What is “One Health”?
One Health describes the premise that animal health, human health, and environmental health are inextricably linked, and all would benefit from collaboration between those fields. One Health is all about collaboration between disciplines. Examples, excerpted from AVMA SmartBrief:
Human health, animal health frequently intersect
Research on animals to improve human health often improves animal health as well, as demonstrated when veterinarians at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago prescribed a human heart medication for a chimpanzee showing signs of heart disease. The zoo’s multidisciplinary animal care team, led by veterinarian Kathryn Gamble, includes cardiologists, an ophthalmologist, a dentist, an oral surgeon, a dermatologist, a gynecologist and other experts in human and veterinary medicine, who apply knowledge of human health to animal care.
Bond between people, dogs tightens as scientists seek to cure cancer in both
The genetic profiles of people and dogs are 95% identical, and dogs are prone to an estimated 400 to 500 of the same diseases as people, including many cancers, making clinical trials for canine therapies all the more valuable. At least four experimental cancer drugs that have performed well in canine clinical trials are undergoing human clinical trials, including an immunotherapy that has helped one woman survive metastatic bone cancer.
Veterinary surgeon enlists plastic surgeon to help repair puppy’s cleft palate
Veterinarian Bryden Stanley, Michigan State University’s chief of surgery for small animals, worked with craniofacial surgeon John Girotto to determine how to repair a 9-month-old mixed breed puppy’s cleft palate. Dr. Stanley took tissue from inside the puppy’s cheek to fill the hole in the palate, marking possibly the first time the procedure has been performed on a canine patient, and the puppy is recovering well. Drs. Stanley and Girotto are working with geneticists to determine what causes cleft palate in dogs, and they plan to pair up treated dogs with children who are having cleft palate surgery.
One Health encompasses MANY different topics, and the IVMA One Health Committee has decided to focus our efforts on just a few subjects to start: infectious and zoonotic disease, continuing education coordination, and antimicrobial resistance.
• Visit One Health Initiative at http://www.onehealthinitiative.com
• Visit One Health Commission at http://www.onehealthcommission.org
• Contact Idaho Public Health regarding the Idaho One Health Consortium: 208-334-5941
• Visit Zoobiquity at http://www.zoobiquity.com
How can I get involved?
The committee is currently exploring several avenues to identify projects that fit with these focus subjects. We’d love to have your help! If you’d like to join the IVMA One Health Committee, or have any ideas for projects to further One Health collaboration, please share them! Please contact IVMA at 800-272-1813 for further information.