142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

301289
A One Health Approach to Capacity Building for Zoonotic Disease Surveillance in Global Hotspot Regions

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Jessica Schwind, PhD, MPH, CPH , One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of California, Davis, CA
Tracey Goldstein, PhD , One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of California, Davis, CA
Kate Thomas , One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of California, Davis, CA
Jonna AK Mazet, DVM, MPVM, PhD , One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of California, Davis, CA
Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, PhD , One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine, Univ. of California, Davis, CA
Building capacity to conduct zoonotic pathogen surveillance in regions where it is lacking is critical for the prompt recognition and identification of emerging health threats. Successful capacity development requires the strengthening of global, regional, and local networks, as well as increased communication and collaboration across all health sectors. In order to achieve the goal of building effective capacity for zoonotic disease detection and response in developing countries, attitudes and perspectives from key stakeholders regarding current capacity building efforts and priorities must be adequately understood. The PREDICT project, a component of United States Agency for International Development’s Emerging Pandemic Threats program, has introduced capacity building efforts to increase zoonotic disease surveillance in wildlife in global ‘hot spot’ regions where zoonotic disease emergence is likely to occur. A survey was administered to wildlife officials, public health officials and PREDICT-implementing in-country project scientists in participating countries in order to determine regional perceptions regarding the current status of zoonotic pathogen surveillance, to identify capacity needs at high priority human-animal interfaces and to guide future recommendations for zoonotic disease detection and response in each area. Representatives from 19 countries completed the capacity tracking survey and results showed diverse perspectives across stakeholder groups. Findings indicated a truly One Health approach that improves zoonotic pathogen surveillance on a global scale is greatly needed, including a greater awareness of the role of wildlife in human disease emergence, the recognition of high priority human-animal interfaces and the promotion of evidence-based practices in capacity building and tracking efforts.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the importance of including key stakeholders’ perspectives from all health sectors in order to address threats from emerging infectious diseases. Describe the similarities and differences among animal health officials, public health officials, and project scientists that may impact future directions in zoonotic disease surveillance and global health.

Keyword(s): International Health, Veterinary Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a public health professional with a background in epidemiology, program evaluation and international health. I currently work as a research scientist for the PREDICT Project of USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threats Program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4368.0: One health