Veterinary Public Health (VPH) group at American Public Health Association (APHA) Decides to Orient Towards “One Health Initiatives”

 The Veterinary Public Health (VPH) group at the American Public Health Association (APHA) October 2008 convention in San Diego, California decided to orient their VPH, Special Primary Interest Group (SPIG) towards the “One Health Initiative”. 

The ultimate goal of the group has been to attain SPIG status.  Among other requirements, groups must have at least 100 members. (please visit the Publications page of this website to read APHA VPH SPIG business meeting minutes).

Interested public health veterinarians and other public health community professionals may contact Dr. Jim Dale for more information (see below). 

James E. Dale, DVM, MPH, MBA, DACVPM

Jefferson County Department of Health & Environment

Director, Environmental Health

1801 19th Street; Golden, CO 80401

Desk: 303.271.5718 -  Fax:303.271.5702 - Cell: 303.916.0810

jdale@jeffco.us -  JamesEDale@aol.com

Supercourse Library of Lectures

The original power point slide presentation of Thomas P. Monath, MD to the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID) in March, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia (USA) entitled  "One Medicine/One Health": Personal Reflections of a True Believer” is now posted in the Supercourse Library of Lectures and may be uploaded to the following address:

http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec33431/

These lectures are available to a worldwide student audience with the Global Supercourse.

Call for Papers - The 59th Annual James H. Steele Conference on Diseases in Nature Transmissible to Man  -  June 2 - 5, 2009

All information relevant to the conference is available at:

http://diseasesinnature.googlepages.com

State Environmental Health Directors (SEHD) Endorse One Health

Lisa Conti, DVM, MPH, Director of the Florida Department of Health’s Environmental Division and Chair of the State Environmental Health Directors (SEHD) advised us that SEHD has endorsed One Health.

http://www.astho.org/pubs/SEHDFactSheet_Feb08_2.pdf

 January 1, 2009 

One Health Initiative Website NEWS:

http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/

The One Health Initiative website has been operational since October 1, 2008.  Since then the website has received over 11,500 visits from 117 countries including the U.S. and Canada.  Numerous inquiries and comments have been received from several nations via physicians, veterinarians, allied health professionals, medical and veterinary medical scientists and others.

In addition, check out other websites where this One Health website has been displayed or referred to:  http://www.asianvet.org, http://www.izslt.it/izs/,  http://cabiblog.typepad.com/hand_picked/2008/10/the-first-europ.html, http://www.pandemicnetwork.com/promed.htm, www.TrackerNews.net,  http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/assist/index.htm, http://www.asm.org/, and http://www.soctropvetmed.org/ .

 The website welcomes and encourages supporters and advocates from all nations to participate by providing us with pertinent ‘One Health’ NEWS, UPCOMING EVENTS, and PUBLICATIONS by contacting ohsc@onehealthinitiative.com. 

Comments regarding the One Health Movement and this website are also appreciated.  Thank you!

December 1, 2008

Sources: Michael B. Cates, michael.cates@us.army.mil;
and Ralph Richardson, 785-532-5660, rcr@k-state.edu
Photo available. Contact media@k-state.edu or 785-532-6415.
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008

RETIRED BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL CATES TO HEAD K-STATE'S MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM

MANHATTAN -- Retired Brig. Gen. Michael B. Cates, former commander of the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine and chief of the U.S. Army Veterinary Corps, has been named director of Kansas State University's master of public health program.

Cates also will serve as a professor in K-State's College of Veterinary Medicine.

"Brig. Gen. Michael Cates has vast experience working where public health and veterinary medicine intersect," said K-State President Jon Wefald. "That experience, coupled with Cates' expertise working across disciplines, will be fundamental in taking K-State's master of public health program to the next level."

K-State's master of public health program, housed in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is an interdepartmental program consisting of 42 semester hours. The program, for people currently employed or anticipating a career in the field of public health, allows students to address public health concerns that include obesity/exercise, human nutrition, food safety, infectious/zoonotic diseases, and toxicology. It involves courses and faculty from the colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Human Ecology and Veterinary Medicine.

Cates, a native of Frisco, Texas, graduated from Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980 and was named an outstanding alumnus of the college in 2005. He also has a master of public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, and is a distinguished diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

Cates recently retired from the military after serving for more than 28 years. In addition to his role as chief of the Veterinary Corps and the first veterinarian to head the Army's main public health organization, he has had leadership experience in multiple locations in the U.S., Korea and Europe.

"In today's world, there are many complex challenges in animal, human and environmental health, and the future will bring even more," Cates said. "I have been a longtime advocate of multidisciplinary, proactive approaches to health, and it is an honor to now be part of K-State's outstanding research and educational efforts in these areas."

Cates said ultimately, K-State's master of public health program will contribute to worldwide health.

"My aim is to build on the program's early successes, earning accreditation, broadening collaboration and partnerships among the many aspects of animal and public health, developing even more public health trained professionals for the workplace, and making significant contributions toward improved global health," he said.

K-State Provost M. Duane Nellis said K-State's master of public health program is only one example of how the university is engaged in some of the nation's most important issues.

"Our master of public health program is tailored to address the most relevant public health issues," he said. "Our program will help meet the work force needs associated with addressing topics such as infectious disease and obesity -- areas that threaten the most basic health of our nation's citizenry."

ProMED-mail Adds *Link to One Health Initiative Website

www.promedmail.org

December 9, 2008—Jack Woodall, PhD, co-founder and Associate Editor of ProMED-mail www.promedmail.org informed us today that ProMED has now added the One Health Initiative www.onehealthinitiative.com website link to their site.  “Simply click on Links in the left margin, then Global Links, and look for One Health in alphabetical order”, Woodall said.

American Society for Microbiology Branch Lectureships (ASMBL) Program

(formerly known as Waksman Foundation for Microbiology Lectures)

The program annually selects a scientifically diverse group of speakers who are available to participate in ASM Branch meetings at the local and regional level. The ASMBL Committee will begin preparing the speaker list for the 2009-2011 program in January 2009. The Committee welcomes recommendations from the ASM Membership and others.

Program and speaker eligibility requirements are available online or via e-mail (adempsey@asmusa.org).

WWW: http://www.asm.org/MemberShip/index.asp?bid=16064

Deadline for Lecturer Nominations:  December 30, 2008.

Provided by:

Barbara Hyde

Director, Communications

American Society for Microbiology

1752 N St. NW

Washington, DC 20036

202-942-9206

Visit us online at microbeworld.org

Op-Ed Publication December 2, 2008 in Sarasota Herald-Tribune Newspaper:

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081202/COLUMNIST/812020315/2080/OPINION?Title=In_age_of_pandemics__human_and_animal_health_intersect

Zoonoses Handbook Now Available - February 2008
With support from Bayer Animal Health, the Center for Food Security & Public Health (CFSPH) – IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY- has published the Handbook for Zoonotic Diseases of Companion Animals. The Handbook is for veterinary and human medical professionals and addresses the etiology, prevention and liability issues for zoonoses of companion animals. It also contains materials to educate staff and clients.
Zoonoses Handbook

http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Zoonoses_Textbook/default.htm

National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) Endorses “One World-One Health”

                                                   http://www.neha.org/index.shtml

The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) is a strong professional society with over 4,500 members across the nation. NEHA’s mission is “to advance the environmental health and protection professional for the purpose of providing a healthful environment for all”.

NEHA announced today that “the NEHA Board of Directors has adopted a supportive position on One Health. We are also pleased and honored to display our position on the *NEHA website.”

*See NEHA Position Paper also placed on the Publication page of this website: http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications.php

Provided by:

Genny Pfeufer, Executive Associate

National Environmental Health Association

Email: gpfeufer@neha.org

Phone: 303.756-9090 ext. 302 

Colombian Non-profit Organization Endorses ‘One Health’

November 19, 2008

Attentively and according to information available on One Health 

Initiative Web page, I am attaching the requested information to be a 

Supporter Organization.

The Corporación RedSPVet_, Red de Salud Pública Veterinaria

(Veterinary  Public health Network, RedSPVet),is a non Profit

Organization, that associates Veterinary Public Health professionals

in Colombia and Latin  America and which develops projects of

intervention, investigation and  education in Veterinary Public

Health, Animal and Environmental Health in Colombian territory and internationally.

We will be very pride in contributing to the development of the

concept and to leading this offer in our country and in Latin America.

Thank you very much for your attention,

Cordially,

José Miguel Acosta Barbosa, M.V.

Director

Corporación RedSPVet

Red de Salud Pública Veterinaria

Bogota, Colombia

[LINK: http://www.redsaludpublicaveterinaria.org]

http://www.redsaludpublicaveterinaria.org

Boletín SPV: [LINK: http://redspvet.blogspot.com/] 

http://redspvet.blogspot.com/

Dean Emeritus of Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine Comments on Comparative Medicine’s Problematic Implementation in Veterinary Medical Education

In an October 30, 2008 letter to Dr. Michael Chaddock, Deputy Director of the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., Dr. J. Thomas Vaughan reflected upon the historical aspects of comparative medicine vis-à-vis 19^th and 20^th century acceptance of the “One Medicine” concept (known commonly today as One Health).  Dr. Vaughan expressed concerns about the educational implementation methodologies in vogue today.  Vaughan also cited an alarming potential problem where the public health community, while ostensibly urging veterinarians to enter public health practice, fails to provide sufficient opportunities for young aspiring, qualified DVMs/VMDs with MPH degrees.

The letter said:

“Reading the history of medicine since the Renaissance, one must resist the impression that our profession does not emphasize comparative medicine today as much as was the case in the 19^th and 20^th centuries.  During the era of what has been called the veterinary physicians, men like John Hunter and his protégé Edward Jenner, Claude Bernard, Louis Pasteur, Rudolph Virchow, Robert Koch, Daniel E. Salmon, Theobald Smith, Fred Kilbourne, Cooper Curtice, William Osler, and John McFaydean revolutionized medicine for humans and animals alike.  They did this under the banner of one medicine, and condescension toward animal medicine apparently was not an obstacle, at least not insuperable.

A part of the problem, now into the 21^st century, may be attributed to the rapid growth of the clinical and species specialties in veterinary medicine since 1951.  Comparative medicine has been largely relegated to laboratory animal medicine, preventive medicine (the specialty), and basic scientists conducting research on human health problems, leaving a large part of the profession uninterested and uninvolved in comparative medicine.  Add to that the failure of the public health community to create opportunities for veterinarians who could be recruited for this service, case in point, Dr. Heather Henderson who has tried earnestly for several years to secure a fellowship (post-MPH) in the epidemiology training program at CDC, (JAVMA, Sept. 15, 2008, pp 865-66).  Three of her colleagues in the United States Public Health Service and I have supported her efforts, thus far in vain.  What she says in her letter to the editor is, I believe, a representative sample of a problem that the profession has either ignored or not resolved.  Conclusions drawn on anecdotal evidence are apt to be flawed, but such reports can be early warning signs and do warrant investigation.

We in veterinary medical education give much lip service to lofty goals that go unmet for lack of implementation.”

Permission to reprint this excerpted portion of the letter was granted by Drs. Chaddock and Vaughan.

Great 21^st Century Physician ‘One Health’ Leader Dies

Date on November 6, 2008

Ronald M. Davis, MD
Past President, American Medical Association

It is with tremendous sadness that we report the passing of Dr. Ron Davis, past President of the AMA and a major supporter of the One Health Initiative.  Indeed, the AMA wouldn’t have passed its historic One Health Resolution without Ron’s leadership.  As the first preventive medicine physician to be president of the AMA, he recognized the need for collaboration between veterinarians and physicians.  As he said, “I was primed for the issue of One Health.”

Dr. Roger Mahr, who was President of the AVMA at the same time, contacted Ron to discuss bringing animal and human medicine together.  They met and had dinner together.  After Roger educated Ron about the issues, Ron told him that he would be happy to help.  Ron not only advocated One Health principles within AMA, but he personally represented AMA on the AVMA One Health Initiative Task Force and contributed materially to the development of the Task Force recommendations http://www.avma.org/onehealth/ .

This was a case where the right people were in the right place at the right time. 

In our subsequent One Health collaborations regarding drafting the AMA One Health Resolution and other related issues, Ron always graciously and expeditiously supported and guided our efforts with much wisdom.

Tragically, not long after the AMA passed the One Health Resolution in June 2007, Ron was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

He fought the disease with grace and dignity.  The New York Times reported on his battle. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/health/23voic.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

At the 2008 AMA Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates, Ron gave a very moving speech.  The transcript can be read at (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/18670.html) and the video can be watched at (http://www.webguild.com/TeamRon/)

The world has lost a great man, and we have lost an esteemed colleague, friend, and One Health champion.

Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, Bruce Kaplan, DVM, and Thomas P. Monath, MD

The Foundations of Medical and Veterinary Virology: Discoverers and Discoveries, Inventors and Inventions, Developers and Technologies

Frederick A. Murphy, DVM, PhD
University of Texas Medical Branch
Department of Pathology, Route 0609
301 University Blvd
Galveston, TX 77555-0609

famurphy@utmb.edu

Dr. Fred Murphy, the famous veterinary virologist who co-discovered the Ebola virus as etiologic agent of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever, with his equally famous physician colleague Dr. Karl Johnson (see One Health in Action # 1 on the Publication page of this website), provided us with a PDF of  his excellent article—titled  above (also available on the Publication page of this website).  It conveys a true spirit of “One Health” in action!

Also please see related website links Dr. Murphy provide us:

http://www.utmb.edu/ihii/virusimages/index.shtml

ASM:    http://www.asm.org/Membership/index.asp?bid=53147

ASV:    http://www.asv.org/pdf/ASV_fMurphy.pdf

ICTV:   http://www.ictvonline.org/Discoverers_and_Discoveries.pdf

Exciting New Website Launched

News Tracker, Health-Humanitarian-Tech

http://www.trackernews.net/

Provided by:

J.A. Ginsburg, editor
editor@trackernews.net

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has developed a listserve to facilitate discussion about One Health issues. Subscription is publicly available at