Biodiversity & Health Newsletter - October 2017 - 2nd Edition

 

1. How is the relation between nature & human health part of your work/activities? 

I am a veterinarian and I am working since more than 30 years on animal diseases. Our institute is the national reference laboratory for about 40 animal diseases among which some have a zoonotic potential. I spent a large part of my career on avian influenza and, especially, on the famous H5N1, a virus of “our own hatching”. The influenza virus has existed for thousands of years as harmless virus in the gut of wild waterfowls but recently turned out to become a poultry killer and a top one candidate for pandemic. It is indeed reported that 61% of known pathogens can infect multiple animal species and 75% of all diseases which have emerged in the last two decades are of wildlife origin. Newly emerging and re-emerging infections are now recognised as a global problem, and 75% of these are potentially zoonotic. It is now clear that emerging infectious diseases events are not simply about pathogens jumping species barriers. They are made of complex relations that involve socioeconomic and socio-political drivers and their consequences extend beyond the impact of the disease itself. One of the most significant changes in our society has been the "livestock revolution", whereby the stock of food animals, their productivity and their trade has increased rapidly to feed the fast expanding of increasingly rich and urbanized human population. This has led professionals involved in both animal and public health to recognize “veterinary public health” (VPH) as a key area for their activities to address the human-animal interface.

 

 

Most veterinarians contribute, directly or indirectly, to public health goals and outcomes. The One Health approach acknowledges that population health is dependent on the biological interactions between animal and human diseases in a social and ecological environment. Humans and animals interact with high frequency and overcrowding in a globalized world. Emerging zoonoses are only one of a number of consequences of intensive livestock production systems, together with antimicrobial consumption and resistance, disruption of nutrient cycles and greenhouse gases emissions, with direct or indirect impacts on human health. A multidisciplinary approach is thus required to address these questions. In this context, the upcoming “Sciensano” institute will soon regroup the Scientific Institute of Public Health (WIV-ISP) and the Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre (CODA-CERVA). Both institutes will join forces to better understand human and animal health through scientific research aiming at enhancing the well-being of all.

3. Where would you like the work on nature - health linkages to be in a few years?

EcoHealth examines changes in the biological, physical, social and economic environments and relates these changes to human health. One Health represents a call for health researchers and practitioners at the human, animal and environmental interfaces to work together to mitigate the risks of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. There are, however, socio-political, economical, ethical and legal challenges, which must be met by such approach. The implementation of One Health/Ecohealth concepts must therefore benefit from transdisciplinary processes between policy, science and practice. Such networks should not be limited to scientific experts, but also be open to policy experts, local knowledge, practitioners, citizens and all relevant stakeholders. This is very challenging as the traditional "silo" thinking must be replaced with broader perspectives on the continuum of health but one must be careful not creating big One Health/Ecohealth institutions resulting in building fences rather than creating openness to collaborations. This may be overcome by focusing on open, collaborative networks like Communities of Practice, which are less institutionally bound and more flexible, and can be open to newcomers and new ideas and approaches. In addition, inter-and transdisciplinary education must facilitate this collaborative work and more and more veterinary schools have now specific VPH educational programs. Hopefully, Belgian funding agencies will keep investing in this holistic approach.