International cooperation in support of "One Health"

Authors: 
Teissier, Marie, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), France
Abstract: 

Introduction

Though often tackled throughout the history of medicine, the concept ‘One Health’ has emerged at the end of the last century, indicating that the world has acknowledged the intrinsic relationship between animal diseases and public health.

The first successful attempt of human vaccination with animal pathogens was performed at the end of the 18th Century with smallpox vaccination by British physician Edward Jenner.

Two centuries later, in the 1960s, veterinary epidemiologist Dr Calvin Schwabe* called for a unified approach between veterinary and human medicine to combat zoonotic diseases, using for the first time the term “one medicine”, a concept which brings together animal health, public health and environmental health globally.

Background

By 2050 it is estimated that there will be nine billion people living on the earth, mostly in urban communities. They will increasingly demand animal protein.

New approaches to food production, food security and disease control will be necessary.

Already the majority of new diseases are zoonoses and as population densities grow, the incidence of animal-derived disease in the human population will also grow.

Today, approximately 60% of existing human pathogens and over 75% of those that have appeared during the past two decades can be traced back to animals. Many of them have a proven link with wildlife and could potentially be used in bioterrorism.

In a study dedicated to veterinary public health(1) published by the WHO (World Health Organization) in 1999, the authors stress that “Veterinary Public Health programmes may be formulated as long-term objectives on an international basis with the active participation of international organisations concerned with animal and/or human health, such as FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) [b] and;WHO, which are charged with providing technical advice and assistance to Member States, especially developing countries.”

Objectives

The need to control emerging diseases re-emphasizes the need for enhanced collaboration on reducing risks of zoonotic potential including foodborne diseases and severe animal diseases at their source.

The H5N1 avian influenza crisis and its rapid spread in Southeast Asia in 2003-2004 has shown how crucial it is to address persistent global threats at the interface between humans, animals and ecosystems, and to identify ways to operationalize One Health in policy and practice by sharing information and strengthening collaboration among different sectors.

On September 29, 2004, the WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) convened health experts and scientists from around the world for the ‘One World, One Health’ [c] symposium focused on the current and potential movements of diseases among human, domestic animal and wildlife populations.

The meeting adopted the ‘Manhattan Principles’, a list of 12 recommendations for establishing an approach to preventing epidemic/epizootic disease and for maintaining ecosystem integrity for the benefit of humans, domesticated animals and biodiversity.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) One Health Office has organised with its partners (the OIE, the European Commission, the World Bank, FAO, WHO and the UN Children’s Fund), a number of meetings on “One Health” aiming at providing a forum for national and international specialists to focus on policies and implementation of a One Health approach to improving human and animal health.

The “Stone Mountain” meeting: “Operationalizing “One Health”: A Policy Perspective—Taking Stock and Shaping an Implementation Roadmap, Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA, May 4-6, 2010”, identified means to constructively implement a One Health strategy.

Results and outcomes

For zoonoses detection, verification and sharing of official and unofficial information between organisations specialising in human and animal diseases is especially important.

The cooperation between the OIE, FAO and WHO became effective in the mid 90’s, but it grew substantially with the HPAI (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza) crisis in the mid-2005.

In April 2005, the OIE and FAO launched a joint worldwide network of expertise on avian influenza (OFFLU) - expanded in 2009 to include all animal influenza - to support veterinary services in their efforts to reduce risks to animal and public health from animal influenza viruses, with the collaboration of the WHO on issues relating to the animal-human interface.

The OIE has developed an assessment tool for the evaluation of Performance of Veterinary Services (OIE PVS Tool) in order to assist countries in determining their current level of performance. To promote and support intersectorial collaboration at the national level, the OIE has also implemented OIE-PVS “One Health” pilot missions, which are tailored to assess the quality of National Veterinary Services relevant to the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code standards, with special emphasis on collaboration activities with the Public Health sector and other relevant stakeholders at the animal-human interface.

Officially launched in 2006, GLEWS (Global Early Warning System including zoonoses) is the first OIE, FAO and WHO joint program that formally brings together both human and veterinary public health systems in order to share zoonotic disease outbreak information, epidemiological and risk analysis and to deliver early warning messages to the international community on areas at risk of TADs (Transboundary Emerging Diseases).

In October 2008, the OIE, FAO and WHO (with the UNICEF, the UN System Influenza Coordinator and the World Bank) prepared a consensus document(2) -“Strategic Framework”- on global measures needed to coordinate medical and veterinary health policies more effectively, taking into account new requirements to prevent and control zoonoses.

The objectives of the Framework were to define how to minimize the risk and the global impact of epidemics due to Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID), by strengthening disease information, surveillance and emergency response systems at national, regional and international levels, and by supporting them through effective public and animal health services.

It was adopted by more than 100 countries at an international Ministerial Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) the same year and discussed by experts gathered in the “One World, One Health: from ideas to action” meeting, hosted in 2009 by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In April 2010, the OIE, FAO and WHO conjointly published a Tripartite Concept Note(3) in which the three organisations indicate their intention to work more closely together to address health risks at the human/animal-ecosystems interfaces with a common vision of “a world capable of preventing, detecting, containing, eliminating, and responding to animal and public health risks attributable to zoonoses and animal diseases with an impact on food security through multi-sectorial cooperation and strong partnerships.”

In November 2011, the Government of Mexico, together with the OIE, FAO and WHO, convened a High Level Technical Meeting (HLTM) in Mexico City. With a special focus on rabies, zoonotic influenza and antimicrobial resistance, this meeting reflects an important step in putting into action the principles presented in the Tripartite Concept Note of April 2010.

The “Global Conference on Wildlife Animal Health and Biodiversity - Preparing for the Future”, (with the Wildlife Conservation Society), and the “Global Conference on Rabies Control: Towards Sustainable Prevention at the Source”, two meetings organised by the OIE in 2011, with the participation of the FAO and WHO, addressed both the benefits and challenges that are related to coordinated management approaches to the health risks at the wildlife/domestic animal and human ecosystems interface.

This paper will explain and detail the initiatives of the OIE and its International partners in the field of education, food security, animal health and veterinary public health, the ultimate goal being to improve the health of all species including humans, domestic animals, wildlife and plants.

Notes

  • [a] Calvin W. Schwabe, known as the “father of veterinary epidemiology”, 1927-2006
  • [b] Formerly “Office international des epizooties”, in 2003 the OIE became the «World Organisation for Animal Health”, keeping its acronym OIE.
  • [c] The ‘One World, One Health’ concept, which establishes a more interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial approach to preventing epidemic or epizootic disease and for maintaining ecosystem integrity, is a trademark of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Keywords: 
Animal Health - Communicable Disease Control - International cooperation - One health - Public health
Legend Figure: 
The FAO/OIE/WHO Global Early Warning System for Animal Disease including Zoonoses (GLEWS)
AttachmentSize
454_Teissier et al_Figure.jpg387.16 KB
References: 
  1. WHO Study Group on Future Trends in Veterinary Public Health: Future trends in veterinary public health: report of a WHO study group; 1999, Teramo, Italy: WHO technical report series; 907
  2. FAO/OIE/WHO, UN System Influenza Coordination, UNICEF, WORLD BANK - Contributing to One World, One Health - A Strategic Framework for Reducing Risks of Infectious Diseases at the Animal–Human–Ecosystems Interface; 14 October 2008 [cited 2012 April 2]. Available from: ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/aj137e/aj137e00.pdf
  3. FAO/OIE/WHO - The OIE-FAO-WHO Collaboration: Sharing responsibilities and coordinating global activities to address health risks at the animal-human-ecosystems interfaces, a Tripartite Concept Note; April 2010. [cited 2012 April 2]. Available from: http:// web.oie.int/downl /FINAL_CONCEPT_NOTE_Hanoi.pdf
  4. Schwabe CW. Veterinary medicine and human health. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1984.
  5. Wildlife Conservation Society. Conference Summary - One World One Health: Building Interdisciplinary Bridges to Health and Globalized World; 29th September 2004, The Rockefeller University, Caspary Auditorium: New York, NY [Internet]; 2004 [cited 2012 April 2]. Available from: http://www.oneworldonehealth.org/sept2004/owoh_sept04.html
Session: 
Session D. Global aspects of information
Ref: 
D1
Category: 
Free communications
Type of presentation: 
Oral presentation