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Zoonotic Diseases and One Health Approach
Abstract
One Health is not a new concept. Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek physician, wrote “Airs, Waters, and Places” promoting the concept of health through a clean environment. Rudolf Virchow, the German physician considered the father of pathology, coined the term, “zoonosis.” He stated, “Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines- nor should there be.”This recognition that human and animal health are linked is as important now as ever.
More than 60% of pathogens that cause diseases in humans are zoonotic- diseases of animals that can infect people. And over 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic as well. Zoonotic diseases are emerging into human populations as the natural world is being increasingly disrupted and degraded. Explosive human population growth, intensive agricultural practices, deforestation, intensive agriculture, livestock grazing, and global trade and travel have contributed to increased interactions between animals, humans and wildlife species, leading to disease emergence. In the late 1990’s widespread deforestation led to the emergence of the Nipah virus in Malaysia. Similarly, intensive agriculture led to a massive Q fever outbreak in the Netherlands from 2007 to 2009.
The One Health concept calls for a paradigm shift in developing, implementing, and sustaining health policies that implement collective and coordinated actions between human, animal, and environment sectors. The One Health concept helps to understand the interactions between animals, humans, and the environment and how these interactions affect the occurrence of infectious diseases. It aims to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between wildlife biologists, behavioral scientists, ecologists, agriculturalists, veterinarians, physicians, virologists’ biomedical engineers, and epidemiologists among others to attain optimal health for humans, animals and the environment [1-4].
... One health (OH) as a concept is not a new initiative (Kahn et al. 2007a;Kahn et al., 2007b). Presently, it has become a worldwide strategy; a paradigm shift for the expansion of interdisciplinary collaborations, networking and communications in all aspects of health care for humans and animals (Kahn et al., 2007a;Kahn et al., 2007b;Dahal & Kahn, 2014). Essentially, OH seeks to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between different disciplines such as the veterinarians, physicians, environmental and public health experts, osteopaths, virologists, wildlife professionals, biochemists, behavioral scientists, dentists, nurses, biomedical engineers, plant biologists and epidemiologists among others to attain optimal health for all; humans, animals and the environment (Kahn, 2011;Aenishaenslin et al., 2013). ...
... Essentially, OH seeks to promote interdisciplinary collaborations between different disciplines such as the veterinarians, physicians, environmental and public health experts, osteopaths, virologists, wildlife professionals, biochemists, behavioral scientists, dentists, nurses, biomedical engineers, plant biologists and epidemiologists among others to attain optimal health for all; humans, animals and the environment (Kahn, 2011;Aenishaenslin et al., 2013). The OH concept enhances and employs the knowledge of the interactions between animals, humans, and the environment and how these interactions affect the occurrence, spread, maintenance and other dynamics of infectious diseases (Zinsstag et al., 2005;Dahal & Kahn, 2014). Hippocrates, the famous ancient Greek physician is known to be one of the oldest advocator of the concept of OH through a clean environment, when he wrote on "Airs, Waters and Places" (Hippocrates, 400CE). ...
... His claim that "between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines, nor should there be" still holds true to the present day (Zinsstag et al., 2005;Kahn et al., 2007b). Thus, the knowledge that human and animal health is linked within the environment shared by humans and animals cannot be overemphasized (Hippocrates, 400CE;Dahal & Kahn, 2014). Increasingly, more pathogens that cause diseases in humans are equally zoonotic diseases of animals that can infect people (Zinsstag et al., 2005;Dahal & Kahn, 2014). ...
Rabies, being a fatal, viral, zoonotic and vaccine-preventable disease, requires a holistic and team approach by all trained professionals working in the various aspects of public health maintenance. The one Health concept is founded on the awareness of the many benefits of controlling pathogens at the human-animal-environmental interface. Questionnaires were administered to the public and health personnel across the seventeen local government areas of Plateau Stateto collect information on factors that bothers on the public’s perception of rabies occurrence and control. These factors have been reported in previous and more recent studies to contribute to rabies in the state. They include the level of awareness of rabies and its control by the public, dog ownership and management practices, routine vaccination of dogs against rabies, reporting dog bites and suspected rabies cases to designated health authorities and role of the health personnel in rabies control. The information and data collected were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2016. The study period spanned from 1998 – 2007. The findings of this study led to the conclusion that the creation of a one Health Initiative will stimulate a successful and sustainable control of rabies in the state.
... This concept was adopted to properly deal with global health challenges [225]. The one health concept encourages collaborations among wildlife biologists, veterinarians, physicians, agriculturists, ecologists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and biomedical engineers to ensure favorable health for animals, humans, and our environment [228,236,237]. The one health approach has widespread impacts on poverty, food security, and health security through the prevention and control of zoonoses, mainly in the developing countries [238]. ...
... For the prevention and control of emerging and re-emerging diseases including zoonoses, the collaborations and partnerships of multi-sectoral personnel are badly needed for the implementation of feasible operations and surveillance among the human, animals, and environmental sectors [236]. WHO, OIE, FAO, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), United Nations System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC), and European Commission recognize the prevention and control strategies involving the one health approach [239][240][241]. ...
Most humans are in contact with animals in a way or another. A zoonotic disease is a disease or infection that can be transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to humans or from humans to vertebrate animals. More than 60% of human pathogens are zoonotic in origin. This includes a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, parasites, and other pathogens. Factors such as climate change, urbanization, animal migration and trade, travel and tourism, vector biology, anthropogenic factors, and natural factors have greatly influenced the emergence, re-emergence, distribution, and patterns of zoonoses. As time goes on, there are more emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. In this review, we reviewed the etiology of major zoonotic diseases, their impact on human health, and control measures for better management. We also highlighted COVID-19, a newly emerging zoonotic disease of likely bat origin that has affected millions of humans along with devastating global consequences. The implementation of One Health measures is highly recommended for the effective prevention and control of possible zoonosis.
... More than 60.0% of the pathogens that infect humans are animalborne zoonotic animal diseases and more than 75.0% of the new emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic (13). The World Health Organization shows Echinococcosis in the "neglected tropical diseases" group (14). ...
Objective:
Through this study we aimed to determine the risk factors affecting the transmission of Echinococcus granulosus to humans.
Methods:
This case-control study included a study group comprising of 107 people who underwent surgery for hydatid cyst and a control group comprising of 107 people. Place of living, age, and sex were taken as matching factors. A chi-square analysis was used for paired comparisons in the study. The variables that were significantly related in paired comparisons were included in the logistic regression analysis.
Results:
Hydatid cyst disease was seen 3.661 [confidence interval (CI) =1.650-8.123] times more often in individuals with an education period of 11 years or less compared to those with 12 years or above, 3.427 (CI=1.470-7.991) times more in those with a toilet outside the house compared to those with a toilet inside the house, and 5.540 (CI=2.088-14.697) times more in individuals who took a shower 8 times a month or less compared to those who take a shower 9 times or more.
Conclusion:
Individuals with a low level of education and who do not pay attention to environmental and personal hygiene are at risk for hydatid cyst disease.
... The one health concept encourages collaborations among wildlife biologists, veterinarians, physicians, agriculturists, ecologists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and biomedical engineers to ensure favourable health for animals, humans, and environment. World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of Agriculture, United Nations System Influenza Coordination, and European Commission recognize the prevention and control strategies involving the one health approach (Dahal and Kahn, 2014). One Health concept and research offers an approach to break down traditional sectoral barriers to achieve effective control of zoonoses. ...
Zoonoses are a significant public health concern and cause considerable socioeconomic problems globally. Zoonoses lead to millions of deaths annually. Out of all microbial diseases, 61% are zoonotic with 13% species regarded as emerging or re-emerging. Among emerging infectious diseases, 75% are zoonotic with wildlife being one of the major sources of infection. Different factors such as climate change, urbanization, animal migration and trade, travel and tourism, anthropogenic factors, and natural factors responsible for emergence or re-emergence of zoonotic diseases. Multisectoral approach and key strategy for control of pandemic zoonoses are monitoring and surveillance of pandemic zoonotic diseases, implementation of One Health measures, capacity building programme, and policy at international level, financial support for developing countries by international organization, new diagnosis and scientific technique for zoonoses, re-governing animal origin food systems, biosecurity and awareness about pandemic zoonoses.
... One Health is an initiative based on the understanding that the health of all life is inextricably linked and involves multi-disciplinary collaboration to optimize the health of people, animals, and the environment [19,20,22]. In the last decade, many Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions have been participants in this initiative [21,23,24]. ...
Zoological institutions often use immersive, naturalistic exhibits to create an inclusive atmosphere that is inviting for visitors while providing for the welfare of animals in their collections. In this study, we investigated physiological changes in salivary cortisol and blood pressure, as well as psychological changes among visitors before and after a walk through the River’s Edge, an immersive, naturalistic exhibit at the Saint Louis Zoo. Study participants had a significant reduction in salivary cortisol and blood pressure after walking through the exhibit. Psychological assessments of mood found that most visitors felt happier, more energized, and less tense after the visit. Additionally, participants who spent more time in River’s Edge, had visited River’s Edge prior to the study, and had seen more exhibits at the Zoo prior to entering River’s Edge experienced greater psychological and/or physiological benefits. We conclude that immersive, naturalistic exhibits in zoos can elicit positive changes in physiological and psychological measures of health and well-being and argue for a greater scientific focus on the role of zoos and other green spaces in human health.
... Such persons working with animals include veterinarians, slaughterers/butchers, farmers, researchers, pet owners (e.g., through bites and/or scratches of owners of indoor pet-animals), and animal feeders in animal companies using animal products, via animals used for food (e.g., meat, dairy, eggs, birds, infected domestic poultry, and other birds). Furthermore, transmission can also occur through animal vectors (e.g., tick bite, and insects like mosquitoes or flea) [4,14,15]. In addition, in the transmission of bacteria in comparison with viruses, the role of contaminated food and water, the importance of international travels as well as changes in land use and agriculture, are important [4,9]. ...
Currently, there has been an increasing socioeconomic impact of zoonotic pathogens transmitted from animals to humans worldwide. Recently, in the Arabian Peninsula, including in Saudi Arabia, epidemiological data indicated an actual increase in the number of emerging and/or reemerging cases of several viral zoonotic diseases. Data presented in this review are very relevant because Saudi Arabia is considered the largest country in the Peninsula. We believe that zoonotic pathogens in Saudi Arabia remain an important public health problem; however, more than 10 million Muslim pilgrims from around 184 Islamic countries arrive yearly at Makkah for the Hajj season and/or for the Umrah. Therefore, for health reasons, several countries recommend vaccinations for various zoonotic diseases among preventive protocols that should be complied with before traveling to Saudi Arabia. However, there is a shortage of epidemiological data focusing on the emerging and reemerging of zoonotic pathogens transmitted from animal to humans in different densely populated cities and/or localities in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, further efforts might be needed to control the increasing impacts of zoonotic viral disease. Also, there is a need for a high collaboration to enhance the detection and determination of the prevalence, diagnosis, control, and prevention as well as intervention and reduction in outbreaks of these diseases in Saudi Arabia, particularly those from other countries. Persons in the health field including physicians and veterinarians, pet owners, pet store owners, exporters, border guards, and people involved in businesses related to animal products have adopted various preventive strategies. Some of these measures might pave the way to highly successful prevention and control results on the different transmission routes of these viral zoonotic diseases from or to Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the prevention of these viral pathogens depends on socioeconomic impacts, available data, improved diagnosis, and highly effective therapeutics or prophylaxis.
... According to Rudolf Virchow, this recognition that human and animal health is linked is as important now as ever. More than 60% of pathogens that cause diseases in humans are zoonotic-diseases of animals that can infect people and among thus 75% of them are zoonotic as well [1]. Zoonotic diseases are diseases caused by all types of pathogenic/disease causing agents which are directly or indirectly transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa [2]. ...
We are in the world of Explosive human population, expanding agricultural systems, intensification of livestock, changing macro and micro climate, increased global trade and urbanization which contributed to increased interactions between animals, humans and wildlife species, leading to the emergence and re-emergence of many zoonoses. Emerging and re-emerging of zoonotic diseases negatively affect a human and animal population. To tackle this problem, One Health approach has a great role, it needs strong collaborative efforts and interdisciplinary communication to prevent epidemic or epizootic diseases and to maintain ecosystem integrity thereby improving and defending optimal health of globe. Despite this potential, failure to work collaboratively, lack of awareness, absence of a standardized frame work to capture the concept of disciplines and other problems with difficulty of wildlife management had negative impact on one health implementation. By solving the challenges of one health approach; it is possible to make it more powerful tool to protect defend living things and the environment from diseases around the globe, therefore all concerned body should participate in the one health activity to achieve the future expected of one health approach.
... The increasing interdependence between humans, animals and their products as well as the close association with companion animals have encouraged a change in the public health system thinking [1]. The study of public veterinary systems has rapidly grown as a domain in itself supported by the adoption since 1984 of the "One Health" paradigm as an effective strategy for the prevention and control of zoonoses [2,3]. In an increasingly globalised world, this new approach encompasses zoonotic infections, food safety, the environment and the health delivery systems. ...
Background:
Today's globalised and interconnected world is characterized by intertwined and quickly evolving relationships between animals, humans and their environment and by an escalating number of accessible data for public health. The public veterinary services must exploit new modeling and decision strategies to face these changes. The organization and control of data flows have become crucial to effectively evaluate the evolution and safety concerns of a given situation in the territory. This paper discusses what is needed to develop modern strategies to optimize data distribution to the stakeholders.
Main text:
If traditionally the system manager and knowledge engineer have been concerned with the increase of speed of data flow and the improvement of data quality, nowadays they need to worry about data overflow as well. To avoid this risk an information system should be capable of selecting the data which need to be shown to the human operator. In this perspective, two aspects need to be distinguished: data classification vs data distribution. Data classification is the problem of organizing data depending on what they refer to and on the way they are obtained; data distribution is the problem of selecting which data is accessible to which stakeholder. Data classification can be established and implemented via ontological analysis and formal logic but we claim that a context-based selection of data should be integrated in the data distribution application. Data distribution should provide these new features: (a) the organization of situation types distinguishing at least ordinary vs extraordinary scenarios (contextualization of scenarios); (b) the possibility to focus on the data that are really important in a given scenario (data contextualization by scenarios); and (c) the classification of which data is relevant to which stakeholder (data contextualization by users).
Short conclusion:
Public veterinary services, to efficaciously and efficiently manage the information needed for today's health and safety challenges, should contextualize and filter the continuous and growing flow of data by setting suitable frameworks to classify data, users' roles and possible situations.
... One Health is a concept and a strategy which fosters a collaborative relationship between human health, animal health and environmental health partners. 7 Although the One Health concept is not well institutionalised in South Asian countries, the recent outbreaks especially of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), Nipah virus swine flu and anthrax have proved that there is a need for strong coordination and collaboration between human and animal health sectors for proactive management and institutionalisation of One Health concept in the programme implementation related to zoonotic diseases. ...
One Health is a concept which fosters collaborative relationships between human health, animal health and environmental health partners. Diseases are emerging and re-emerging in South Asia due to poor sanitation, close proximity of people to livestock, deforestation, porous borders, climate change, changes in human behaviour and unhygienic food preparation and consumption practices. This review was completed in two stages. First, we conducted a review of peer-reviewed literature and grey literature available in Google search engine related to One Health in four countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal). Second, we used a structured questionnaire completed by the key stakeholders working on One Health for the collection of information related to the challenges in implementing One Health. Most of the One Health activities in South Asia are determined by donor preferences. Bangladesh and India did considerable work in advancing One Health with limited support from the government agencies. Weak surveillance mechanisms, uncertain cost-effectiveness of One Health compared with the existing approach, human resources and laboratory capacity are some of the factors hindering implementation of the One Health concept. Implementation of One Health is growing in the South Asia region with limited or no government acceptance. To institutionalise it, there is a need for leadership, government support and funding.
... These zoonotic diseases can be transmitted to humans in many ways like animal bites and scratches, food animals, farmers and veterinarians, vectors like mosquitoes, tick, fleas, and lice's [2,3]. Following factors influencing prevalence of zoonoses like ecological changes in man's environment, handling animal by-products and wastes (occupational hazards), increased movements of man, increased trade in animal products, and increased density of animal population. ...
... The application of evolutionary principles to medicine, agriculture, and conservation is widespread (Ashley et al. 2003;Hendry et al. 2011), but the ethical implications associated with such applications are rarely considered. The inter-relatedness of human populations, domestic animals, and the natural environment explicitly including wildlife is reflected in paradigms such as the One Health Initiative, which calls for the integration of various silos including the medical, veterinarian, and ecological science communities to respond to growing zoonotic threats (Dahal and Kahn 2014). In this context, sound wildlife disease management requires careful attention to applied evolutionary ecology and to ethical conservation because of the implications for conservation and public health. ...
Best practices in wildlife disease management require robust evolutionary ecological research (EER). This means not only basing management decisions on evolutionarily sound reasoning, but also conducting management in a way that actively contributes to the on-going development of that research. Because good management requires good science, and good science is ‘good’ science (i.e., effective science is often science conducted ethically), good management therefore also requires practices that accord with sound ethical reasoning. To that end, we propose a two-part framework to assist decision makers to identify ethical pitfalls of wildlife disease management. The first part consists of six values – freedom, fairness, well-being, replacement, reduction, and refinement; these values, developed for the ethical evaluation of EER practices, are also well suited for evaluating the ethics of wildlife disease management. The second part consists of a decision tree to help identify the ethically salient dimensions of wildlife disease management and to guide managers toward ethically responsible practices in complex situations. While ethical reasoning cannot be used to deduce from first principles what practices should be undertaken in every given set of circumstances, it can establish parameters that bound what sorts of practices will be acceptable or unacceptable in certain types of scenarios.
Although cystic echinococcosis (CE) is quite prevalent in Turkey, it is extremely neglected due to being usually asymptomatic for years and frequently not to be reported although it is obligatory. Most of the data on the prevalence of CE in humans in Turkey are based on hospital records, reported cases and the studies based on serological methods and they do not reflect the truth. The fact that detecting no cysts in most of the seropositive cases limits the value of researches based on serological tests. The most valuable epidemiologic data on CE are obtained by mass screening surveys with the use of portable ultrasonography (US) and it took the place of serological tests, especially in the last 20 years. Two of 190 cases older than 20 years were found to be positive for CE in a village of Konya city at the first study that US was performed in Turkey. At the first research performed on preliminary school children in Manisa Province; of the 630 students examined by US, serology and chest X-ray, 2 (0.3%) were diagnosed as CE by US. Only US was used at the second study, and hydatid cysts were observed in 3 (0.5%) of the 575 students in two villages; these data suggested that the use of US alone was more easy, fast and beneficial in the field studies. In the third research, 6093 students from 37 different schools of Manisa Province were selected as a representative sample, and 9 (0.2%) children (two previously operated) were found to be positive for CE by US. The only response to the invitation to use this model in different regions of Turkey was from Elazig Province and of the 2500 students selected, six cases (one previously operated) were detected, and the prevalence was found to be 0.2% in Elazig Province. During the same years, of the 102 cases sharing the same living space with 40 patients operated due to CE, 13 (12.7%) were radiologically diagnosed as CE in Van, while CE was diagnosed in 1 (0.5%) of the 209 cases in an area dealing with animal husbandry in Aydın. At the fourth research in Manisa, 4275 students from university were examined by US, while 2034 of these were also serologically tested by ELISA and Western Blot (WB). The efficacy of WB as a screening test in CE was investigated for the first time in the world; six new and three operated cases were detected, and the prevalence was 0.2%. During the research in the rural areas of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, of the 8618 cases living in six cities (Ankara, Aksaray, Balikesir, Bitlis, Edirne, Sanliurfa) of Turkey, 53 (0.6%) abdominal CE cases were detected by US and one of every 163 cases in Turkey was found to be infected with CE. This ratio shows that CE is one of the most important public health problems in Turkey. Control of CE is possible with "One Health" concept. An effective control program and changes in valid laws are needed in Turkey. In this review, the value of different diagnostic procedures have also been discussed.
One Health concepts and ideas are some of the oldest in the health discipline, yet they have not become main stream. Recent discussions of the need for One Health approaches require some reflection on how to present a case for greater investments. The paper approaches this problem from the perspective of the control and management of resources for health in general. It poses the following questions, (1) where do we need extra resources for One Health, (2) where can we save resources through a One Health approach and (3) who has control of the resources that do exist for One Health? In answering these questions three broad areas are explored, (1) The management and resources allocated for diseases, (2) The isolation of parts of the society that require human and animal health services and (3) The use of resources and skills that are easily transferable between human and animal health.The paper concludes that One Health approaches are applicable in many scenarios. However, the costs of getting people from different disciplines to work together in order to achieve a true One Health approach can be large. To generate tangible benefits requires careful management of specialist skills, knowledge and equipment, which can only be achieved by a greater openness of the human and animal health disciplines. Without this openness, policy makers will continue to doubt the real value of One Health. In summary the future success of One Health is about people working in the research, education and provision of health systems around the world embracing and managing change more effectively.
Zoonoses are a growing international threat interacting at the human-animal-environment interface and call for transdisciplinary and multi-sectoral approaches in order to achieve effective disease management. The recent emergence of Lyme disease in Quebec, Canada is a good example of a complex health issue for which the public health sector must find protective interventions. Traditional preventive and control interventions can have important environmental, social and economic impacts and as a result, decision-making requires a systems approach capable of integrating these multiple aspects of interventions. This paper presents the results from a study of a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach for the management of Lyme disease in Quebec, Canada. MCDA methods allow a comparison of interventions or alternatives based on multiple criteria.
MCDA models were developed to assess various prevention and control decision criteria pertinent to a comprehensive management of Lyme disease: a first model was developed for surveillance interventions and a second was developed for control interventions. Multi-criteria analyses were conducted under two epidemiological scenarios: a disease emergence scenario and an epidemic scenario.
In general, we observed a good level of agreement between stakeholders. For the surveillance model, the three preferred interventions were: active surveillance of vectors by flagging or dragging, active surveillance of vectors by trapping of small rodents and passive surveillance of vectors of human origin. For the control interventions model, basic preventive communications, human vaccination and small scale landscaping were the three preferred interventions. Scenarios were found to only have a small effect on the group ranking of interventions in the control model.
MCDA was used to structure key decision criteria and capture the complexity of Lyme disease management. This facilitated the identification of gaps in the scientific literature and enabled a clear identification of complementary interventions that could be used to improve the relevance and acceptability of proposed prevention and control strategy. Overall, MCDA presents itself as an interesting systematic approach for public health planning and zoonoses management with a "One Health" perspective.
This commentary offers suggestions for improving public health and public health education by emphasizing One Health principles, the integrating of human, veterinary, and environmental sciences. One Health is increasingly recognized as a powerful approach to the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases, increasing food productivity and safety, improving biosecurity, and enhancing many areas of biomedical research.
Emerging zoonoses threaten global health, yet the processes by which they emerge are complex and poorly understood. Nipah virus (NiV) is an important threat owing to its broad host and geographical range, high case fatality, potential for human-to-human transmission and lack of effective prevention or therapies. Here, we investigate the origin of the first identified outbreak of NiV encephalitis in Malaysia and Singapore. We analyse data on livestock production from the index site (a commercial pig farm in Malaysia) prior to and during the outbreak, on Malaysian agricultural production, and from surveys of NiV's wildlife reservoir (flying foxes). Our analyses suggest that repeated introduction of NiV from wildlife changed infection dynamics in pigs. Initial viral introduction produced an explosive epizootic that drove itself to extinction but primed the population for enzootic persistence upon reintroduction of the virus. The resultant within-farm persistence permitted regional spread and increased the number of human infections. This study refutes an earlier hypothesis that anomalous El Niño Southern Oscillation-related climatic conditions drove emergence and suggests that priming for persistence drove the emergence of a novel zoonotic pathogen. Thus, we provide empirical evidence for a causative mechanism previously proposed as a precursor to widespread infection with H5N1 avian influenza and other emerging pathogens.
The American Medical Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association have recently approved resolutions supporting 'One Medicine' or 'One Health' that bridge the two professions. The concept is far from novel. Rudolf Virchow, the Father of Modern Pathology, and Sir William Osler, the Father of Modern Medicine, were outspoken advocates of the concept. The concept in its modern iteration was re-articulated in the 1984 edition of Calvin Schwabe's 'Veterinary Medicine and Human Health.' The veterinary and medical pathology professions are steeped in a rich history of 'One Medicine,' but they have paradoxically parted ways, leaving the discipline of pathology poorly positioned to contribute to contemporary science. The time has come for not only scientists but also all pathologists to recognize the value in comparative pathology, the consequences of ignoring the opportunity and, most importantly, the necessity of preparing future generations to meet the challenge inherent in the renewed momentum for 'One Medicine.' The impending glut of new genetically engineered mice creates an urgent need for prepared investigators and pathologists.
On Air, waters and places, 400 B
- Hippocrates
Hippocrates: On Air, waters and places, 400 B.C.E.