8th Annual Scientific Conference of Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), Bangladesh.

   Date of Conference: 16-18 March, 2010

The theme of this year’s conference is "Networking for promoting change towards One World One Health".

Please see details on website’s Upcoming Events page http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/events.php

Provided by:

Amam Zonaed Siddiki, PhD
Associate Professor
Dept of Pathology and Parasitology
Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University
Khulshi, Chittagong-4202
Bangladesh
Tel.  0088 031 659093        (ext 113)
      0088 0171 771 8884    (mobile)
Fax. 0088 031 659620 (lab)

New Year's Resolution: "One Health" Recognition and Implementation without delay. Protect and save human and animal life today and tomorrow!

One Health Workshop—‘First of its kind’ in City University, Hong Kong

December 10, 2009

 December 9, 2009

 Dear One Health Initiative,

 I would like to draw your attention to the One Health Workshop being 

 conducted in City University, Hong Kong on 10 December 2009. This is

 the first initiative of its kind in Hong Kong.

 Please refer to the website:

 http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/onehealth/speech_04.html]

  http://www6.cityu.edu.hk/onehealth/speech_04.html

  Howard Wong, M.A., Vet.MB, MPVM, MRCVS

  Senior Veterinarian

  Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

  Hong Kong

Historic FIRST Joint One Health Symposium with the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) and the Society of Veterinary Tropical Medicine (SVTM) will be held Nov 21, 2009 at 3:45 p.m.

ASTMH 58th Annual Meeting
November 18-22, 2009
Washington, DC, USA
Contact: info@astmh.org
www.astmh.org

The agenda:

TITLE: One World - One Health and Intercontinental Invaders

First Joint Symposium of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and the Society of Veterinary Tropical Medicine

Bob H. Bokma, E. Paul Gibbs, Thomas P. Monath, Co-Chairs

“ONE HEALTH" APPROACH TO INVESTIGATE ZOONOTIC WATERBORNE PROTOZOAL PARASITES IN CALIFORNIA AND TANZANIA - Patricia A. Conrad, Woutrina Miller, Deana Clifford, and Jonna K. Mazet

RIFT VALLEY FEVER VIRUS, A ZOONOTIC DISEASE OF HIGH CONSEQUENCE IN BOTH THE VETERINARY AND HUMAN HEALTH ARENAS – T.G. Ksiazek

MARINE VERTEBRATES AS SENTINELS OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES: ONE HEALTH LINKING LAND TO SEA - A. Alonso Aguirre

HOW WEST NILE AND AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUSES ILLUSTRATE THE CHALLENGES IN APPLYING ONE HEALTH - Samantha E. J. Gibbs

CONCURRENT DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL WEST NILE VACCINES FOR HUMANS AND EQUIDS: APPLICATION OF ONE HEALTH PRINCIPLES - Thomas P. Monath

VetsWEB.com

http://www.vetsweb.com/news/iceland-h1n1-outbreak-in-pigs-possibly-from-staff-587.html

Iceland: H1N1 outbreak in pigs possibly from staff

//29 Oct 2009

The ag authorities of Iceland reported ten cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 on a farm of 4500 pigs.

Clinical signs started with 10 sows off feed, temperature >40°C, some were coughing and two aborted.

Two workers had had flu-like symptoms for a few days prior to the clinical signs in the pigs, which makes it possible that the H1N1 influenza was transmitted from them to the pigs.

Source: OIE

News Release

The Alliance for Rabies Control

For Immediate Release                                                  

 Monday, September 28, 2009 

Contact: Peter Costa                                        

00 + 1.919.830.2199

                                                                                                peter.costa@worldrabiesday.org

Rabies is Still Deadliest Disease, Yet Preventable

Manhattan, KS, September 28, 2009 - Rabies is a disease with the highest case fatality rate of any known infectious disease. Rabies exists in every continent except Antarctica. Rabies has no boundaries and continues to spread across previously rabies-free countries (e.g., the recent news about dog rabies invading the tropical island paradise of Bali). Rabies kills humans regardless of their age, nationality, religion or cultural beliefs. In fact, rabies kills one person every ten minutes - more than 55,000 people every year. Sadly, over 50% of these deaths are children under 15 years of age.

Some of the facts about rabies in certain countries include: infected sheep brain vaccine is still used instead of modern vaccines; human rabies victims are sent home to die because it is cheaper to transport a live body than a dead body; and dog bite victims visit local healers where they are given worthless treatments including magic amulets or told to rub chili powder into their wounds as a cure for rabies. In order to address these issues and effectively reach across all continents, countries, religious backgrounds etc, the first World Rabies Day was established in Sept 2007 by a group of rabies experts that established the global foundation: The Alliance for Rabies Control (www.rabiescontrol.net).

Monday, Sept 28^th will mark the third annual World Rabies Day (WRD). 10,000 visitors from over 150 countries come to the website (www.worldrabiesday.org) every month to download

educational messages to distribute in their own countries. For WRD this year, a multitude of events

will be held across the world in countries with opposing beliefs and diverse cultural backgrounds

including: Pakistan, India, Palestine, Israel, China, Taiwan and many more.  In 2007, 74 countries

held a WRD event.  In 2008, country participation increased 15% with 85 countries hosting activities.   

The WRD initiative has engaged all of the major health organizations including the World Health

Organization (WHO), World Animal Health Organization (OIE), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, all of the major Veterinary medical associations and many more

partners. World Rabies Day proves that dedicated partners working together to prevent a deadly

disease can ultimately overcome political barriers. Wishing everyone a brilliant and active World Rabies

Day on Monday, September 28^th.

The Alliance for Rabies Control is the world's foremost non-profit organization dedicated to

 raising global awareness towards human rabies prevention, canine rabies elimination and

 wildlife rabies control. The Alliance strives everyday to keep millions of people around the world safe from rabies.

###

Indiana State (USA) Epidemiologist— Public Health Veterinarian and One Health Supporter/Advocate—Accepts Position as Assistant Commissioner for the Public Health & Preparedness Commission

Judith A. Monroe, MD, Physician Health Commissioner of the Indiana State Department of Health  http://www.in.gov/isdh/  Recently Announced New Assistant Commissioner, James F. Howell, DVM, MPH (see below):

,

I am pleased to announce State Epidemiologist James Howell, DVM, has agreed to serve as assistant commissioner for the Public Health & Preparedness Commission, effective today [Since August 2009].

In this role, Dr. Howell will oversee the following areas: the Public Health & Preparedness Commission includes Environmental Public Health, Epidemiology Resource Center, HIV/STD Division, Indiana Lead & Healthy Homes, Immunization, Local Health Department Outreach, Office of Legislative Affairs, Office of Primary Care, Public Health Preparedness & Emergency Response, and Tuberculosis Control.

Over the 13 years he has worked at the Department, Dr. Howell has shown exemplary professionalism and dedication to serving public health.  I am certain he will become an even greater asset to the agency in his new role.

As state epidemiologist, Dr. Howell oversaw the day-to-day operations of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Data Analysis, Food Protection, Geographic Information Services, Radiation Health, Surveillance and Investigation of Communicable Disease, as well as Zoonotic and Vector-borne Diseases.   In addition to his current position, he has served as Director of Operations, Veterinary Epidemiologist, and as the Surveillance/Investigation Coordinator.

Dr. Howell has had a varied professional career in both private and public sector.  He was a clinical practitioner for more than two years in mixed veterinary practices in north central Pennsylvania.  He also served more than 24 years in the US Air Force in veterinary and public health roles at base level, Dept. of Defense level, and at Air Force Major Command Headquarters.  His last military assignment was at the Air Force Material Command Surgeon’s Office, where he oversaw public health programs at 13 air force bases from Massachusetts to Florida to California and was the command’s senior advisor for officers in the Biomedical Science Corps.

Howell received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Purdue University and his Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan.  He is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.  In addition to numerous military decorations and awards, Dr. Howell is a recipient of the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

 Judy Monroe, MD 

The National Academy of Science, Institute of Medicine issued a press release on September 22 in support of the recently-issued report entitled "Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases."  This effort was funded by US Agency for International Development [USAID]; Dr. Marguerite Pappaioanou was the co-Chair of the committee. 

See this link for the press release:  http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=12625.  This link will take you to report - to purchase or to read on-line for free:  http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12625.

To access additional information regarding this project such as its charge; previous meeting agendas and presentations; and related reports; see:  http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3783/54653.aspx

Tracy S. DuVernoy, DVM, MPH, DACVPM
Veterinary Medical Officer
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Office of Food Defense, Communication and Emergency Response
Emergency Coordination and Response Team
[FDA CFSAN OFDCER ECRT HFS-015]
5100 Paint Branch Parkway, Room 2B-024
College Park, MD 20740-3835
Phone: 301-436-2248
Cell:  240-401-0788
Fax: 301-436-2633
Email: Tracy.DuVernoy@fda.hhs.gov

Started: August 25, 2009 (Tuesday)

Announcement:

A “Twitter” account is now available on this One Health Initiative website Home page or you may access it via https://twitter.com/OneHealthNews. 

** Access to this feature has been temperamental.  If so, try again repeatedly 2 to 4 times... and/or later.)

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

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

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

June 17, 2009

Death of Former CDC Employee and noted Rabies Expert - George M. Baer, DVM, MPH

Dr. George Martin Baer, a former CDC employee in the Division of Viral & Rickettsial Diseases, died on June 2, 2009, in Mexico City, Mexico, at the age of 73. He was an eminent virologist, veterinarian, and public health scientist. Dr. Baer was born during 1936 in London, England. He grew up in New Rochelle, New York, where he became an accomplished equestrian, and began a lifelong love of animals. He attended Cornell University, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in agricultural sciences in 1954, and a degree in veterinary medicine in 1959. He earned a Master´s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor during 1961. Thereafter, Dr. Baer started his career in public health with CDC via the EIS, and was assigned to the New York State Health Department in Albany, where he focused upon brucellosis, psittacosis, and rabies. In 1964, he worked at CDC’s Southwest Rabies Investigations Laboratory in Las Cruces New Mexico on bat rabies. During 1966 to 1969, he was a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization in Mexico. Based upon his efforts, he helped to lay the groundwork for Mexico’s public health programs against rabies, an effort he continued throughout the rest of his professional life. In 1969, he returned to Atlanta, and became head of the CDC Rabies Laboratory. With his team of researchers, he developed a method for the immunization of wildlife, for which he was credited as the “Father of Oral Rabies Vaccination”. His considerable expertise made him one of the foremost international experts in this arena. Of his more than 100 publications, his 1991 book, The Natural History of Rabies, remains a definitive reference in the field. After retirement from CDC, he founded a diagnostic laboratory in Mexico City, and was a member of the Mexican International Steering Committee for the Rabies in the Americas Conference. At the time of his death, he was working on a new vaccine for influenza, a timely project given the recent outbreak of the H1N1 virus. Clearly, Dr. Baer acted from a deeply held belief in the power of preventive medicine, within the ‘one health’ concept to combat disease both in humans and other animals. He is survived by his wife, Maria Olga Baer, three daughters, Katherine Baer, of Washington, D.C., Alexandra Baer, of New Paltz, New York, and Isabella Baer, of Mexico City, and four granddaughters. Funeral services were held in Mexico City at the Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima on June 4, 2009.

The preceding was provided by Peter Costa, MPH, CHES, Global Communications Coordinator, Global Alliance for Rabies Control http://www.rabiescontrol.net/ :

“We were all deeply saddened to hear of the death of Dr. George Baer on June 2, 2009.  We include the announcement about Dr. Baer’s death that was released from CDC [above].”

AVIAN Influenza Toolkit  -  May 25, 2009

http://www.aitoolkit.org/Default.aspx

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries & Forestry (DAFF) has conducted a project aimed at assisting APEC member economies to enhance their social, political and institutional arrangements to better prepare for and respond to the threat of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and other emerging infectious diseases (EIDs).

The initiative was an outcome of the June 2007 APEC ATCWG workshop, ‘Sharing experiences with the management of the avian influenza H5N1 threat’, held in Bangkok in which participants identified the need for a practical policy implementation toolkit that captured the knowledge and experience of animal health professionals working in the SE Asian region . 

Consequently the Avian Influenza Toolkit was developed as a web-based resource that contains management guidelines, information resources, case studies and examples of practical tools to assist countries to implement strengthened animal disease preparedness and response measures.  The Toolkit will include practical experiences of countries and experts on emergency animal disease prevention, preparedness, response, control, and management, combining their experience, guidance and tools into an accessible resource.  The Toolkit will evolve with international policy developments and technical advances, and will be continuously updated as new ‘best practice’ case studies emerge. 

Toolkit elements

The Toolkit is constructed in modules based upon key elements critical to effective animal (zoonotic) disease prevention, preparedness, control and response.  These elements have been developed from the United Nations System Influenza Coordination (UNSIC) six Success Factors  which summarise effective preparedness and control strategies that determine a country’s success or otherwise in dealing with emergency animal diseases and the New Delhi Roadmap - a 21-point vision and roadmap for dealing with avian and pandemic influenza adopted at the New Delhi Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza in December 2007. 

Examples of Toolkit content include: guidelines on the development of compensation schemes, practical advice and case studies on the implementation of vaccination strategies, biosecurity and operating standards for live bird markets, examples of animal health legislation, examples of effective models for private-public sector partnerships.  

Project activities

A Steering Group comprising representatives from Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and the United Nations System Influenza Coordinator (UNSIC), provides overarching guidance and direction to the Toolkit development and administration. 

An initial workshop was held in June 2008 (attended by APEC member economies, South East Asian countries and international agencies), to consider user requirements, information needs, best-practice implementation strategies and issues for inclusion in Toolkit. 

A second workshop in September 2008 evaluated and reviewed the Toolkit in preparation for the launch at the 6^th International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in October 2008. A focus of the Ministerial conference was the management of zoonotic disease risks at the animal–human interface.

Throughout the Toolkit’s development, a significant body of work emerged as it became apparent that the true value of the Toolkit would be found in the sharing of country experiences.  To date however, very little of this information has been documented and shared.  APEC member economies agreed that ongoing work was necessary and should be commissioned to continue capturing and documenting country experiences and case studies for inclusion in the website.  Australia will continue this work in conjunction with APEC member economies and others who wish to share their experiences with the management of avian influenza.

The website is a global resource that complements existing information sources and technical agency websites and has been compiled with the assistance and cooperation of the APEC economies and international agencies which have provided material for the Elements. We invite you to use the toolkit and to consider the website as a forum for the promotion and dissemination of new material relating to AI and other emerging infectious diseases.

Provided by:

Dr. Rhyll Vallis

Strategic Policy & Projects

Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer

Product Integrity & Animal and Plant Health

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Ph: 6272 3148

M.2.118

The SAPUVETNET III Project Contributing to the Millennium Development Goals through the One Health Concept

 (http://www.sapuvetnet.org/), funded by the European Union (DCI-LA/2008/75), aims to contribute to the discussion of various aspects of Public Health that require a multidisciplinary approach.

Rabies is a serious problem in many African and Latin American countries.

Although it has been successfully controlled in many European countries, there are still cases of rabies registered every year in animals and it is currently classified as a neglected disease by the WHO.

This e-conference (1 to 7 June) aims to stimulate debate and contribute to the development of a frame embracing the socio-economic, ecological and epidemiological factors that determine the disease pattern worldwide, and that could help the development of more effective strategies for disease control in the field. Different questions will be explored:

1. What is the real dimension of rabies in different eco-geographical scenarios?

2. Which human behaviours and beliefs contribute to the failure of vaccination campaigns?

3. How to promote responsible pet ownership? Are there any differences between urban and rural context?

4. What are the economic aspects that challenge the success of the animal vaccination campaigns?

5. What organizational aspects have to be put in place? How to communicate effectively with pet owners?

6. How to adapt the different experiences to different local realities?

If you have constructive ideas on one or more aspect of this important disease and would like to share them with us, please participate in this e-conference http://projectos.moodle.uevora.pt/course/category.php?id=3 .

1 to 7 June

The results will be valuable contributions to the World Rabies Day that will be promoted throughout the world in September.

(http://www.worldrabiesday.org/ ).

Instructions to participate in the e-conference.

1. Enter the website http://projectos.moodle.uevora.pt/ (if your browser inquires you on the safety of the certificates do not worry, it is a safe website).
2. Search "PROJECTS" and enter.
3. Access "Preparing the RABIES WORLD DAY 2009".
4. Choose the language in the upper right corner (ES, EN, PT).
5. On the next page you can choose between the following:

Ø                Access with user name and password for users already registered.

Ø                 Create a new user account: All who are accessing Moodle for the first time should register as new user and START CREATING A NEW ACCOUNT. Complete the register form and select Create My New Account.

FOR NEW USERS:
You should see the following instructions after having submitted your form:
"We have sent an email to XXXXX@XXXX.XXX (your email)
There are simple instructions to complete the process.
If you have any difficulty, contact your system administrator. “
Please follow the instructions sent to your email to activate your new account! 

  NECESSARY FOR ALL USERS (new and already registered):

To sign up for: "Preparing the RABIES WORLD DAY 2009":
Search: Management and select ENROLL ME IN THIS COURSE
Enter a enrollment key for access to the discipline: sapuvetnet3

After accessing the content of "Preparing the RABIES WORLD DAY 2009" you can edit what is in blue. Under each "diagram of subjects" you can see sub themes identified as "Discussion Forum", "Chat Room", etc… Selecting these links you may create a new topic of discussion, comment on a previously created, add a topic to chat ...
Selecting the "links" in blue appear different options to add, for example, file attachments on "Attach file". Explore the different options for more flexibility!

An Important Newsweek Letter-to-the Editor from:

 Laura H. Kahn, MD – May 16, 2009  (Scroll down to third letter)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/197887?tid=relatedcl

In response to the following:

The Path of a Pandemic

How one virus spread from pigs and birds to humans around the globe. And why microbes like the H1N1 flu have become a growing threat.

By Laurie Garrett | NEWSWEEK

Published May 2, 2009

From the magazine issue dated May 18, 2009

http://www.newsweek.com/id/195692

Press Release January, 2009

Book Signing Announced for Jim Steele Biography

American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Meeting, Seattle, 2009

Dr. Craig N. Carter, author of One Man, One Medicine, One Health—the James H. Steele Story and Dr. Cynthia Hoobler, editorial assistant, hereby announce a book-signing to be hosted by the American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine (ACVPM) at the AVMA meeting in Seattle this July.  Dr. Steele will meet and greet attendees at the ACVPM booth in the exhibit hall and will personally sign any book that is purchased.   All proceeds of book sales will benefit the Steele Endowed Lecture Series and the James H. Steele Professorship of Epidemiology at the University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston, Texas.  

Dr. Steele founded the veterinary division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1947.  He then boldly introduced the principles of veterinary public health to the U.S. and countries all around the globe.  His outstanding achievements have helped the world to realize higher standards of living through a better understanding of the epidemiology of diseases shared by animals and man.   As a U.S. Public Health Service officer, he became the first Assistant Surgeon General for Veterinary Affairs and later was appointed as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health & Human Services at the rank of Admiral (two stars).   He has received numerous awards over his illustrious career to include the Surgeon General’s Medallion in 2006, presented by SG Richard H. Carmona.  He is the only veterinarian to ever receive that prestigious award.

The biography begins with Jim’s birth and scrappy childhood in Chicago and takes the reader through his formal education, early work experiences and on through to his retirement from CDC in 1971.   Family and personal experiences are weaved into the story to include real-life adventure, success, tragedy and humor.  After leaving CDC, Dr. Steele began a prominent second career as a Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Texas, School of Public Health.  There he compiled and edited the world’s first comprehensive series of books on diseases shared by animals and man, the CRC Handbook Series on Zoonoses.  At the ripe young age of 95, he continues to lecture, consult, mentor, advise, write, and inspire.  The story of Jim Steele’s life is stirring to us all, in and outside the allied health professions.  He is a true pioneer in the evolving philosophy of One Medicine, One Health, One World.  He has been called by many of his colleagues The Father of Veterinary Public Health.

For those who cannot attend the AVMA meeting in Seattle, please watch for Dr. Steele’s biography on www.Amazon.com coming soon.

Questions:  Contact Dr. Craig N. Carter, 859-253-0571 (office), 859-433-5472 (cell) or email to craig.carter@uky.edu

ONE HEALTH Project: Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China

Information is public domain from the website:

www.agriteam.ca/projects/profile/livestock-health-extension-services-project-lhesp

Can be posted and distributed.

Provided May 15, 2009 by:

Jane Pritchard BA, DVM, MVetSc

Site Manager/LTTA Gansu and Chongqing 

Livestock Health Extension Services Project 

Agriteam Canada

Rm 408/413 East Wing Yasheng Building

No.  105 Qin’an Road, Chengguan District 

Lanzhou, Gansu 7300300

Jane.pritchard@ccag.com.cn

China, (Xinjiang, Gansu, Sichuan, Chongqing, Shaanxi, IMAR, Jilin), Livestock Health Extension Services Project (LHESP): November 2005–March 2011

Sector: Agriculture and Agribusiness
Region: North and Central Asia
Funded by:
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Government of the People’s Republic of China
Total Value: Canadian contribution: C$20 million; Chinese contribution: C$20 million
Partners and Counterparts:
In China: Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing; Provincial Animal Husbandry Bureaus and Agriculture Bureaus

Purpose

To contribute to a better quality of life—including improved public health, farm productivity and increased incomes—for poor rural women and men in western regions by controlling animal diseases. The new, sustainable approaches to the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases introduced through the project improve individual and public health and contribute to global public health. The long-term impacts include:

§               improved capacity of livestock producers, including smallholders, to prevent and control zoonotic diseases

§               reduced inequality between coastal and western provinces

§               improved systems, policy and institutional capacity for the management of livestock health in an equitable and sustainable manner including improved food safety and compliance with international quality control standards and protocols as established by the OIE (the World Organization for Animal Health) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Challenge

China has seen dramatic increases in the local consumption of animal products. This has created the opportunity for value-added livestock production to lift poor, subsistence western farmers out of poverty. However, smallholders remain particularly vulnerable to the continuing threat of animal disease, which could quickly destroy their livelihoods. Unsafe and unhealthy livestock farming practices pose significant animal and human health risks and could undo many benefits that have been achieved to date. An animal health extension system that responds to the needs of smallholders is essential to meet the growing demand for safe and healthy livestock products, fulfill WTO/OIE standards and support sustainable economic and social development of the western regions.

Approach

The LHESP uses an integrated approach that links national livestock health policy reforms with innovative regulatory frameworks for delivery, monitoring and evaluation at the farm level and in the marketplace. Training programs in Canada and China expose senior decision makers to new, OIE-compliant policy and regulatory options and contribute to more effective policy development. The LHESP engages all levels of government as well as the private sector, farmers’ association and the farmers themselves.  Village-based pilot projects ensure that policy links to practice in a way that leads to the development of a sustainable, effective system of livestock health extension.

Project Description

The LHESP promotes public health through the prevention and control of animal diseases by assisting China to meet its OIE compliance requirements. This contributes directly to good governance, transparency and reliable information sharing between international parties. Capacity building is carried out with institutional partners such as the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) Veterinary Bureau, the China Center for Animal Disease Control and the China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center.

Good governance in animal health services also involves establishing partnerships with the private sector, including private veterinary practitioners, agribusinesses and farmers. Each of these stakeholders has an important role to play in the prevention, detection and control of animal diseases. These industry participants are actively involved in the project’s planning, training and pilot activities.

Results

The LHESP is working closely with the Government of China to support the reform of veterinary services and the delivery of new, participatory extension services. Results include:

1.             An enhanced enabling environment for the delivery of OIE-compliant livestock health services to poor women and men in western regions

2.             Increased capacity of government policies and programs to locally meet the needs of China’s growing livestock industry and globally meet international animal health standards by delivering high quality, needs-based livestock health services to small, medium and large-scale livestock producers (women, men and ethnic minorities) in a participatory and sustainable manner

3.             Greater capacity of individual veterinarians and animal health workers (women, men and ethnic minorities) through improved education and skills with an emphasis on needs-based participatory training methodologies and the capacity to deliver OIE-compliant animal health services to prevent and control animal diseases

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to inform you that we recently launched our "One Health Network" website (www.onehealthnet.be). The objective of this website is to stimulate interactions between the medical and the veterinary sectors, particularly in low-resource regions.

Practically, the website suscitates discussions on "One Health" issues through literature reviews. Reactions on the reviews are encouraged and will be posted on the website after evaluation. In addition, Refman lists of references can be downloaded and imported in your own reference databases.

Everybody is welcome to submit a review on a "One Health" subject for open discussion with the scientific community.

We kindly invite you to visit the website. Any comment or suggestion is welcome (onehealthnet@itg.be). You are also welcome to invite other scientists to join the network, visit our website and make contributions (you can possibly send me email addresses to include in our mailing lists).

Tanguy Marcotty, DVM, PhD

Department of Animal Health

Institute of Tropical Medicine

Nationalestraat 155

B 2000 Antwerp

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

 The One Health Initiative has been endorsed by the American Physiological Society.

Please see published letter from President Dr. Irving H. Zucker and Executive Director Dr. Martin Frank below and on the Publication page of this website:

 Dear Drs. Kahn, Kaplan, and Monath:

   After reviewing the mission statement of the One Health Initiative, I

 am  pleased to inform you that The American Physiological Society has

 endorsed  the Initiatives strategy of improving the lives of all

 species—human  and animal—through the integration of human medicine

 and veterinary  medicine.  The strategy is consistent with the

 Society’s vision of  the role of physiology in global health as

 detailed by APS Past-President  Hannah V. Carey in an article that

 appeared in the Society’s  newsletter, _The Physiologist_ ([LINK:

 http://www.the-aps.org/publications/tphys/2007html/April/apspresident.

 htm] 

 http://www.the-aps.org/publications/tphys/2007html/April/apspresident.htm).

 Consequently, the Society would be pleased to be listed as a

 supporter of  the One Health Initiative.

    Sincerely yours,

  Irving H. Zucker, Ph.D.

    President

    Cc:       APS Council

    Martin Frank, Ph.D.

    Executive Director, American Physiological Society

    9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda,  MD 20814-3991  USA

 APS Home Page: www.the-aps.org

  ... Integrating the Life Sciences From Molecule to Organism

The following was graciously provided by:

Robert Taylor, Content Manager

Animal, Human & Social Sciences, CABI Head Office

Nosworthy Way

Wallingford

Oxfordshire

OX10 8DE

United Kingdom

News release

 Free access to world-renowned public health database to assist swine-flu effort

1 May 2009 

CABI today has announced free access to its specialist Global Health database – the definitive database for public health information – www.cabdirect.org/globalhealth

 Simultaneously CABI has developed a Swine flu 'dashboard' that brings together up-to-the-minute information on the virus (http://www.netvibes.com/cabialerts).The 'dashboard' includes resources from CABI and critical advice from key health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

 "Our mission is to help people worldwide through the provision of scientific knowledge," said Dr Trevor Nicholls, CEO of CABI. "Today we are offering our most applicable resource, over the coming weeks, to help health professionals and others working on the front line."

 In a fast changing sequence of events that has led to the rapid escalation of concern from WHO, and the reaction of national governments in considering their response to a possible influenza pandemic, release of the database is designed to give urgently needed support to those who need it most: scientists, medical professionals and health authorities investigating the causes and treatments of the disease and linkages to past outbreaks.

 Influenza researchers urgently need to be able to refer back to previous scientific work in this area to understand the behaviour of previous strains of the virus and to research effective mechanisms for handling earlier outbreaks.

 The Global Health database brings together global knowledge on every aspect of influenza since 1910. The knowledge it contains could provide a key weapon in health researchers' response in understanding and controlling the virus.

 Much of the data in Global Health is derived from publications that have long since vanished. They tell us a great deal about past pandemics, from rates and patterns of transmission, duration, timing of epidemiological peaks, geographical distribution of the disease, government preparedness and quarantine provisions through to effects on different age and social groups, severity in developing versus developed countries, symptoms, causes of mortality (secondary problems, especially pneumonia, were devastating in the Spanish flu) and mortality rates.

 By opening the door to a wealth of historical information on past pandemics, the Global Health database has the potential to reveal vital clues in the international fight against swine flu (influenza A – H1N1).

 Global Health database - www.cabdirect.org/globalhealth

CABI Swine Flu Dashboard - http://www.netvibes.com/cabialerts

 Media contact: Sarah Wilson, PR and Corporate Communications Manager, tel: +44 (0) 1491 829 361, mob: +44 (0) 7516 928 845, email: s.wilson@cabi.org

 Editor's notes

About CABI

CABI is a not-for-profit science-based development and information organization. Its mission and direction are influenced by member countries that help guide the activities undertaken. These include publishing; development projects and research; and microbial services. CABI produces key scientific information, including CAB Abstracts – the world-renowned bibliographic database covering agriculture and the environment. CABI also publishes multimedia compendia, books, e-books and full text internet resources aiming to further science and its application to real life. Our expertise includes animal and veterinary sciences, entomology, plant sciences, environmental sciences, human health, parasitology, mycology, crop protection, rural economics, rural development and leisure and tourism. For more information go to www.cabi.org

About the Global Health database

The Global Health database is published by CABI which has recorded public health and veterinary research since 1910. Global Health is the only specialist bibliographic abstracting and indexing database dedicated to public health research and practice. With more than two million records, Global Health is the definitive international public health database for academics, researchers, NGOs, policy makers, clinicians, healthcare professionals and students. The database covers all pathogens relevant to human health, including swine flu.

P Think Green - don't print this email unless you really need to

Heather K. Moberly, AHIP, Professor,

Veterinary Medicine Librarian

William E. Brock Memorial Library

Center for Veterinary Health Sciences

102 McElroy Hall

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater OK 74078-2013

405.744.6655

heather.k.moberly@okstate.edu

http://www.library.okstate.edu/vetmed  

The following News item was provided by:

Ronald D. Warner, DVM, MPVM, PhD, DACVPM, ACE
Assoc Professor (epidemiology, prev med, public health)
Dept of Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine

Director, Travel Medicine Clinic
Texas Tech Univ. Health Sciences Center
3601 4th Street
Lubbock, TX  79430-8143

 OBITUARY: JANE BROTHERTON WALKER

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Sun 19 Apr 2009

From: Gert J Venter <venterg@arc.agric.za>

Jane Brotherton Walker (expert acarologist), 1925-2009

 ------------------------------------------------------

Jane Brotherton Walker was born in Nairobi, Kenya on 31 Jan 1925. As a child growing up on a farm in Kenya Jane was home-schooled by her mother during her primary school years, and then went to England where she matriculated in 1944 at the County High School for Girls in Retford. Jane obtained BSc (Honours) and MSc degrees at Liverpool University in 1948 and 1959, and was awarded a DSc degree on her published works by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in 1983.

Jane was first employed in 1949 in the Research Branch of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service as a research officer in the East African Veterinary Research Organization, Muguga, Kenya. She progressed in this organization to senior scientific officer and then principal scientific officer, before voluntarily retiring from Her Majesty's Service in 1966 to take up a post as senior professional officer at the Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort, upon the retirement of Dr Gertrud Theiler. There, Jane spent the rest of her working life. At the Institute she progressed through the ranks of promotion to chief professional officer, chief veterinary researcher, and specialist scientist until her retirement on pension in 1990. After retirement she continued to work at Onderstepoort in an honorary capacity for 3 days a week until 1998. During her working life and even after her retirement Jane was sole, senior, or co-author of 53 scientific publications and 5 books (inter alia, The _Rhipicephalus_ species ticks of the World, 2000) and the descriptions of 18 new tick species. She illustrated many of the ticks that she described with meticulously executed line drawings.

Jane's prowess as a scientist was recognized by her peers and she received

3 of the most prestigious awards in the field of biological sciences in South Africa, namely the 1988 Elsdon-Dew Medal of the Parasitological Society of Southern Africa, for services rendered to Parasitology in Africa, the Agricultural Science and Technology Woman of the Year Award for 1998, and the Theiler Memorial Trust Award in 1998 for exceptional service rendered to Veterinary Science in Africa. Her scientific writing skills were soon recognized at Onderstepoort and she was a member of the Editorial Committee of the Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research from 1969 until 2000, a function she performed punctiliously to the dismay, as well as to the advantage of many a sloppy author.

With Jane's death the scientific world has lost one of its most meticulous and experienced workers, and the field of tick taxonomy, particularly in Africa, will be infinitely poorer. Her friends have lost a true lady and a loyal friend.

Jane died peacefully at home in Pretoria on Friday morning 3 Apr 2009 while having tea with Ivan Horak.

[byline: Ivan G Horak]

- --Gert J Venter, Senior Researcher, PVVD, Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute Agricultural Research Council South Africa <venterg@arc.agric.za> <http://www.arc.agric.za>

Dynamic Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) and strong One Health Advocate Dies

Dr. Janis H. Audin (MS IL ’75, DVM IL '79), a champion of progressive veterinary medical journalism and “One Health” died April 22, 2009 following a long, courageous and difficult battle with pancreatic cancer. The world has lost a truly significant One Health leader and advocate.  Under her guidance, the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) implemented a ‘one-health wonders’ column that recognized and highlighted prominent One Health individuals among the medical and veterinary medical professions in the United States.  The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has lost a dedicated and gifted editor-in-chief.

Dr. Audin joined the editorial staff of the AVMA in 1985, as an assistant editor and was promoted to associate editor in 1989 and editor in 1994. She became the editor-in-chief of both the JAVMA and the American Journal of Veterinary Research in 1995.  Prior to that Dr. Audin practiced as an associate veterinarian in Calumet City, Ill., for four years,

During her tenure, Dr. Audin was noted for implementing procedural and technological changes in the journal to reduce costs, improve timeliness of publications, and promote readership interest and awareness. New features in the news section introduced under her leadership have made the journals more practice and public health-relevant.  For instance, Dr. Audin fostered the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) “Inspection Insights”—a public health oriented food safety monthly column related to meat, poultry and egg products—from 1996 through 1998.  She also increased international manuscript submissions.

On March 23, 2009 AVMA Executive Vice President Dr. W. Ron DeHaven named Dr. Audin as editor-in-chief emeritus of the Publications Division. Wisely, it also meant that Dr. Audin could continue contributing to the staff effort to ensure the high quality of the AVMA scientific journals while the Association began a comprehensive search for her successor.

Having observed the JAVMA editors-in-chief for 50 years, I consider her one of the best, if not the best of a most distinguished list.  Janis was a special personal friend and my soul mate with respect to dealing with life-threatening cancer.  I deeply mourn her loss and will miss her.

 Bruce Kaplan, DVM

Please see JAVMA NEWS article:

April 13, 2009

ONE HEALTH NEWSLETTER - 2009 Spring Issue Published …

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/One_Health/OHNLSpring2009.pdf  

The One Health Newsletter’s 2009 Spring Issue is now published online.  It contains a variety of interesting and pertinent One Health articles.

Among items of note is the lead article entitled “Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida” by J. Glenn Morris Jr., MD, MPH & TM.  Dr. Morris is the director of the Institute.

Publication page of this website presents it in full.

Note: A "One Health" educational assist for future health and healthcare scientists.

Encouraging Middle School Students to Learn About Infectious Diseases Through Web-based Adventures

A report by the Federation of American Scientists in 2006 recognized the shift by government, business, and education to environments in which games play a greater role in learning. One of the recommendations from the report was that “Educational institutions need to transform organizational systems and instructional practices to take greater advantage of new technology, including games.” Through previous NIH/NIAID R25 education grants to Dr. Leslie Miller, innovative materials to teach middle school students about infectious diseases and the microbes that cause them was developed. The product has come to be known as MEDMYST, which is an abbreviation for “medical mysteries”. Currently, MEDMYST is a series of five web adventures delivered via the Internet and designed to engage students in problem-solving activities not likely to be encountered elsewhere. A Spanish language version of the medical missions is also available on the web. There are also MEDMYST magazines and classroom activities for teachers, and each of these components is available free of charge on the web site (http://medmyst.rice.edu). All components are aligned with content from the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993). Results of extensive field testing of these materials have shown this approach to be a very successful teaching tool.

Based upon the success of this model, the development of Mission 6 is underway. The purpose of Mission 6 is to introduce players (primarily 5^th to 8^th graders) to the concept of a “discovery-to-control” continuum for zoonotic diseases. The focus is on the discovery part of the continuum, and includes relevant material on epidemiology, etiology, and discovery of a new viral disease. The format allows the highlighting of careers in science and health, and reinforces science process skills for successful completion of the game/story. Mission 6 also sets the stage for the next mission, which will focus on the control portion of the discovery-to-control continuum, and will include concepts like vector control, the use of diagnostic tools, and vaccine development.

Provided by:

Kimberly Schuenke, PhD, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX; kischuen@utmb.edu

Leslie Miller, PhD, Center for Technology in Teaching and Learning, Rice University, Houston, TX; lmm@rice.edu

Supported by a grant 2R25AI062762-03 from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Rome Comparative Oncology Centre – a new One Health Initiative in Italy

Dr. Romano Zilli has informed us today April 7, 2009 about the establishment of a “Centre for Comparative Oncology” in Rome, Italy that involves the Medical and Veterinary Medical local services.  It is being run by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Lazio e Toscana and Tor Vergata University of Rome (Medicine Faculty).  This is an exciting and visionary One Health development.

• Centre for Comparative Oncology in Rome

A pilot study:

• A collaboration between IZSLT (Institute for Animal Health and Food Safety Rome), University of Rome Tor Vergata and Local Health Unit Rome B
• To study classification and nomenclature in liaison with National Reference Centre for animal oncology with a view to arriving at a system that is generally agreed.
• To assemble, tentatively define histopathologically, and selectively store animal tumor material and data.
• To collate and analyze relevant epidemiological data and to feed a database on obtained material available to researchers, epidemiologists, industry.
• To supply reference preparations and study sets to recognized institutions, veterinary and human, when feasible to do so.
• To advise on and perform identification and classification of animal tumoral material submitted by laboratories and clinics.
• To prepare and maintain a bibliographical reference system on animal tumors.

Provided by:

Romano Zilli, DVM
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale
Regioni Lazio e Toscana
V. Appia Nuova 1411
00178 Roma
www.izslt.it

Important New Kansas State University Website Announced – March 20, 2009

Welcome!  Kansas State University is proud to offer a unique blend of public health education opportunities for our state and beyond.  This website provides you up-to-date, comprehensive information about the Master of Public Health Program, whether you are a prospective student, current student, faculty member, alumni, or friend and advocate of public health education.  Please look at our program and let us know of any assistance we can give. 

Mike Cates, DVM, MPH
Director, Master of Public Health Program

http://www.k-state.edu/mphealth

See link to One Health Initiative website.

Posted March 2009 on American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine e-Jobs, Vol 2: http://www.acvpm.org/  Am

Nature Medicine 15, 227 (1 March 2009) | doi:10.1038/nm0309-227a

Royal Society urges integration of human and veterinary medicine

www.nature.com/nm/journal/v15/n3/full/nm0309-227a.html

STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS (MRSA), HUMAN, ZOO ELEPHANT - USA: (CALIFORNIA) 2008
**************************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org

Date: Fri 6 Mar 2009
Source: Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2009; 58(08):194-198 [edited]
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5808a3.htm?s_cid=mm5808a3_e>


Methicillin-resistant _Staphylococcus aureus_ (MRSA) infections are a
major cause of human skin and soft tissue infections in the United
States (1). MRSA colonization and infection also have been observed in
turtles, bats, seals, sheep, rabbits, rodents, cats, dogs, pigs,
birds, horses, and cattle (2--8), and MRSA infections with an
epidemiologic link to animal contact have been reported in veterinary
personnel, pet owners, and farm animal workers (5,7,8).

On 29 Jan 2008, the County of San Diego Health and Human Services
Agency was notified of skin pustules on an African elephant
(_Loxodonta africana_) calf and 3 of its caretakers at a zoo in San
Diego County. After each of these infections (including the calf's
infection) was laboratory confirmed as MRSA, an outbreak investigation
and response was initiated by the zoo and the agency. This report
summarizes the results of that investigation, which identified 2
additional confirmed MRSA infections, 15 suspected MRSA infections,
and 3 MRSA-colonized persons (all among calf caretakers), and
concluded that infection of the elephant calf likely came from a
colonized caretaker.

This is the 1st reported case of MRSA in an elephant and of suspected
MRSA transmission from an animal to human caretakers at a zoo.

[Voluminous further details, and the 10 refs., may be found at the
source URL. - Mod.JW]

Note: Caretakers blew air with their unmasked mouths into the calf's
trunk to stimulate bottle feeding (its mother had died).

Excerpted from         Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER)

              27 February 2009, vol. 84, 9 (pp 65–76)

http://www.who.int/wer/2009/wer8409/en/index.html

 "Influenza A (H5N1)

From September 2008 to 11 February 2009, 21 human

Cases of influenza A (H5N1) were confirmed in Cambodia,

China, Egypt, Indonesia and Viet Nam.  Many of these people

had visited live bird markets or had contact with sick or dead

Poultry.  Since December 2003, a total of 406 human cases

have been confirmed from 15 countries.2 To date, there has

been no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission.

The WHO influenza pandemic preparedness level remains

Unchanged at Phase 3.3"

USDA Office of the Chief Economist Agricultural Outlook Forum, 2009

Arlington, Virginia

February 26 – 27, 2009

 Scroll Down to Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

 Food Safety Track

 One World, One Health: Issues at the Intersection of Animal & Human Health

 One World, One Health: Issues at the Intersection of Animal & Human Health
Moderator: Cindy J. Smith, Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, Washington, DC
PDF

One Health: A Concept for the 21st Century
Laura H. Kahn, MD, Research Scholar, Program on
Science and Global Security, Woodrow Wilson School
of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ
PDF

One Health: Assuming Our Collaborative
Responsibility
Roger Mahr, Former President, American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA), Representative to the One
Health Joint Steering Committee, Washington, DC
PDF

The Importance of the Animal, Health-food, Safety,
Public Health Continuum and the Use of Public-Private Partnerships to Address Long-term Solutions
Mike Robach, Vice President, Corporate Food Safety and
Regulatory Affairs, Cargill, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
PDF

You can order per mail:

Nikolaus Gfrerer

CARPE DIEM – Associaton for Culture and Education

Sportplatzstraße 28

5700 Zell am See

Tel.: 0043 6542 55286-0  Fax: -6

www.carpe-diem.at

Environmental Health and One Health

Environmental Health is Core Public Health at your Service!

Dr. Lisa Conti, Director
Please see our 10-minute introduction to the Department's Environmental Health Programs http://www.doh.state.fl.us/environment/learning/hse/index.htm

Division of Environmental Health
Florida Department of Health
4052 Bald Cypress Way, BIN A-08
Tallahassee, FL 32399
(850) 245-4250
Please tell us how we are doing; click the link below for a brief survey: 
Fill Out Our Survey

Superior doctors prevent the disease.
Mediocre doctors treat the disease before evident.
Inferior doctors treat the full blown disease.
- Huang Dee: Nai-Ching (2600 B.C., 1st Chinese Medical Text)

Mission:  Promote, protect and improve the health of all people in Florida.
PLEASE NOTE: Florida has very broad public records laws. Most written communications to or from state officials regarding state business are public records available to the public and media upon request. Your e-mail communications may therefore be subject to disclosure.

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

Prominent One Health Advocate and Kansas Public Health Veterinarian Now Working for U. S. Senator as AVMA Congressional Fellow

Note: The physician-veterinarian One Health team of Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP, Bruce Kaplan, DVM and Thomas P. Monath, MD recently requested an update on the career of Dr. Gail Hansen [DVM, MPH], formerly the state public health veterinarian for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.  The following was received Feb 19, 2009:

 “Gail Hansen has changed career paths within veterinary medicine yet again and is currently working on health care issues as an American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Congressional Fellow.  She has been working for Senator Bernard Sanders (I-VT) since the end of October and in January became the main health policy person in the D.C. office of Senator Sanders.  She also works a bit in other subject areas in D.C., including Veteran’s Affairs, antimicrobial resistance and agricultural issues.  Before the Fellowship program she was the state epidemiologist and the state public health veterinarian for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for 12 years and just finished terms as the infectious disease chair of the Executive Board of Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) and eight years on the Executive Committee of the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV).  Before moving to Kansas, Gail was an epidemiologist at the Seattle-King County Health Department involved in a longitudinal cohort study of blood-borne pathogens among injection drug users.  She worked for 14 years as a veterinary medical clinician in private practices in Seattle, New York City, and Greensboro, North Carolina, and a short stint as a pathologist at the Pennsylvania State University.

Her policy interests while in Washington are infectious diseases, health disparities, public health, international relations, animal welfare, and promoting “One Health”.  Her answer to the question she gets most often: “Why don’t you want to be a veterinarian anymore?” is “I am still a veterinarian doing what veterinarians are uniquely trained to do!” 

Yes, Gail did work on the economic recovery and reinvestment act to try to kick start the lagging economy, on reauthorizing CHIP (the Children’s Health Insurance Program for underinsured and uninsured children and pregnant women) and is working with several other Senate staff members on health care reform.  And no, she can’t get you White House tour tickets.

The AVMA Fellowship Program provides veterinarians the opportunity to spend a year in Washington, D.C. and develop a better understanding of the governmental process, gain insight into the future of science and the veterinary profession, while assisting in creating legislation and regulations that affects our nation and profession. The AVMA Congressional Fellows serve as a scientific resource for Congress and seek to improve public policymaking through the infusion of science.  Congressional Fellows have the chance to use science-based decision making in public policy development, experience and influence major public policy debates, and network with government professionals.  Gail has found several former AVMA Fellows who are still working in Washington in other capacities, including Sara Lister, Karen Becker, Sarah Babcock and Doug Meckes.  They provide great guidance and sometimes just a friendly ear."

For more information on the AVMA Congressional Fellowship program go to http://www.avma.org/advocacy/get_involved/fellowships.asp.”   

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090216-jaguars-health-panthera.html

Officials driven to take closer look at food safety

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Sunday, February 15, 2009

 http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/02/15/foodrule0215.html

To One Health Supporters/Advocates:

Consider writing a 400 – 1000 word article (with appropriate photographs if available) giving pros and/or cons and remedies for the food safety dilemma in the U.S. today.

Submit to the “One Health Newsletter” http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/One_Health/OneHealth.html

 editor, Dr. Mary Echols Mary_Echols2@doh.state.fl.us.

If accepted for publication every effort will be made for the text to also appear on the Publication page of this One Health Initiative website.

Peanuts Salmonella-tainted foods expanded to PET FOODS

Please See: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/02/04/2009-02-04_peanut_corp_update_recall_of_salmonellat.html

 Also see associated MMWR article on Publications page:

 http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications.php

                  New ProMED-mail access featuring One Health items

Co-Founder of ProMED-mail Joins One Health Initiative Website

                              http://www.onehealthinitiative.com  

The ‘Kahn-Kaplan-Monath’ One Health team is proud to announce that John (Jack) Woodall, MA, PhD has agreed to be the ProMED-mail “Contents Manager/Editor” for a newly established ProMED-mail page on the One Health Initiative website.  One Health related articles will be featured exclusively.  Dr. Woodall, like Drs. Tom Monath, Bruce Kaplan [general Contents Manager/Editor] and Laura Kahn, will graciously be working pro bono for the benefit of advancing the One Health movement.

Early on, the physicians and other medical, veterinary medical and allied health scientific professionals at ProMED-mail provided and advocated support for the One Health concept.  We are all grateful for their longstanding support, valued advocacy and cooperation.

Dr. Woodall, in addition to being a co-founder of ProMED-mail and an eminent virologist, is currently:

John (Jack) Woodall, MA, PhD, Director (retd.)
Nucleus for the Investigation of Emerging Infectious Diseases

Institute of Medical Biochemistry

Center for Health Sciences

Federal University

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Among Dr. Woodall’s many posts held over the years:

2002 - 2008      Web Site Editor & Council member (ex officio), American Society  of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.

2004 - present     Biological Weapons Working Group of Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation,

Washington DC, USA.

2004 - 2006      Scientific Advisory Board, Sabin Vaccine Institute, Washington DC, USA.

2007 - present     Editorial Advisory Board, The Scientist magazine

2008 - present     Editorial Advisory Board, Journal of Medical Chemical, Biological & Radiological Defense.

The Alliance for Rabies Control's February 2009 newsletter is now available on our website at:

                WWW.rabiescontrol.net/ARCnewsletter11.pdf

                         Articles include rabies updates from Kwa-Zulu Natal, Mozambique and Brazil, oral vaccination in wildife in the US, 
rabies in Ethiopian wolves and vaccine regimen. There is also news about World Rabies Day, the student essay 
prize winner and recent developments from the Alliance, so please take a look. We hope you find it useful.
 Provided by:

Deborah Briggs, Executive Director of the Alliance, 
and Louise Taylor, newsletter editor

Nature’s perfect food isn’t perfect

By Jan M. Sargeant, DVM, PhD

From Thursday’s Globe and Mail

January 29, 2009

 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090128.wcomilk29/BNStory/specialComment/home

Provided by:

J.E.B. Graham, DVM

Toronto, Ontario

Canada

Author of the book “SOW’S EAR to SILK PURSE”

Anecdotes from the Life of a Veterinarian

January 14, 2009

Tuberculosis in a dog in Ontario, Canada

Summary:

A report in the latest newsletter from the University of Guelph Animal Health Laboratory describes a case of tuberculosis (TB) in a pet dog. The dog was a seven-year-old Bichon Frise that had an abdominal mass, low-grade fever, nasal discharge...

View the full post by clicking this link:

http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2009/01/articles/animals/dogs/tuberculosis-in-a-dog-in-ontario/

Provided by:

Peter Conlon, DVM, PhD, MEd

Associate Dean, Students

Ontario Veterinary College

Guelph, Ontario, Canada NIG 2W1

Bird flu found in British Columbia turkey farm

This is the first report of confirmed H5N1 in North America.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/397386_birdflu25.html

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

            January 15, 2009 

          “Modeling disease spread” 

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/laura-h-kahn/modeling-disease-spread

By Laura H. Kahn, MD, MPH, MPP

      Research Scholar

        Program on Science and Global Security

        Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
        Princeton University

January 12, 2009

ONE HEALTH NEWSLETTER - 2009 Winter Issue Published …

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/medicine/One_Health/OneHealth.html

The One Health Newsletter’s 2009 Winter Issue is now published online.  It contains a variety of interesting and pertinent One Health articles.

Among items of note is a “One Health Steering Committee Update” by Carina Blackmore, DVM, PhD.  Dr. Blackmore is Chair of the One Health Initiative Steering Committee’s Communications workgroup, a member of the One Health Newsletter editorial board, and Florida’s (USA) State Public Health Veterinarian.

Mary Echols, DVM, MPH, Editor of the One Health Newsletter pointed out:

“The 2009 Winter Issue of the One Health Newsletter intentionally solicited various points of view on the judicious use of antimicrobials in an effort to promote discussion on this important and controversial subject.  Indeed, in the spirit of One Health we encourage prospective authors to express different points of view on a variety of public health and clinical health topics, not just antibiotic use. ” 

In addition to accessing the Newsletter via the above Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the Publication page http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications.php of this website presents it in full.

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

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.

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

Sources: Lisa Freeman, 785-532-2844, freeman@vet.k-state.edu; Beth
Montelone, 7 85-532-1333, bethmont@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Cheryl May, 785-532-6415, may@k-state.edu

K-STATE AND KANSAS HEALTH FOUNDATION TEAM UP TO PROMOTE 'ONE HEALTH
KANSAS'

MANHATTAN -- Kansas State University and the Kansas Health Foundation
are collaborating to make Kansans healthier. A new venture, "One Health
Kansas," will promote awareness and understanding of the
interconnections among human, animal and environmental health.

The Kansas State University Foundation accepted the award for the
project, which is funded for three years for a total of $2,292,308.

"One Health Kansas" will be directed by Lisa Freeman, associate vice
president for innovation, K-State Olathe Innovation Campus, and Beth
Montelone, associate dean, College of Arts and Sciences, and interim
scientific director, Biosecurity Research Institute.

"The project has two components," Freeman said. "The first is to build
the pipeline of future public health professionals and the second is to
provide broader and more in-depth education for current and future
professionals. This will develop a public health workforce capable of
addressing emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. In addition,
'One Health Kansas' will enable K-State to develop new collaborations
focused on infection prevention with Stormont Vail HealthCare and the
Olathe Medical Center.

"One Health Kansas is an exciting opportunity for K-State to utilize its
strengths in collaboration, communication and integration," said
K-State President Jon Wefald. "K-State will take a leadership role in
promoting One Health concepts across the state of Kansas. Moreover, if
K-State is selected as the site for the National Bio and Agro-defense
Facility -- NBAF -- this award will help meet NBAF's workforce needs
and allow more of our best and brightest graduates to stay in Kansas."

"To achieve these outcomes, the project will create a series of outreach
and education programs to be delivered on K-State's Manhattan campus
and at partner community college sites, including Dodge City, Johnson
County and Kansas City, Kan.," Montelone said. "It also will link
current master of public health programs offered by the University of
Kansas and K-State and promote curricular sharing between these to
enhance both. 'One Health Kansas' will provide continuing education
opportunities for current public health officials to supplement their
knowledge of One Health topics."

"One Health Kansas is a truly innovative and cutting-edge program, and
one that has limitless potential for both Kansas State University and
the state of Kansas," said Steve Coen, Kansas Health Foundation
president and chief executive officer. "With its focus on building a
pipeline of future public health professionals, as well as studying the
emerging issue of zoonotic diseases, this program is one the Kansas
Health Foundation is proud to support."

"The Kansas Health Foundation has a long history of supporting Kansas
State University through their gifts to the KSU Foundation," said Gary
Hellebust, president and chief executive officer. "This historic gift
not only brings our partnership to a new level but also demonstrates
their confidence in K-State's ability to positively impact public
health across our state."

These programs will build on a United States Department of Agriculture
Higher Education Challenge Grant previously awarded to K-State under
the direction of Freeman, Montelone and others. The USDA project
"Pathways to Public Health" will result in development of an
introductory public health course offered jointly with the community
college partners; a summer undergraduate residency experience in public
health, and establishment of five year combined bachelor's/master of
public health degrees at K-State.

"One Health is a concept endorsed by the major national organizations
representing physicians, veterinarians and public health
professionals," Freeman said. "Collaboration among these groups is
needed in Kansas, so that citizens of our state can understand and
manage the complexity associated with emerging zoonotic diseases,
globalization of the food system, blurring of the urban-suburban-rural
interface and many other challenges affecting the health of Kansas
children and adults."

One Health Kansas will involve K-State faculty and students from the
Colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Human Ecology and
Veterinary Medicine, the K-State Graduate School and the K-State Olathe
Innovation Campus.


Cheryl May
Assistant Vice President for University Relations/
Director, Media Relations
Kansas State University
9 Anderson Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506-0117
785-532-6415 Phone
785-532-6418 FAX

On Saturday, October 25th, 2008, Dr. Ron DeHaven, Executive Vice President of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) opened the plenary session of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD)annual meeting with a presentation entitled:  "The AVMA One Medicine Initiative--Overview and Opportunities.  This keynote talk was followed by several papers on antimicrobial resistance.

Reported by:

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

One Health ‘Supercourse’ Partnership Proposed
                        www.pitt.edu/~super1

We propose that the One Health mission could partner with the Supercourse for broad, global distribution of education and outreach for Onehealth.

Supercourse:  The Supercourse began about 10 years ago as the result of the recognition that there has been a 25 year increase in life expectancy world wide. Virtually all of the increase has been the result of prevention. Most of prevention is the sharing of prevention knowledge, prevention education.  It was thought if we could harness the rapidly emerging technology of the Internet we could have a profound effect on health.

World workforce development in the area of global health is inadequate.  There are 240 times more clinicians than there are epidemiologists. There even is 24 times more morticians than there are those trained in epidemiology.  There needs to be a marked increase in those trained in global health and epidemiology.

In order to accomplish this a new model must be produced. It costs over $250,000 to produce a Ph.D. in Epidemiology. There must be a better way to train much larger numbers of individuals at a much lower cost.

In the late 1990s the Supercourse was born based upon a very simple model. The first component of the model was to build a global network on the Internet for the sharing of expert knowledge.  Thus should an earthquake occur in China, it is better to have an expert network in place before the earthquake rather than to try and cobble expertise together afterwards.   The Supercourse network grew from less than 500 people in the late 1990s, to now where there are over 56,000 global health experts from 172 countries.

We began to recognize that a global health network had enormous expertise and knowledge, if we could collect and share this.  We decided to establish a very simple knowledge exchange system in that we collected the best PowerPoint lectures from the network and then shared the knowledge in an open source lecture library for all to use for free.  We were very surprised how willing the experts were to share their lectures.  During a period of 7 years we have collected 3506 lectures (www.pitt.edu/~super1).  The authors include 15 lectures from Nobel Prize winners 150 from members of the IOM/NAS, the former US Surgeon General, the head of the NIH, etc.  Interestingly we have about 30 wonderful lectures from Veterinarians.

Our lectures are the most widely used lectures in global health.  We have 42,000 mirrored servers in the Sudan, Mongolia, Nepal, China, India, etc.  We receive 80-100 million hit per year. Last year our lectures  taught over  1 million students.  We are thus bringing global health training to millions.

We are moving into many new directions. By the end of 2009 we expect to provide a DVD of all the lectures to every medical and public health student in the world.