Nature Medicine 15, 227 (1 March 2009) | doi:10.1038/nm0309-227a

Royal Society urges integration of human and veterinary medicine

www.nature.com/nm/journal/v15/n3/full/nm0309-227a.html

STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA), HUMAN, ZOO ELEPHANT - USA: (CALIFORNIA) 2008
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Date: Fri 6 Mar 2009
Source: Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2009; 58(08):194-198 [edited]
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5808a3.htm?s_cid=mm5808a3_e>


Methicillin-resistant _Staphylococcus aureus_ (MRSA) infections are a
major cause of human skin and soft tissue infections in the United
States (1). MRSA colonization and infection also have been observed in
turtles, bats, seals, sheep, rabbits, rodents, cats, dogs, pigs,
birds, horses, and cattle (2--8), and MRSA infections with an
epidemiologic link to animal contact have been reported in veterinary
personnel, pet owners, and farm animal workers (5,7,8).

On 29 Jan 2008, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services
Agency was notified of skin pustules on an African elephant
(_Loxodonta africana_) calf and 3 of its caretakers at a zoo in San
Diego County. After each of these infections (including the calf's
infection) was laboratory confirmed as MRSA, an outbreak investigation
and response was initiated by the zoo and the agency. This report
summarizes the results of that investigation, which identified 2
additional confirmed MRSA infections, 15 suspected MRSA infections,
and 3 MRSA-colonized persons (all among calf caretakers), and
concluded that infection of the elephant calf likely came from a
colonized caretaker.

This is the 1st reported case of MRSA in an elephant and of suspected
MRSA transmission from an animal to human caretakers at a zoo.

[Voluminous further details, and the 10 refs., may be found at the
source URL. - Mod.JW]

Note: Caretakers blew air with their unmasked mouths into the calf's
trunk to stimulate bottle feeding (its mother had died).

Excerpted from         Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER)

              27 February 2009, vol. 84, 9 (pp 65–76)

http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8409/en/index.html

 "Influenza A (H5N1)

From September 2008 to 11 February 2009, 21 human

Cases of influenza A (H5N1) were confirmed in Cambodia,

China, Egypt, Indonesia and Viet Nam.  Many of these people

had visited live bird markets or had contact with sick or dead

Poultry.  Since December 2003, a total of 406 human cases

have been confirmed from 15 countries.2 To date, there has

been no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission.

The WHO influenza pandemic preparedness level remains

Unchanged at Phase 3.3"

USDA Office of the Chief Economist Agricultural Outlook Forum, 2009

Arlington, Virginia

February 26 – 27, 2009

 Scroll Down to Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

 Food Safety Track

 One World, One Health: Issues at the Intersection of Animal & Human Health

 One World, One Health: Issues at the Intersection of Animal & Human Health
Moderator: Cindy J. Smith, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, Washington, DC
PDF

One Health: A Concept for the 21st Century
Laura H. Kahn, MD, Research Scholar, Program on
Science and Global Security, Woodrow Wilson School
of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ
PDF

One Health: Assuming Our Collaborative
Responsibility
Roger Mahr, Former President, American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA), Representative to the One
Health Joint Steering Committee, Washington, DC
PDF

The Importance of the Animal, Health-food, Safety,
Public Health Continuum and the Use of Public-Private Partnerships to Address Long-term Solutions
Mike Robach, Vice President, Corporate Food Safety and
Regulatory Affairs, Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
PDF

You can order per mail:

Nikolaus Gfrerer

CARPE DIEM – Associaton for Culture and Education

Sportplatzstraße 28

5700 Zell am See

Tel.: 0043 6542 55286-0  Fax: -6

www.carpe-diem.at

Environmental Health and One Health

Environmental Health is Core Public Health at your Service!

Dr. Lisa Conti, Director
Please see our 10-minute introduction to the Department's Environmental Health Programs http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/learning/hse/index.htm

Division of Environmental Health
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A-08
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-4250
Please tell us how we are doing; click the link below for a brief survey: 
Fill Out Our Survey

Superior doctors prevent the disease.
Mediocre doctors treat the disease before evident.
Inferior doctors treat the full blown disease.
- Huang Dee: Nai-Ching (2600 B.C., 1st Chinese Medical Text)

Mission:  Promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida.
PLEASE NOTE: Florida has very broad public records laws. Most written communications to or from state officials regarding state business are public records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail communications may therefore be subject to disclosure.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

Prominent One Health Advocate and Kansas Public Health Veterinarian Now Working for U. S. Senator as AVMA Congressional Fellow

Note: The physician-veterinarian One Health team of Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, Bruce Kaplan, DVM and Thomas P. Monath, MD recently requested an update on the career of Dr. Gail Hansen [DVM, MPH], formerly the state public health veterinarian for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  The following was received Feb 19, 2009:

 “Gail Hansen has changed career paths within veterinary medicine yet again and is currently working on health care issues as an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Congressional Fellow.  She has been working for Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) since the end of October and in January became the main health policy person in the D.C. office of Senator Sanders.  She also works a bit in other subject areas in D.C., including Veteran’s Affairs, antimicrobial resistance and agricultural issues.  Before the Fellowship program she was the state epidemiologist and the state public health veterinarian for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for 12 years and just finished terms as the infectious disease chair of the Executive Board of Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and eight years on the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV).  Before moving to Kansas, Gail was an epidemiologist at the Seattle-King County Health Department involved in a longitudinal cohort study of blood-borne pathogens among injection drug users.  She worked for 14 years as a veterinary medical clinician in private practices in Seattle, New York City, and Greensboro, North Carolina, and a short stint as a pathologist at the Pennsylvania State University.

Her policy interests while in Washington are infectious diseases, health disparities, public health, international relations, animal welfare, and promoting “One Health”.  Her answer to the question she gets most often: “Why don’t you want to be a veterinarian anymore?” is “I am still a veterinarian doing what veterinarians are uniquely trained to do!” 

Yes, Gail did work on the economic recovery and reinvestment act to try to kick start the lagging economy, on reauthorizing CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program for underinsured and uninsured children and pregnant women) and is working with several other Senate staff members on health care reform.  And no, she can’t get you White House tour tickets.

The AVMA Fellowship Program provides veterinarians the opportunity to spend a year in Washington, D.C. and develop a better understanding of the governmental process, gain insight into the future of science and the veterinary profession, while assisting in creating legislation and regulations that affects our nation and profession. The AVMA Congressional Fellows serve as a scientific resource for Congress and seek to improve public policymaking through the infusion of science.  Congressional Fellows have the chance to use science-based decision making in public policy development, experience and influence major public policy debates, and network with government professionals.  Gail has found several former AVMA Fellows who are still working in Washington in other capacities, including Sara Lister, Karen Becker, Sarah Babcock and Doug Meckes.  They provide great guidance and sometimes just a friendly ear."

For more information on the AVMA Congressional Fellowship program go to http://www.avma.org/advocacy/get_involved/fellowships.asp.”   

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090216-jaguars-health-panthera.html

Officials driven to take closer look at food safety

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, February 15, 2009

 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/02/15/foodrule0215.html

To One Health Supporters/Advocates:

Consider writing a 400 – 1000 word article (with appropriate photographs if available) giving pros and/or cons and remedies for the food safety dilemma in the U.S. today.

Submit to the “One Health Newsletter” http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/One_Health/OneHealth.html

 editor, Dr. Mary Echols Mary_Echols2@doh.state.fl.us.

If accepted for publication every effort will be made for the text to also appear on the Publication page of this One Health Initiative website.

Peanuts Salmonella-tainted foods expanded to PET FOODS

Please See: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/04/2009-02-04_peanut_corp_update_recall_of_salmonellat.html

 Also see associated MMWR article on Publications page:

 http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications.php