One Health Publications

The Novel H7N9 Influenza A Virus: Its Present Impact and Indeterminate Future

Robert E. Kahn, PhD and Juergen A. Richt, DVM, PhD, Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD), Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS (USA)

“Influenza A viruses are unpredictable in their emergence, ability to mutate or reassort, and especially their capacity to cross species. Each of these three aspects of unpredictability are evident in a puzzling new H7N9 influenza virus which began in China earlier this year and has become a significant public health hazard, but not (at least thus far) a harbinger of a pandemic. It appears that this virus is a newly emerging reassorted bird flu virus with the significant characteristic of travelling among numerous avian and maybe mammalian species as a low pathogenic avian influenza virus which surprisingly is a highly pathogenic virus for the human species. The good news is that there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, but the bad news is that this newly minted H7N9 avian virus can kill human beings who come in contact with birds or poultry that appear healthy but are in fact carrying a lethal zoonotic agent. As Timothy Uyeki and Nancy Cox have pointed out:  “intensified surveillance for H7N9 in humans and animals is essential” (See “Global Concerns Regarding Novel Influenza A (H7N9) Virus Infections,” The New England Journal of Medicine, April 11, 2013 at: http://www.nejm.org/?query=OF ).

"The world is being given a crash course in the importance of “One Health”, because it is primarily through research at the human-animal-environmental interface that this virus can be better understood and hopefully controlled. ...

...The precise identification of a new zoonotic  pathogen requires animal, human and environmental scientists to carefully work together [i.e. One Health] in the  field and laboratory  to confirm(i) the identification of the original host species, (ii) its mode of transmission into intermediate host species including humans and (iii) its ecology and survival in the environment. ...

New Online Immunology Short Course Provides Overview of the Immune System and Vaccines

Source: James A. Roth, DVM, PhD, DACVM
Director, Center for Food Security and Public Health
Executive Director, Institute for International Cooperation in Animal Biologics
College of Veterinary Medicine
Iowa State University
Press Contact:  Connie Scovin, communications: cscovin@iastate.edu or Telephone 860-355-8599

“Ames, IA (April 16, 2013) – The new course “Introduction to Immunology and Principles of Vaccination” is designed for individuals working in animal health who want an overview of the immune system and how vaccines work. Individuals watch a series of online video lectures (average of 15 minutes each) and use printed study materials. ...

Please see entire release by viewing attachment.

Note:  Dr. Roth is a prominent One Health supporter/advocate.

Outstanding One Health Program – University of Missouri (USA)

One example: Important/unique Cancer Research program – Comparative Oncology

Basic science of cancer is explored and ... helps with better cancer understanding (for diagnosis, control, treatment and prevention) utilizing multidisciplinary/interdisciplinary collaborative expertise from veterinarians, physicians and other prominent health scientists.  Applies to humans and animals!

Please see http://mizzouadvantage.missouri.edu/medicine/ and http://vimeo.com/61631390  

   Michelle N. Munkres, Editorial Director and Indu Mani, DVM, DSc, Editor

   NAVC Clinician’s Brief

    http://www.cliniciansbrief.com/

    Educational Concepts, LLC

    2021 S. Lewis Avenue #760

    Tulsa, OK 74104

     T: (918) 710-4610               F: (918) 749-1987 

One Health Sweden

Infection Ecology & Epidemiology (IEE), founded in 2010, has changed its name to One Health Sweden. Most human infections are caused by agents (bacteria, virus, fungi and parasites) that also infect animals. However, historically science has been divided into different disciplines depending upon if the agent is found in humans (medicine), domestic animals (veterinary medicine) or wild life (biology and ecology). An important task for the future is to link these disciplines under the concept of One Health. We need to study how different agents and antibiotic resistance spread between animals and humans and how this is related to environmental and ecological conditions. One Health Sweden is a network for researchers from several universities and governmental organizations. The overall goal is to improve health for humans and animals, and to do this by stimulating interdisciplinary research and increased knowledge about One Health:

·        Increase One Health research
Our goal is to provide a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration within the One Health area.

·        Spread results from One Health research
Our goal is to make it possible for researchers from all over the world to publish results in connection with One Health and make it available as widely as possible. We provide an open access journal “Infection Ecology and Epidemiology”, within the area.

·       Enhance the level of knowledge about One Health in society
Our goal is to decrease the risk for emerging new pandemics, propagation of zoonotic infections and resistance to medication, by increasing the awareness of interaction between humans, animals and the environment and to show how our life styles affect the expansion of infectious diseases.

Please see: www.onehealth.se

Editor-in-Chief: Björn Olsen, MD, PhD, Professor & Senior Physician in Infectious Diseases, Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden serves on the One Health Initiative Autonomous pro bono Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php.

Important Zoonotic Disease with One Health implications...

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) - March 29, 2013 / 62(RR03);1-23

The material in this report originated in the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Beth P. Bell, MD, Director; and the Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Lyle R. Petersen, MD, Director.

Corresponding preparer: Alicia Anderson, DVM, Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, CDC, 1600 Clifton Road, MS A-30, Atlanta, GA 30333. Telephone: 404-639-4499; Fax: 404-639-2778; E-mail: aha5@cdc.gov.

Summary

Q fever, a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, can cause acute or chronic illness in humans. Transmission occurs primarily through inhalation of aerosols from contaminated soil or animal waste. No licensed vaccine is available in the United States. Because many human infections result in nonspecific or benign constitutional symptoms, establishing a diagnosis of Q fever often is challenging for clinicians. This report provides the first national recommendations issued by CDC for Q fever recognition, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, treatment, management, and reporting for health-care personnel and public health professionals. The guidelines address treatment of acute and chronic phases of Q fever illness in children, adults, and pregnant women, as well as management of occupational exposures. These recommendations will be reviewed approximately every 5 years and updated to include new published evidence.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr6203a1.htm?s_cid=rr6203a1_e

U. S. Department of Health and Human Services

Global Programs and Initiatives – One Health

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

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Volume 19, Number 4—April 2013

Discrepancies in Data Reporting for Rabies, Africa

Nel LH. Discrepancies in data reporting for rabies, Africa. Emerg Infect Dis [Internet]. 2013 Apr [date cited]. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1904.120185

Abstract

Human rabies is an ancient disease but in modern times has primarily been associated with dog rabies–endemic countries of Asia and Africa. From an African perspective, the inevitable and tragic consequences of rabies require serious reflection of the factors that continue to drive its neglect. Established as a major disease only after multiple introductions during the colonial era, rabies continues to spread into new reservoirs and territories in Africa. However, analysis of reported data identified major discrepancies that are indicators of poor surveillance, reporting, and cooperation among national, international, and global authorities. Ultimately, the absence of reliable and sustained data compromises the priority given to the control of rabies. Appropriate actions and changes, in accordance to the One Health philosophy and including aspects such as synchronized, shared, and unified global rabies data reporting, will not only be necessary, but also should be feasible.

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/19/4/12-0185_article.htm

Journal American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) Vol 242, No. 6, March 15, 2013

Commentary

One health, food security, and veterinary medicine

Alan M. Kelly, BVSc, PhD; James D. Ferguson, VMD, MSc; David T. Galligan, VMD, MBA;

Mo Salman, BVMS, PhD; Bennie I. Osburn, DVM, PhD   

“At the Group of Eight (G8) Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, in July 2009, the leaders of the world’s largest economies committed to “act with the scale and urgency needed to achieve sustainable global food security.”  The statement was precipitated by spikes in food prices, a rising incidence of hunger in 2008, a realization that price spikes are likely to recur, and an understanding that global food security is among the most formidable challenges facing all of humankind in the 21st century.  This urgent global challenge will require a dramatic and coordinated effort by multiple stakeholders, including a crucial role for the veterinary profession in the United States and the developing world. ...”

Please read more: http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.242.6.739

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

          considers this article to be a very important/significant contribution to One Health literature.

Provided by:

Diane A Fagen, Librarian / Copyright & Permissions / Electronic Access / Archives

American Veterinary Medical Association

1931 N Meacham Rd

Schaumburg IL 60173-4360

p:  800-248-2862 ext 6770

f:   847-925-9329

e:  dfagen@avma.org

One Health Newsletter Volume 6, Issue 1

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