Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 24, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
News & Reports one health
Collaboration on One Health: starting with students The Cambridge University One Health Society held its second annual conference earlier this year with the aim of encouraging undergraduates from a wide range of backgrounds to engage with the One Health concept. Joanne Harries, the society’s chair, reports targeting university students to spread the One Health concept is an effective way of encouraging them to consider how their future professions can have widespread One Health impacts. Within a university environment, students have opportunities to discuss and debate issues with their peers, coupled with access to excellent resources, facilities, clinicians and teaching staff, many of whom are professionals in their own fields. With this in mind, the Cambridge University One Health Society held its second annual conference earlier this year in Cambridge. The one-day meeting was attended by more than 120 students from medical, veterinary and global health backgrounds. The day began with an introduction to One Health from Nigel Gibbens, the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, who called on members of all disciplines to review their role in the One Health initiative. Lorenzo Savioli then outlined the important issue of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), drawing on his experiences as former director of the NTD department at the World Health Organization and highlighting the important link between the largely profitorientated commercial enterprises that are pharmaceutical companies and their actions in assisting aid work in combating NTDs. Next, Peter Walsh, of the University of Cambridge, discussed a topical issue with a twist – protecting apes against Ebola. Dr Walsh, who has a background in conservation research and mathematical modelling, described his work in western Africa predicting the spread of Ebola and his
team’s vaccination projects involving wild ape populations. After lunch, Andrew Frost of the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group, described the group’s use of a One Health approach to improve national responses to disease outbreaks, explaining how HAIRS tracked down sources of outbreaks – from the notification of clinical signs to identification and tracking of the pathogen, including searches outside of national borders. He drew on the example of the Schmallenberg virus outbreak to explain the caution required when presented with clinical signs of a largely unknown pathogen. Important questions included: Is it zoonotic? What are the risks if a large-scale outbreak occurs? How dramatic a response is required? Nicholas Brown, of Public Health England, discussed the important issue of antibiotic resistance, describing the current situation nationally and internationally. The early afternoon lectures were rounded off by Daniel Mills, of the University of Lincoln, who discussed the role animals play in human mental health – an important issue with potential for farreaching benefits. After a break, the late afternoon lectures began with Matthew Allen, of Cambridge veterinary school, describing translational aspects of musculoskeletal research in his Nigel Gibbens gives an overview of the importance of One Health 538 | Veterinary Record | May 23, 2015
Getting with the programme: students consider the topics to be discussed
work both in the USA and UK. He described examples in which drawing on animal models could provide important insights into the treatment of human conditions. The conference concluded with James Fawcett, head of the department of clinical neurosciences at the University of Cambridge, speaking about novel approaches to spinal cord repair. Professor Fawcett drew on examples of both animal and human spinal cord disease, the importance of different end-points or goals of treatment in humans and animals, and discussed cutting-edge developments of spinal cord regeneration therapy. Feedback from the conference was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing their enthusiasm and excitement. Comments included: ‘I left feeling thoroughly fired up and inspired’, and ‘a very interesting, thought-provoking and enjoyable day of lectures’. Since the meeting, students from Bristol and Edinburgh universities have set up similar One Health initiatives. This is highly encouraging and demonstrates the impact of addressing One Health at a university level. The Cambridge University One Health Society will be represented at the World Veterinary Association/World Medical Association Global Conference on One Health, where we hope to publicise our efforts and achievements in promoting One Health within the student body. More information about the society can be found at www.onehealthcambridge.com. doi: 10.1136/vr.h2513
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 24, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Collaboration on One Health: starting with students Veterinary Record 2015 176: 538
doi: 10.1136/vr.h2513 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/21/538
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To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
News & Reports one health
Collaboration on One Health: starting with students The Cambridge University One Health Society held its second annual conference earlier this year with the aim of encouraging undergraduates from a wide range of backgrounds to engage with the One Health concept. Joanne Harries, the society’s chair, reports targeting university students to spread the One Health concept is an effective way of encouraging them to consider how their future professions can have widespread One Health impacts. Within a university environment, students have opportunities to discuss and debate issues with their peers, coupled with access to excellent resources, facilities, clinicians and teaching staff, many of whom are professionals in their own fields. With this in mind, the Cambridge University One Health Society held its second annual conference earlier this year in Cambridge. The one-day meeting was attended by more than 120 students from medical, veterinary and global health backgrounds. The day began with an introduction to One Health from Nigel Gibbens, the UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer, who called on members of all disciplines to review their role in the One Health initiative. Lorenzo Savioli then outlined the important issue of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), drawing on his experiences as former director of the NTD department at the World Health Organization and highlighting the important link between the largely profitorientated commercial enterprises that are pharmaceutical companies and their actions in assisting aid work in combating NTDs. Next, Peter Walsh, of the University of Cambridge, discussed a topical issue with a twist – protecting apes against Ebola. Dr Walsh, who has a background in conservation research and mathematical modelling, described his work in western Africa predicting the spread of Ebola and his
team’s vaccination projects involving wild ape populations. After lunch, Andrew Frost of the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group, described the group’s use of a One Health approach to improve national responses to disease outbreaks, explaining how HAIRS tracked down sources of outbreaks – from the notification of clinical signs to identification and tracking of the pathogen, including searches outside of national borders. He drew on the example of the Schmallenberg virus outbreak to explain the caution required when presented with clinical signs of a largely unknown pathogen. Important questions included: Is it zoonotic? What are the risks if a large-scale outbreak occurs? How dramatic a response is required? Nicholas Brown, of Public Health England, discussed the important issue of antibiotic resistance, describing the current situation nationally and internationally. The early afternoon lectures were rounded off by Daniel Mills, of the University of Lincoln, who discussed the role animals play in human mental health – an important issue with potential for farreaching benefits. After a break, the late afternoon lectures began with Matthew Allen, of Cambridge veterinary school, describing translational aspects of musculoskeletal research in his Nigel Gibbens gives an overview of the importance of One Health 538 | Veterinary Record | May 23, 2015
Getting with the programme: students consider the topics to be discussed
work both in the USA and UK. He described examples in which drawing on animal models could provide important insights into the treatment of human conditions. The conference concluded with James Fawcett, head of the department of clinical neurosciences at the University of Cambridge, speaking about novel approaches to spinal cord repair. Professor Fawcett drew on examples of both animal and human spinal cord disease, the importance of different end-points or goals of treatment in humans and animals, and discussed cutting-edge developments of spinal cord regeneration therapy. Feedback from the conference was overwhelmingly positive, with attendees expressing their enthusiasm and excitement. Comments included: ‘I left feeling thoroughly fired up and inspired’, and ‘a very interesting, thought-provoking and enjoyable day of lectures’. Since the meeting, students from Bristol and Edinburgh universities have set up similar One Health initiatives. This is highly encouraging and demonstrates the impact of addressing One Health at a university level. The Cambridge University One Health Society will be represented at the World Veterinary Association/World Medical Association Global Conference on One Health, where we hope to publicise our efforts and achievements in promoting One Health within the student body. More information about the society can be found at www.onehealthcambridge.com. doi: 10.1136/vr.h2513
Downloaded from http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/ on May 24, 2015 - Published by group.bmj.com
Collaboration on One Health: starting with students Veterinary Record 2015 176: 538
doi: 10.1136/vr.h2513 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/176/21/538
These include:
Email alerting service
Receive free email alerts when new articles cite this article. Sign up in the box at the top right corner of the online article.
Notes
To request permissions go to: http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions To order reprints go to: http://journals.bmj.com/cgi/reprintform To subscribe to BMJ go to: http://group.bmj.com/subscribe/
