Author: ibeange

The WVA/WMA Global Conference on One Health (held in Madrid, Spain on 21-22 May 2015), brought together 330 delegates from 40 countries around the world to discuss the One Health Concept.

NEOH members Margarita Martín Castillo, Valeria Grieco, and Karin Artursson presented a NEOH poster.
A presentation was given by NEOH member Katinka de Balogh from FAO who emphasised that the tripartite agencies provide international support for national systems strengthening and building on existing systems including for surveillance, that cross-sectoral collaboration is required for real-time information exchange for reducing public health threats at the human-animal-ecosystems interface and that transparency and trust are important to building effective cross-sectoral relationships.

To read all the contributions and see the presentations, please use the following link to the official conference report http://worldvet.org/news.php?item=233.

The University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, has concluded an agreement with the Hong Kong Government.

The Memorandum of Understanding focuses on researchers from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, and will encourage more exchange programmes and increased knowledge transfer with animal health professionals in Hong Kong.

The signing took place at a two-day workshop at the Hong Kong Science Museum. A wide range of topics were discussed, with an overarching theme of One Health – the concept that human and animal medicine are inextricably linked, with research outcomes which are applicable to more than one species.

More information and a short video can be found at: http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/hongkong-220515

In 2008, the University of Zurich (UZH) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Makerere University in Uganda (MAK). The partnership with MAK is in the focus of the North-South Cooperation which aims to establish sustainable institutional partnerships African universities.

Preventing Introduction of Livestock Associated MRSA in a Pig Population – Benefits, Costs, and Knowledge Gaps from the Swedish Perspective

Sören Höjgård, Olov Aspevall, Björn Bengtsson, Sara Hæggman, Maria Lindberg, Kristina Mieziewska, Svante Nilsson, Helle Ericsson Unnerstad, Diana Viske, Helene Wahlström

PLOS ONE, DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0122875, April 29, 2015

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance is a growing concern in human, as well as in veterinary medicine. Part of the problem concerns how to respond to the risk presented by animal reservoirs of resistant bacteria with the potential of spreading to humans. One example is livestock associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). In countries where LA-MRSA is endemic in the pig population, people in contact with pigs have a higher risk of being colonised with LA-MRSA, and persons from this group are subjected to precautionary measures when visiting health care facilities. In the present study, it is assumed that, if LA-MRSA was introduced to the Swedish pig population, the prevalence in the risk groups would be the same as in Denmark or the Netherlands (two countries with low human prevalence that have implemented measures to detect, trace and isolate human LA-MRSA cases and, therefore, have comprehensive data with good coverage regarding prevalence of LA-MRSA), and that similar interventions would be taken in Swedish health care facilities. It is also assumed that the Swedish pig population is free of MRSA or that the prevalence is very low. We analyse if it would be efficient for Sweden to prevent its introduction by testing imported live breeding pigs. Given that quarantining and testing at import will prevent introduction to the pig population, the study shows that the preventive measures may indeed generate a societal net benefit. Benefits are estimated to be between € 870 720 and € 1 233 511, and costs to € 211 129. Still, due to gaps in knowledge, the results should be confirmed when more information become available.

The full article is open access and can be found at: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122875