Network for Evaluation of One Health

Category: Front Page News

  • Article: Antibiotic resistance is the quintessential One Health issue

    A New article has been published in Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene entitled “Antibiotic resistance is the quintessential One Health issue”.

    Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg (2016)110 (7): 377-380. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trw048

    The scale of antimicrobial resistance

    In May this year, the long-awaited final report from the Review on Antimicrobial Resistance was published.1 The report estimates that the 700 000 annual deaths currently attributable to infections by drug-resistant pathogens will increase, if unchecked, to 10 million by 2050, running up a bill of US$100 trillion in terms of lost global production between now and then. The reported numbers are somewhat apocalyptic, as they are based on crude projections of current trends and presume the failure of anti-malarial drugs and antiretroviral therapy as well as antibiotics. Nor do they account for the possible entry of new drugs onto the market. There is huge uncertainty associated with the human burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in general and antibiotic resistance in particular (for the purpose of this article the widely used term antimicrobial resistance [AMR] is retained, though the emphasis here is on antibiotic resistance). The precision of the estimates does not really matter much: the point is that the problem is already immense and is growing rapidly. We have been squandering our antibiotic resources for far too long and immediate action is needed on a very large scale if we are to reverse current trends.

    AMR as a One Health issue

    It is difficult to imagine an issue that epitomises the principles of One Health more than AMR does. The One Health approach, defined as ‘…the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines – working locally, nationally, and globally – to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment…’,2 recognises that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. AMR has clear links to each of these three domains.

    This article is Open Access and can be found at:  http://trstmh.oxfordjournals.org/content/110/7/377

     

  • NEOH presentation at Science Week

    An oral presentation was given by Marilena Filippitzi on behalf of the Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH) at the Science Week of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists (ANZCVS) (http://www.anzcvs.org.au/).

    Marilena giving presentation at science week

    The presentation was entitled “Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH) (EU COST Action TD1404): Developing a standardized methodology to evaluate One Health activities and enhancing the evidence base on the added value of interdisciplinary collaboration”. The respective abstract was co-authored by Helen O’ Shea, Daniele De Meneghi and Barbara Häsler. The conference was held in Gold Coast, Australia from 07 to 09 July 2016.

    Science Week is a highly successful three-day scientific meeting and is a fantastic opportunity to attend cutting edge presentations covering a wide range of disciplines.

    More information about the conference can be found here: https://ripehosting.blob.core.windows.net/anzcvs-prod-media/1595/science-week-program-v2.pdf
    The proceedings of the conference for the Epidemiology Chapter will be uploaded here: https://www.anzcvs.org.au/chapter-info/

  • Launch of a Trans-Disciplinary Working Table

    WORKING BEYOND DISCIPLINE

    A World – and a Practice – for Human and Wild

    A new transdisciplinary working table has been launched, calling for a convergence of conservation and development practice with a unifying vision and common strategy in both cause and accountability. It aims to create a dialogue beyond stale terminology, methodologies and metrics, and to reshape disciplines into a singularly impactful and enduring practice.

    Find out more at: www.transcenddisciplines.com

  • GEO-6 Assessment for the pan-European region

    The sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) Assessment for the pan-European region can be downloaded from http://uneplive.unep.org/media/docs/assessments/GEO_6_Assessment_pan_European_region.pdf

    NEOH member Prof Richard Kock was lead author on Chapters 1 and 4 and co-lead on chapter 2. In this role he had the opportunity to build One Health themes into the Health and land (agriculture) chapter.

    The document was produced by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
    UNEP convenes science–policy forums in many ways including through the co-design and co-production of research activities and assessments and the exchange of knowledge. The credible scientific information from such processes is essential for informed policy formulation and implementation and strengthens collaboration between research disciplines and public administrations to find solutions for environmental challenges.