James H. Steele, DVM, MPH Dies

Prominent Scientist, Regents’ Professor and Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation at Arizona State University Addresses One Health Question in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Interview (USA)

“… It [One Health] is essential. We can't treat human health and public health initiatives in isolation. It requires a more sophisticated approach to reflect the complex inter-dependency of human health and the health of animal and plant populations and the critical importance of the stability and sustainability of ecosystems on infectious disease patterns. Most of the so-called emerging infectious diseases [EIDs] which have affected humans in recent decades are zoonoses, namely, bugs that are present in an animal population and then successfully infect people.  A proficient global public health system therefore requires comprehensive biosurveillance for rapid detection of EIDs and how they are transmitted to people from their animal hosts….”

Please read entire Outstanding Atomic Bulletin interview: http://bos.sagepub.com/content/69/6/1.full with the internationally renowned scientist, Dr. George Poste https://sols.asu.edu/people/george-poste.

The following excerpt includes *Dr. Poste’s enlightened Q & A comments about “One Health” when asked about **Dr. Laura H. Kahn’s well known frequent Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists columns explaining the critical need for society to adopt One Health principles…

“…BAS: Laura Kahn, one of the Bulletin's columnists, writes a lot about One Health, which focuses on an approach that goes beyond the health of humans, and includes the health of animals and the ecosystem. Why is this approach necessary now?

Poste: It is essential. We can't treat human health and public health initiatives in isolation. It requires a more sophisticated approach to reflect the complex inter-dependency of human health and the health of animal and plant populations and the critical importance of the stability and sustainability of ecosystems on infectious disease patterns. Most of the so-called emerging infectious diseases [EIDs] which have affected humans in recent decades are zoonoses, namely, bugs that are present in an animal population and then successfully infect people.  A proficient global public health system therefore requires comprehensive biosurveillance for rapid detection of EIDs and how they are transmitted to people from their animal hosts.

BAS: What are recent examples?

Poste: HIV/AIDS is the most dramatic recent example of a zoonotic EID.  SARS was a bullet dodged a decade ago.  Let us hope that a near relative of the SARS virus, MERS-CoV [Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus…”

*Dr. Poste is a longstanding One Health Supporter/Advocate http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php.

**Dr. Kahn is a founding member of the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono team.

Permission to post on One Health Initiative website granted November 6, 2013 by:

Mindy Kay Bricker, Editor
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637 (U.S.A.)
T.  202.286.9724
E.  mbricker@thebulletin.org

www.thebulletin.org & http://bos.sagepub.com/
2007 National Magazine Award for General Excellence
The Bulletin is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit publishing organization. Online donations to sustain operations are gratefully accepted and tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

ONE HEALTH INITIATIVE MULTIPLE FACULTY POSITIONS UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA (USA) 

 “The University of Florida (UF) is embarking upon a University-wide recruiting initiative in One Health. We are seeking candidates for at least two tenure-track positions at the rank of Associate or Full Professor. Applicants must hold a PhD, DVM, MD, or other terminal degree and have significant postdoctoral research experience. …”

 “Applicants should submit a curriculum vitae, a letter of intent including the applicant’s vision, philosophy, accomplishments, and future goals in research and education with a concentration in One Health, as well as the names and contact information for three references. Letters should address the applicant’s vision and goals for their role in the One Health initiative. Applications will be considered as they are received, but for full consideration, should be submitted electronically by January 20, 2014 to: Dr. Ammon Peck, Chair, One Health Search Committee (oconnells@ufl.edu).” 

Please see complete notice on attached PDF. 

Provided to One Health Initiative website November 3, 2013 by:

Gregory C. Gray, MD, MPH, FIDSA

Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions

Professor, Infectious Diseases and Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine

Director, Global Pathogens Laboratory

Email: gcgray@phhp.ufl.edu

A Significant One Health Group (USA)

North Carolina (NC) One Health Collaborative - http://www.triangleglobalhealth.org/nc-one-health-collaborative

The mission of the TGHC North Carolina One Health Collaborative is to promote, improve and defend the health and well-being of all species by enhancing communication, cooperation and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, researchers and other local/global public health professionals.

The North Carolina One Health Collaborative (NCOHC) formed in June 2010 under the umbrella of the Triangle Global Health Consortium. Once formed, it assumed leadership of a local, monthly One Health Intellectual Exchange Group (IEG) Discussion series. This series was created in late 2008 at the request of a group of veterinary students to provide an opportunity for students, physicians, veterinarians, public health, and environmental workers – entities who rarely interact directly – to come together in conversation about overlaps in their respective areas of expertise. As part of the NCOHC effort, in spring 2011 the IEG series was expanded to include a weekly graduate level course entitled, “One Health: From Philosophy to Practice.” Thus, the Collaborative supports year-round, monthly One Health IEG discussions and weekly sessions during the spring course.

For more information about the North Carolina One Health Collaborative:

Visit their website at http://nconehealthcollaborative.weebly.com/index.html

Email the group at nconehealth@gmail.com

Contact listserv manager, Liz Selisker, at liz_selisker@ncsu.edu

One Health Leader At University of Florida (USA) Receives Fogarty Framework Innovations Grant http://www.fic.nih.gov/Programs/Pages/framework-innovations.aspx

ONE HEALTH INNOVATION FELLOWSHIPS FOR ZOONOTIC DISEASE RESEARCH IN MONGOLIA – Announced October 30, 2103

October 29, 2013

Body

To spur global health innovation and develop interdisciplinary research training, Fogarty has awarded $7.3 million to five institutions to fund projects in six low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five-year awards from the Framework Programs for Global Health Innovation will support efforts to bring together students from engineering, design, ecology, veterinary sciences, nutrition, business and management, medicine, environmental science, social sciences, agriculture, public health and other areas with biomedical scientists to develop research training initiatives that encourage innovation in health-related products, processes and policies. The grants will fund new efforts in India, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, Peru and South Africa. …

The University of Florida will create a diverse [One Health] training program in Mongolia that combines public health, environmental health and veterinary science, with the goal of educating trainees to improve the control of zoonotic diseases.

One Health Innovation Fellowships for Zoonotic Disease Research in Mongolia

http://projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=8598747&icde=17876817
University of Florida
Principal Investigator:

Gregory C. Gray, MD, MPH, FIDSA, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Global Health, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Box 100188, 101 S. Newell Dr, Suite 2150A, Gainesville Florida 32610 (zip for overnight 32611), Tel 352-273-9449, Fax 352-273-6070, Email: gcgray@phhp.ufl.edu, Websites http://egh.phhp.ufl.edu/ and http://gpl.phhp.ufl.edu/.

Dr. Gray is also a distinguished member of the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono team’s Honorary Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php.

More:

Fogarty awards $7M in global health innovation grants

http://www.fic.nih.gov/News/Pages/2013-framework-innovation-awards.aspx

REMINDER NOTICE: Zoobiquity 3 Conference at Animal Medical Center, New York, NY (USA)– November 2, 2013

“We are pleased to announce that the Zoobiquity 3 Conference is scheduled for Saturday, November 2, 2013 in New York City. Leading physicians from Weill Cornell Medical College, Columbia University, NYU Langone Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, along with veterinarians from The Animal Medical Center and the Wildlife Conservation Society will come together for a conversation between doctors treating the same diseases in different species.

At this one-day conference, the morning session will be held at The Rockefeller University and “Walk Rounds” will be hosted by the Wildlife Conservation Society at the Bronx Zoo.”

See http://www.amcny.org/zoobiquity3

Information Provided by:

Ann E. Hohenhaus, DVM

Diplomate ACVIM (Oncology & Small Animal Internal Medicine)

Certified Veterinary Journalist

The Animal Medical Center

510 East 62nd Street

New York, NY 10065

(212) 329-8612

ann.hohenhaus@amcny.org

www.amcny.org/

http://amcny.wordpress.com/

www.facebook.com/theanimalmedicalcenter/

http://twitter.com/amcny/

www.linkedin.com/in/annhohenhaus

*Dr. Hohenhaus is a One Health supporter/advocate http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/supporters.php.

Pathways to developing One Health as a discipline Workshop - Australian National University

 “The One Health Special Interest Group of the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) is organising a workshop on 24-25 October 2013 in Canberra. The workshop is entitled ‘Pathways to developing One Health as a discipline’ and will explore the critical components of such training.

The meeting will be co-hosted by PHAA, and the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH), part of the Australia National University’s College of Medicine, Biology and Environment. Whilst the workshop is by invitation only, the Organising Committee has much pleasure in inviting RSPH staff and students to attend. …”

Please see: http://rsph.anu.edu.au/news-events/pathways-developing-one-health-discipline-workshop

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal

Volume 19, Number 12—December 2013

Historic Prevalence and Distribution of Avian Influenza Virus A(H7N9) among Wild Birds

Sarah H. Olson, Martin Gilbert, Ming Chu Cheng, Jonna A.K. Mazet, and Damien O. Joly

Abstract

We examined 48 published studies for which sample sizes could be ascertained to determine the historic prevalence of influenza A(H7N9) virus in wild bird populations and reviewed GenBank data to further establish its distribution. Low prevalence (0.0093%) in Asia suggests > 30,000 samples would be required to detect the H7N9 subtype in wild birds.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/12/13-0649_article.htm

United States Department of Health and Human Services

One Health

http://www.globalhealth.gov/global-programs-and-initiatives/one-health/

Dirofilariosis in the Americas: a more virulent Dirofilaria immitis?

Dantas-Torres F, Otranto D

Abstract

“Dirofilarioses are widespread diseases caused by filarioid nematodes (superfamily Filarioidea) of the genus Dirofilaria, which are transmitted by a plethora of mosquito species. The principal agent of canine dirofilariosis in the Americas is Dirofilaria immitis, which may also occasionally infest humans, resulting in pulmonary nodules that may be confounded with malignant lung tumours. Because human cases of dirofilariosis by D. immitis are relatively frequent in the Americas and rare in Europe and other eastern countries, where Dirofilaria repens is the main causative agent, the existence of a more virulent strain of D. immitis in the Americas has been speculated. Recently, a case of human ocular infestation by Dirofilaria sp. was diagnosed in Pará State, northern Brazil, where canine heartworm dirofilariosis is endemic. The nematode was shown to be morphologically and phylogenetically related to D. immitis but it was genetically distinct from reference sequences, including those of D. immitis infesting dogs in the same geographical area. This finding raised questions regarding the aetiology of human dirofilariosis in the Americas, since information on the genetic makeup of filarioids infesting dogs and humans is meagre. Further studies would be needed to better characterize filarioids infesting dogs, wild animals, and humans in the Americas and to assess the existence of a more virulent D. immitis strain in this continent. Finally, the competence of different culicid species/strains from Europe and the Americas as vectors of Dirofilaria species should be investigated. Such studies would help us to understand possible variations in transmission patterns and even to predict possible scenarios that may emerge in the future, with the introduction of non-endemic Dirofilaria species/strains in free areas through importation of infested animals, vectors, or both.”

Parasites & Vectors 2013, 6 :288 (2 October 2013)

http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/6/1/288