Winner Announcement: 2008 Latin America - Caribbean Award

The Alliance for Rabies Control and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) are proud to announce the winners of the 2008 World Rabies Day Latin America – Caribbean Award!!!  We received 66 reports from projects in 16 participating countries and 25 abstracts were submitted for consideration for the prizes.  The panel of judges was made up of five people from  a cross-section of countries. 

We are now proud to release the names of the winners who met all the judges’ requirements in the following categories:

Best Local Event

Title: THEATRE WORKSHOP FOR  CHILDREN

Contact name: Marilene F. de Almeida

Contact email: marilene@prefeitura.sp.gov.br

City/area: São Paulo, State of São Paulo; Country: Brazil

Best Regional/Departmental Event

Title: RIO DE JANEIRO AGAINST RABIES

Contact name: Dr. Clayton Gitti

Contact email: cbgitti@yahoo.com.br

City/area: State of Rio de Janeiro; Country: Brazil

Best National/International Event

Title: WORLD RABIES DAY 2008

Contact names: Dr. Fernando Vargas Pino/Dra. Verónica Gutiérrez Cedillo

Contact emails: subzoonosis@gmail.com; rabiareservorio@gmail.com

Country: Mexico

Two special mention certificates were also issued for events in Bolivia and Cuba:

Title: A DAY OF ANTI-RABIES CLASSES; Ciudad de Santa Cruz de la Sierra,Bolivia

Title: WORLD RABIES DAY; Cuidad de La Havana, Municipio La Lisa, Cuba

The Latin America – Caribbean Award is an annual prize given by The Alliance for Rabies Control/PAHO partnership to the three best events associated with World Rabies Day.  All Latin American and Caribbean Nations are eligible to compete.  Winners receive $1000 USD to help prepare the following year’s World Rabies Day activities.

For more information, please contact Phyllis Romijn (phyllisromijn@gmail.com) or Jane Coutts (jc@njuggle.com).

Please also see:  http://www.rabiescontrol.net

New Acting Director Named for National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases at CDC (USA)

I am pleased to announce that RADM Ali Khan, M.D., M.P.H., will be Acting Director of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED), effective September 1.  Ali will replace Lonnie King, D.V.M., who is leaving to join The Ohio State University.

Ali is currently serving as Deputy Director of NCZVED.  He joined CDC and the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in 1991 as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer and over the past decade has responded to many high-profile domestic and international public health emergencies, including the initial public health response to Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.  In October 2007, Ali was promoted to Rear Admiral in the USPHS and Assistant Surgeon General, and became one of the youngest flag officers in the Commissioned Corps.  Ali received his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center in New York and his masters of public health from Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

Please join me in supporting Ali as he serves in this key position.  
 

                Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., Director, CDC, and
                                        Administrator, ATSDR

NEW One Health Network website (Belgium)  www.onehealthnet.be

“Why?

Because...

Human welfare and health relies much on animal health…
Animals and human beings share a great number of pathogens…
Human and veterinary medicine use the same molecules and face similar drug resistance problems…
Animal health and epidemiology help understand better public health and epidemiology…
The world has become a global village... 

The objective of this "One Health" network is to strengthen the link between the medical and the veterinary sectors for improved impact assessment, surveillance and control of neglected or emerging zoonoses in developing countries…

The aim of this website is to instigate discussion between researchers and decision makers from the medical and veterinary professions on “One Health” issues. Visit our page to learn about the proposed themes of discussions and submit your own views on the subjects. Short literature reviews (1 or 2 pages) on any issue related to the “One Health” concept are welcome for publication on the web site after peer-review.”

Provided by:

Tanguy Marcotty, DVM, PhD

Department of Animal Health

Institute of Tropical Medicine

Nationalestraat 155

B 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

Fax: +32.3.247.62.68

Phone:

  Office:                +32.3.247.62.63

  Teleworking:           +32.86.40.17.03

  Cellular:              +32.472.85.53.96

New National (USA): "One Health Commission" website launched…

Please see:

http://www.onehealthcommission.org/

CONTACT

Roger K. Mahr, DVM
One Health Project Director

Phone: 630-222-8877

Fax: 630-377-8336

Email: rkmahr@onehealthcommission.org

July 30, 2009

One Health Giant and Great Leader to Leave the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

-         Lonnie King, DVM, MS, MPA to become Dean at the Ohio State University, College of Veterinary Medicine

The One Health Initiative website learned today that Dr. Lonnie King, Director of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases will leave his position at CDC to become Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Ohio State University.

The One Health team of Kahn-Kaplan-Monath-Woodall extends our congratulations and best wishes to Dr. King for a successful transition. 

______________________________________________________________

From:   Thomas R. Frieden (CDC)

Sent:   Thursday, July 30, 2009 10:31 AM

To:     CDC All - CDC & ATSDR and non-CDC & non-ATSDR

Subject:        Dr. Lonnie King to Join The Ohio State University

Regretfully, I share news that Dr. Lonnie King will be leaving CDC/ATSDR.

Lonnie King, D.V.M., will join The Ohio State University College as Dean of Veterinary Medicine.  Lonnie currently is Director of the National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases (NCZVED).  This move will be effective September 1.  I will work with Lonnie to identify and transition an acting director.

As a veterinarian, Lonnie was well placed as the leader of a center that, among its chief responsibilities, monitors and addresses the link between humans, animals, and the environment. NCZVED was established in 2007; Lonnie served as its first director.  In its two-year life, the center has investigated and helped to stop many foodborne disease outbreaks and heightened attention to food safety around the world.

Please join me in wishing Lonnie the best in his upcoming work.

                                    Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H.

                                                Director, CDC, and

                                                Administrator, ATSDR

July 30, 2009

Breaking News: World Rabies Day Challenge to Climb Mt Snowdon!!!

Raising Funds for World Rabies Alliance

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

The Alliance has just received word that two groups within the Veterinary Laboratories Agency in Weybridge U.K. have thrown down the gauntlet , as it were, in an exciting challenge to climb Mt Snowdon in observance of World Rabies Day 2009 (www.worldrabiesday.org).

In case you did not know it, Mt Snowdon (located in Wales) is where Sir Edmund Hillary trained for his historic climb to the top of Mount Everest. The Alliance has information that two teams are going to attempt to retrace Sir Hillary’s tracks (on Mt Snowdon not Mt Everest) to raise money to support the global rabies prevention efforts of the Alliance.

We have also heard one of the teams is being led by Dr Tony Fooks (http://www.justgiving.com/mad-scientists-up-a-hill) while the other team seems to be made up of a mysterious group of “very physically fit” challengers (http://www.justgiving.com/snowdonforrabies) that hope to raise more money and beat Dr Fooks and his team to the summit!

We urge you to go to join the fun and donate to your favorite team!  We will be following the progress of both teams and the winners will be announced in our Newsletter as well as at the upcoming Rabies in the Americas meeting!

Sincerely,

The World Rabies Day Team

Vermont (USA) Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Resolution Endorses One Health

July 2, 2009 – Provided to One Health Initiative website by:

                                        John Trumper, MD

                                        P.O. Box 7, Brattleboro

                                        Vermont 05302

Passed July 1, 2009 - RESOLVED:     That the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics continue its programs, already begun, of furthering communication with Veterinarians by endorsing the efforts of the One Health Initiative, which operates globally and nationally, and by working locally with Veterinarians to share presentations of interest to both professions at meetings, websites, and by encouraging individual contact.

Vermont (USA) Pediatrician Describes Activist One Health Collaborative Educational Efforts

June 26, 2009

John Trumper, MD, a retired Vermont pediatrician, updated the One Health Initiative website regarding physician efforts to expand and utilize One Health principles by educating fellow practicing physicians and veterinarians statewide.  This hopefully represents a significant and efficacious blueprint [in brief] to help guide others in the U.S. and abroad.

“The joint meeting and visit (please see News item to follow) from Joan Hendricks, VMD, PhD (Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine) was simply an inauguration of our Vermont efforts to alert practicing physicians in the state to the One Health concept, of which the Veterinarians are already well aware. We have begun with the pediatricians, as we believe that our specialty has the most in common with veterinarians
     Taking seriously your statements about the priority for the development of the OHI concept among practicing primary care physicians and veterinarians, we have a committee from both disciplines working on presentations by veterinarians at community hospital medical staff meetings and Continuing Medical Education sessions. This seems to be the most effective way to reach the silent majority of busy practitioners who don't attend state and national meetings. Our goal is to have local veterinarians do these talks to encourage future relationships between our disciplines at the community level. Our thinking is that offering an outline and/or power-point to the presenter would encourage more DVMs and/or VMDs to do it.
     I attended the Vermont Veterinary Medical Association meeting last week (the lone physician there).  I found it to be very interesting & informative and hope that we can include subjects of mutual interest in future state meetings of both groups. The annual meeting of the Vermont Medical Society in October will also include a short introduction of the One Health concept by a local veterinarian.
     So these are the steps we've taken and are planning; all aimed at our practitioners.”

John Trumper, MD, P.O. Box 7, Brattleboro, Vermont 05302

Footnote: Dr. Trumper has continued numerous activist participations in worthwhile causes related to health care including the One Health movement.

________________________________________

Vermont Physicians and Veterinarians Talk ‘One Health’ while attending Joint Spring Meeting

The Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians invited Vermont Veterinary Medical Association members to attend their joint spring meeting in Rutland, VT on April 30, 2009. 

Joan Hendricks, VMD, PhD, Dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s school of veterinary medicine was invited to give the keynote presentation on the One Health Initiative from the veterinary medical perspective. In addition, Dr. Hendricks had been invited to present her description of the One Health concept at Pediatric Grand Rounds to students, residents, and staff at the University of Vermont medical school the day before.  Drs. Hendricks, Charles D. Newton, DVM, MS and Arthur Ribenstein, MBBCh (MD) recently published a comprehensive article in the Veterinaria Italiana One Health monograph entitled ‘One Medicine-One Health’ at the School of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania – the first 125 years http://www.izs.it/vet_italiana/2009/45_1/183.htm.

The University of Pennsylvania’s school of veterinary medicine was started 125 years ago by the physician faculty of their medical school. In 1807 Benjamin Rush, MD postulated that "By extending our knowledge of the causes of the diseases of domestic animals, we may add greatly to the certainty and usefulness of the profession of medicine, as far as it relates to the human species".  From 1884 until the 1960's, students at Penn studying human and animal medicine took the basic science courses (e.g., physiology, pathology, microbiology, etc.) together…further evidence that One Health really does have a long and rich history at Penn.

Dr Hendricks discussed One Health in the context of how the veterinary and human medical professionals collaborate in biomedical research, food safety, environmental health issues, and emergency medical response for the benefit of both human and animal health.  The Human-Animal Bond phenomenon was mentioned using companion animals (pets) and horses in therapy, learning, and helping "at risk" humans at every level.  The use of household pets as sentinels for domestic abuse and prognostication of that possibility in the future was discussed.

A bright future was painted for One Health: developing closer "in the trenches" communication between local physicians/veterinarians/nurses and other health care personnel; increasing numbers of physicians, veterinarians and nurses adding a PhD to their resume;  encouraging state boards to recognize continuing education credits when licensees attend courses advanced by either medical or veterinary medical organizations.

Joann M. Lindenmayer, DVM, MPH, an associate professor in the Department of Environmental and Population Health at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine and a prominent One Health supporter, presented a short synopsis of Tufts innovative programs involving human and animal medicine. Tufts veterinary medical program was founded 30 years ago on "One Health" principles promoted by University President Jean Mayer, a human nutritionist. Early on, Tufts veterinary medical students attended pre-clinical classes side-by-side with Tufts medical students. Dr. Lindenmayer joined Dr. Hendricks for an informative question, answer and comment session.

Provided by:

J. Clyde Johnson, VMD, Past President,

American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP)

313 N. Shore Rd.

Spofford, NH  03462-3907

July 4, 2009

Important!

Request for Information on Veterinary Vaccine Utilization in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Thomas P. Monath, MD

We need help from the veterinary community in solving a critical problem for human vaccines. This is a major opportunity for One Health.

A novel vaccine for protection of infants against malaria, the greatest killer in Africa, is in clinical development by a U.S. biotechnology company, Sanaria Inc. and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. This new vaccine is composed of attenuated malaria parasites (sporozoites) and requires storage at ultra low temperature (in vaporized liquid nitrogen). 

If the new vaccine meets expectations and provides high-grade protection against malaria it could save millions of lives. However, the method of storage and distribution represent a challenge. Current childhood vaccines delivered to infants in Africa require a cold chain (using mechanical freezers and refrigerators).. A significant change to the cold chain system to accommodate vapor-phase liquid nitrogen would be required to implement the new malaria vaccine in the Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI).

On the other hand, some veterinary vaccines are distributed in this way in Africa. We are seeking detailed information from our veterinary colleagues on their experience in storing, transporting and delivering vaccines for livestock and poultry in Africa utilizing vapor-phase liquid nitrogen. This experience could inform the medical community on the potential distribution of the attenuated sporozoite vaccine.

Information that would be useful includes:

1) Which vaccines are distributed in vapor-phase liquid N2

2) Level of organization of vaccine distribution within countries and standardization of methods across Africa

3) Availability of liquid N2 and transport boxes

4) Anecdotal information and specific studies on the economics and practicality of vapor-phase liquid N2

5) Comparative advantages and disadvantages of liquid N2 over other methods.

6) If veterinary vaccines are so unstable as to require liquid N2 storage, what are the requirements for use after thawing these products?

 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________

 Please address comments as soon as possible to:

 Bruce Kaplan, DVM

bkapdvm@verizon.net

Thank you…

Date: July 13, 2009

Location: NICARAGUA - Robin Hughes, DVM Reports

For more please see:

  http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

Date: July 5. 2009

Location: NICARAGUA 

As reported June 15, 2009 by Robin Hughes, DVM:

 

…”The Surgeon General of the United States made a brief visit to the ship to learn about Operation Continuing Promise and visited us at our work site.” 

 

For more please see:

 

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

Date: June 26. 2009

Location: EL SALVADORE

The mission in El Salvador is much the same as in previous countries, that is, vaccinating and deworming cattle. We also vaccinate other animals as the people bring them to us. One observation of interest in this country, as compared to the other countries we´ve visited, is the fact that domestic animals run loose and species mix indiscriminately. We see horses untethered by the side of the road, cattle walking down the highway, pigs on the beach, packs of dogs roaming free, and of course chickens and turkeys everywhere. Surprisingly, though, I have seen very few stray or free roaming cats here. 

 http://twitter.com/RabiesControl (July 2, 2009)

 

As reported June 15, 2009 by Robin Hughes, DVM:

 

Please also see:

 

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

 

The following is a blog entry composed by both myself and Dr. Cynthia Hoobler, who is here with me on this leg of the deployment.

 

Summary of our mission in Tumaco, Colombia

 

Tumaco is an area where many factors favoring the transmission of rabies to humans occurs.  One factor is large numbers of stray (and unaltered) dogs come in contact with children.  Most of these dogs are not vaccinated for rabies; of approximately one hundred dogs we saw, only two had a current rabies vaccine.  Children carry the local dogs by grabbing the front legs or both the front and back legs, and haul them bodily to the desired location.  This positions the dog's head at the level of the child's face, making it easy for a bite to occur.

 

Additionally, the country of Colombia is in a state of "civil war" due to well-organized and well funded narcoterrorism.  This constant unrest causes disruption in the villages, so that local people leave their homes and animals while seeking safety.  We observed local villagers that had fled from their homes following a clash between the Colombian military and the FARC, a terrorist organization.  These clashes are common. 

 

Without adequate stray dog control and vaccination, rabies will remain a problem for the population in rural Colombia.

 

Robin Hughes, DVM

Cynthia Hoobler, DVM, MPH, DACVPM

_________________________________________________________

 

 

As reported June 10, 2009 by Robin Hughes, DVM:

 

Please see:

 

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

 

Date: June 10. 2009

Location: Tumaco, COLOMBIA

“We are staying ashore in Tumaco, Colombia. The thrust of the mission here is vaccination of the small and large animals. We are handing out a lot of the rabies brochures as well, and the people seem grateful for the information. Cynthia Hoobler, a Public Health veterinarian from Texas, U.S. has joined us, and we are happy to have her perspective on things. I won´t be able to send any photos until I get back on the ship, which will be another week.”  

 

Footnote:  Dr. Cynthia Hoobler, now on board with Dr. Hughes is a prominent One Health supporter who has worked closely with the doyen of veterinary public health, James H. Steele, DVM, MPH. 

 

Cynthia Hoobler, DVM, MPH

1901 Valero

Friendswood, TX   77546

281.482.4927

cynthia.hoobler@yahoo.com

 

EDUCATION            DVM Texas A&M University 1979 magna cum laude

                                    Licensed in Texas

MPH (Master of Public Health) UT School of Public Health 1982

Diplomat American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine

Continuing Education Emphasis - Public Health

                                    BS Animal Science Texas A&M University

      1976 summa cum laude

 

EXPERIENCE          Currently Professor San Jacinto College and

                                    Clinical Relief Veterinarian for Banfield The Pet Hospital

                                         Small animals, exotics, avians, public health consultant

                                         Spokesperson on Zoonotic Diseases

                                    Houston SPCA, large and small animals, surgery

                                    Chief Editor for General Biology I and II Lab

                                                Manual McGraw Hill 1^st, 2nd, and 3^rd Edition

                                    Royalties donated for Biology Scholarships

LCDR United States Public Health Service- Veterinary Services      Inactive Reserve

NVRT National Veterinary Resource Team

NAHER National Animal Health Emergency Response USDA   APHIS Veterinary Services

TXSART Texas State Animal Resource Team- charter member

 

                                    Veterinary Clinical Associate- Texas A&M University; taught

                                                Senior veterinary students

                                    Adjunct Professor University of Houston at Clear Lake

                                                Taught Human Anatomy and Physiology

                                    Adjunct Professor College of the Mainland: Texas City

                                                Taught General Biology I and II, Human Anatomy and

                                                            Physiology I and II

                                    Assistant Director of Public Health Pasadena Health 1983-1984

                                    Department- responsible for Epidemiology of Disease and

                                    Food borne illness, Animal Control, Environmental Health,

                                    Restaurant Inspection, Disease Surveillance, Public Education

                                    Supervise Registered Sanitarians          

 

                                   

                                    Internship World Health Organization - Copenhagen, Denmark

Summer 1983

Disease Investigation, Research for Publication, Animal Husbandry, Meat Inspection, Foreign Animal Diseases

 

Oral Rabies Vaccination Program - Fox 1 year and Coyote 1 year               

World Rabies Day 2007 and 2008 Coordinated Rabies Vaccination Clinics at San Jacinto College, Houston, Texas

Veterinarian Sponsor for SCAVMA Student Chapter American Veterinary Medical Association World Rabies Day Clinic at

Texas A&M University

 

Department of State Health Services Texas Basic Disaster Course

Smallpox Clinical and Vaccination Course

Member for Texas Disaster Force

 

HONORS                   Who’s Who College Professors 2005

Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women in Veterinary Care 2005/2006

 

PUBLICATIONS       Brucella canis Transmission from Canine to Human, Texas Preventable Diseases

                                    Presentation US Public Health Service – Globalization of

                                                Veterinary Public Health

Veterinary Public Health: Past Successes: Italiana Veterinary Journal, Co-author 2008.

Poverty, Population and Plagues.  Presented at the World Veterinary Congress in Canada 2008.

Assistant Editor: One Man, One Medicine, The James H. Steele Story.  To be published summer 2009 –

 

Dr. Steele’s principal biographer is another valued One Health supporter/advocate:

Craig N. Carter, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl ACVPM

Director and Professor, Epidemiology
Livestock Disease Diagnostic Center
College of Agriculture

College of Public Health
University of Kentucky
1490 Bull Lea Road
P.O. Box 14125
Lexington, KY  40512-4125

 

 

 

June 1, 2006 -  Update:  Reported by Dr. Hughes and Rabies Alliance from Panama City, Panama

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

As reported May 26, 2009 by Robin Hughes, DVM:

 

Please see:

 

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html 

 

 

……“We are in Colon, Panama.  This morning, we visited the Ministry of Agriculture to determine what their needs are for our mission.  Their main concerns are bot flies, screw worm, and rabies.  The Ministry, in conjunction with the USDA, carries out the screw worm eradication program, whereby adult male flies are irradiated and released, thereby insuring their sterility.  In this particular area of Panama, the screw worm is present, and we are checking the cattle, goats, and other livestock for this parasite when we process them for vaccines and deworming.    We are vaccinating all the livestock and small animals for rabies, which is present in this area.  Vampire bats are an important vector here.  The Ministry practices night-time capture of bats and testing for rabies.” ………

One Health advocate, Robin Hughes, DVM is on board the USNS Comfort representing the Alliance for Rabies Control…Dr. Hughes will be writing a blog and transmitting photos of her activities.  These will be published on the link below which will be periodically included on this News page of the One Health Initiative website as they are transmitted.

Please see website link:

http://www.rabiescontrol.net/EN/Programs/Projects-Overview/USNS_Comfort.html

USNS Comfort

In partnership with the U.S. Navy, the Alliance for Rabies Control has joined the United States Naval Ship (USNS) Comfort in providing humanitarian aid throughout Central America.

Over three months time, the Alliance will sail to Colombia, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panama to provide much needed information and resources on various zoonotic diseases with special emphasis on rabies.

This effort would not be possible without the help of numerous partners and the Alliance would like to thank the American Veterinary Medical Association, Ministry of Health of Chile and the One Health Initiative for their support.      

Click here to view the USNS Comfort Scheme of Maneuver.

Arrival date May 16. 2009