Health concept.

We are determined to stand by your side not only from an endorsement point of view but also in a practical manner, due to the fact that our 50 years old activity in comparative medicine enables us to provide extremely useful aspects. 

Presently, we have planned by the end of 2015 to accomplish two essential points for the One Health concept:

1.      Environmental Medicine;

2.      Launching the educational bilingual (Romanian and English) courses of the Post Graduate School of Comparative Medicine, where alongside Romanian resident-like participants, we hope to attract foreign resident-like participants, from all of the professions that comprise the One Health concept: physicians, veterinarians, biologists, chemists, etc.

We hope that you will consider requesting our support in all of that is One Health.

With high consideration,

Professor MANOLESCU Nicolae,

Vice President of the National Forum of Comparative Medicine in Romania

Member of the National Academy of Medicine of France

Member of the New York Academy, U.S.A.

President of the Comparative Medicine Commission of the Romanian Academy

Head of the department of Comparative Medicine and Veterinary Medicine – Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences

Vice-President of the Mediterranean Forum for the Comparative Oncology - Italy

Honorary member of the Associazione Italiana Veterinary Piccoli Animali

F.A.O. – U.N. expert for the Romanian Government

President of the Scientific Board of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority – Romania

____________________________________________________

Professor Manolescu and the National Forum of Comparative Medicine in Romania are included on the One Health Initiative Supporters list http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php (scroll down).  In addition One Health comments by Professor Manolescu were previously posted on the One Health Initiative website’s NEWS page http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/news.php?query=One+Health+Comments+from+Prominent+Romanian+Comparative+Medicine+Professor February 11, 2015.

Updated Notice: Historic milestone physician/veterinarian global One Health conference…

World Veterinary Association/World Medical Association GLOBAL CONFERENCE ON ONE HEALTH

Thursday, 21^st May – Friday, 22^nd May 2015 - Madrid, Spain

SEE: http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/One%20Health%20Conference.pdf

Program Draft:

http://www.wma.net/en/50events/20otherevents/80onehealth/ONE-HEALTH-2015---DRAFT-AGENDA_20150220.pdf

A One Health international model program for Food Safety and Security…

Comprehensive One Health Conference Bonds Universities [in U.S. and China]

This entry was posted in Food Safety International Outreach One Health on February 12, 2015 by Chris Brunner.

“The bond between UC Davis and Nanjing Agricultural University was further strengthened when the two universities met together this winter during a three week conference. The Western Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS) hosted the NAU-UC Davis Graduate Education Conference on One Health on the University of California, Davis campus for Nanjing Agricultural University (NAU) undergraduate students who have an interest in graduate programs at UC Davis. The conference, a part of the NAU-UC Davis One Health Center for Food Safety joint program, took place between January 20 and February 6, 2015.

The educational exchange focused on graduate education and highlighted One Health which is the integrative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. The comprehensive program featured 41 administrators and professors from the Davis campus, including representatives from the offices of Graduate Studies and Global Affairs, the School of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Medicine, and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. …”

Please read complete article at http://www.wifss.ucdavis.edu/?p=8392

Provided to One Health Initiative website February 12, 2015 by:

Bennie I. Osburn, DVM, PhD

Dean Emeritus

Director, Outreach and Training

Western Institute for Food Safety and Security

University of California (USA)

Davis, CA 95618

Cell 530-219-3427

Note:  Dr. Osburn has been and continues to be an extraordinary longstanding One Health leader, supporter and advocate http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php. He said, “The Conference was highly successful and the students went home after three weeks enthused and passionate about making a difference in food safety for China and globally.  We hope to bring a number of these students to UC Davis for advanced graduate work who can then return to Nanjing as instructors for the One Health in the new Center."

One Health Letter Endorsement sent to U.S. President (The White House) from 7 United States Senators

February 12, 2015, Washington, DC (USA)—Led by Minnesota’s United States Senator Al Franken, seven (7) U.S. Senators sent a letter to the President of the United States, Barak Obama supporting and endorsing the One Health collaborative approach saying:

“As you address current and future zoonotic diseases—human diseases with animal origins—we write to urge you to pursue a multidisciplinary, multisectoral approach that encompasses both human health expertise, and animal and environmental health disciplines” …

Please read entire letter at http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/15%202%2012%20Letter%20to%20POTUS%20-%20One%20Health.pdf

Note:  The One Health concept/approach is a non-partisan international public health/clinical comparative medicine health issue.

 “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.”…”One Health implementation will help protect and/or save untold millions of lives in our generation and for those to come.” … “Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines--nor should there be.”      Rudolf Virchow, MD (the father of cellular pathology).

For more information about One Health visit www.onehealthinitiative.com.

One Health Comments from Prominent Romanian Comparative Medicine Professor

"The information that is to be presented below represents the fruit of professional commitment of over 50 years, a time in which Romania has developed the concept of “comparative medicine”, a concept that has, much to our joy, roughly the same foundation and pillars as the “One Health” concept. ..."

Please read full commentary at:

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/One%20Health%20Initiative%20-%20Romania%20OHI%20edits.pdf

Provided February 9, 2015 to the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono team for posting in the One Health Initiative website by:

Nicolae Manolescu, PhD,

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/Nicolae%20Manolescu%20-%20CV-%20One%20Health%20Initiative.pdf,

Univ. Prof. emeritus h.c. Dr. h.c.

Member of the Romanian Academy

Member of the National Academy of Medicine of France

Member of the Romanian Academy of Medical Sciences

Note: Professor Dr. Manolescu is a listed One Health Initiative supporter http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php.

Antibiotic Use, Resistance and Shared Stewardship White Paper Available Now

To read the 2014 Antibiotics Symposium White Paper go to www.animalagriculture.org.

The 2014 Antibiotics Symposium, developed by the NIAA, was held in Atlanta, Ga. November 12-14, 2014. The symposium was a continuation of discussion and sharing of information from symposiums in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The 2014 symposium was funded in part by the Beef Checkoff®, U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Veterinary Services, United Soybean Board, Indiana Soybean Alliance®, Drovers CattleNetwork, Dairy Herd Management, Bovine Veterinarian, PorkNetwork, Brownfield Ag News – A Division of Learfield, DairyBusiness, Merck Animal Health, Pork Checkoff®, Zoetis™, Farm Bureau Georgia®, American Farm Bureau®, Elanco™, Auburn University – Food Systems Institute, Qiagen®, Vetericyn® and the American Veterinary Medical Association®.

Details coming soon on the 2015 Antibiotics Symposium!

Click Here to read the White Paper now – Specifically see:

http://animalagriculture.org/Resources/Documents/Conf%20-%20Symp/Symposiums/2014%20Antibiotics/2014%20ABX%20White%20Paper.pdf

“In order to address antibiotic stewardship in human and animal practice, we must assure the careful and accountable, use of antibiotics in all settings, decrease the need for antibiotics through prevention, including the development and use of vaccines, increased veterinary oversight, optimum management practices, development and use of rapid diagnostics, development of patient/client stewardship programs with A One Health perspective, and educational programs for doctors [physicians], patients, veterinarians and clients.1”   

“The national strategy for combating antibiotic resistance includes implementing interventions to slow the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria, improving One Health surveillance, development and application of rapid diagnostics for accurate treatments, new research and development for  therapies and other tools (e.g., new antibiotics, vaccines, etc.), and international collaboration to achieve near real-time information sharing.9”