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‘One Health, One Medicine’ Using research to assist both man and beast
“Research funded by the Wellcome Trust and implemented jointly by UK and Kenyan-based institutions investigates epidemiology of zoonotic diseases-these are diseases transmitted between animals and people”
Drive into a shamba, a Kenyan small-holding, and you can observe first hand the close relationship rural Kenyans hold with their animals: Men ploughing the fields with teams of cattle; women milking cows and goats or using fresh dung to floor their houses; poultry, cats, dogs and children playing together. Pigs, goats and sheep wander in and out of houses, latrines and kitchens, picking at anything remotely edible, all categories of household wastes included.
Deforestation linked to rise in cases of emerging zoonotic malaria
Research suggests environmental changes are driving increase in Plasmodium knowlesi malaria – an infection usually found only in monkeys – among people in Malaysia.
A steep rise in human cases of P. knowlesi malaria in Malaysia is likely to be linked to deforestation and associated environmental changes, according to new research published in Emerging Infectious Diseases. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, is the first to explore how changes in land use are impacting the emergence of the disease.
Bats, People and a complex web of disease transmission
It might seem strange that after millennia of human history, outbreaks of new, ’emerging’ diseases that we’ve never seen before still regularly occur around the world, some of which go on to become pandemic. However, this may not be so surprising considering how quickly and how intensively the world is changing – expansion of populations, industries, and travel and trade networks are all thought to play a role.
Scientists Study Slums for Signs of Spreading Superbugs
Rapid, unplanned growth in many urban areas has people, livestock and wildlife living in close proximity and with inadequate sanitation. These are ideal conditions for microbes to evolve and spread. So a major project is underway, designed to shed light on how microbes move through the slums of Nairobi and beyond. It’s known as the Urban Zoo project. “Zoo” is short for zoonosis, the spread of diseases from animals to humans. From salmonella to swine flu, that’s how we get most of our diseases.
Current drivers and future directions of global livestock disease dynamics
The authors review the global dynamics of livestock disease over the last two decades. They state, “Our imperfect ability to detect and report disease hinders assessment of trends” but they suggest that, although endemic diseases continue their historic decline in wealthy countries, poor countries experience static or deteriorating animal health and epidemic diseases show both regression and expansion.
Fifteen Years After To Err is Human: A Success Story to Learn From
In late 1999, the Institute of Medicine released To Err is Human, a report that grabbed the world’s attention. It stated that up to 98,000 patients die each year in the United States from medical errors. But little was done to reduce infections and other harms at that time.
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