Slogan of prevention and remedy on communicable diseases more 50 word
Answers
We are in an era when public health slogans abound; we
have had ‘the new public health’, ‘emerging infectious
diseases’, and now ‘One Health’ joins this lexicon.
So, what is ‘One Health’? How does this concept help us
think through, and perhaps solve, public health problems?
One Health places disease, particularly infection, in a broad
ecological context. Many agents of infection target hosts
beyond humans, and One Health seeks to understand and
explain the public health implications of broad host ranges.1
One Health is a modern restatement of the old epidemiological triad of host, agent and environment.
It has long been known that many infections cross the
species barriers between humans, domesticated animals
and wildlife. Our view of this has traditionally been somewhat compartmentalised; those who work in food production and regulation are aware of the importance of
Salmonella infections and how modern intensive agriculture, food production, trade and marketing interact to determine their epidemiology. The more complex interactions
between domesticated animals and wildlife that govern the
spread of well-known infections such as influenza, rabies,
Ross River and other arbovirus infections, and newly
recognised infections such as Nipah and Hendra virus
infection still tease expert minds.2
There are some specific puzzles. What determines pathogenicity of agents, with species specificity? What, in particular, makes bats an efficient vector of so many newly
described infections? How do we determine whether an
agent is a true pathogen? What factors determine whether an
infection will cross a species barrier? What measures will
most effectively limit the burden placed on veterinary and
human health? The solutions to these problems will come
only from cross-disciplinary work involving epidemiologists, epizootiologists of both wild and domesticated animals, veterinarians, public health practitioners, laboratory
scientists and clinicians.
The One Health concept is focused on infectious diseases
and their transmission. However, this is not the only way that
health can be affected across species. To date, we have
focused largely on animal infection, but microbiological and
plant infections also impact health. An example of a crossspecies impact on health was potato blight with its first
impact directly on plants, and a second impact through
starvation of humans. Global warming is also predicted to
have an enormous impact on agricultural production (most
of which will not be due to infection), while having a
secondary health impact on humans.
The One Health concept has largely been the domain of
microbiologists and wildlife ecologists. More exploration
and discussion of the epidemiological and epizootiological
background is needed to characterise the importance of
these infections to human and animal public health. This
special edition of the NSW Public Health Bulletin begins
to explore One Health issues of recent or emerging importance in New South Wales. Adamson et al reflect on the level
of coordination that already exists between state health,
veterinary and primary industry players, and Dwyer et al
demonstrate how this partnership strengthened the response
to the 2009 influenza pandemic and calls for expansion of
these collaborative efforts. Hendra virus is a classic example
of an emerging infectious disease with potentially profound
human and animal health consequences, and Hess et al
provide practical management advice while highlighting
the need for a One Health partnership to gain a better
understanding of this virus and its ecology. Paterson et al
argue that current surveillance systems do not provide characterise new pathogens, to be harnessed for directing
human and veterinary public health action.
NSW Health staff recently contributed to the first International One Health Congress. Box 1 contains a link to the
Congress website where copies of the papers presented are
available for further information. Also presented is a glossary
to assist the reader with terms that are used in this issue
(Box 2).
Emerging disease threats demand a team approach that
capitalises on the complementary expertise and knowledge
of animal and human health professionals. The One Health
approach has the potential to improve the lives of all
species, whether human or animal.
reassurance for early detection and characterisation of
emerging pathogens that present with an encephalitis syndrome. Their argument for a standardised algorithm for
diagnostic work up would allow the remarkable developments in virological science, elucidated by Wang, to rapidly