One Health Surveillance

The usual mechanism of disease or infection transmission from vertebrate animals to humans and vice-versa is classified as zoonosis. Globally out of all microbial pathogenic disease, 61% are zoonotic with 13% species are regarded as emerging or reemerging. Studies suggest the prevalence of innumerable known and important Z/D/S such as leptospirosis, rabies, avian influenza but the extent of burden of zoonotic diseases amongst high-risk cohorts such as animal handlers within urban geography not adequately documented.

Objective:

The present study aims to document the burden of self-reported selected zoonotic diseases (Z/D/S) among animal handlers in urban areas of Ahmedabad

Leptospirosis (ictherohemoglobinuria, Leptospirosis biliousness) is a natural focal and zoonotic infectious disease dangerous for humans and farm animals. It is important to identify specific leptospira strains isolated from rodents or sick and suspicious animals by the serotype or genotype. In comparison with serotyping using micro agglutination test (MAT), molecular genotyping makes it possible to accurately identify a specific pathogen strain. The genetic classification now becomes more significant than the phenotypic classification.

Objective:

To introduce the method of molecular genotyping (MLVA) to determine the genotype of field isolates of leptospira.

Environmental Public Health Zoonotic Disease surveillance includes veternary, environmental, and vector data. Surveillance systems within each sector may appear disparate from each other, although they are actually complimentaly and closely allied. Consolidating and integrating data in to one application can be challenging, but there are commonalities shared by all. The goal of the One Health Integrated Data Sysytem is to standardize data collection, streamline data entry, and integrate these sectors in to one application.

Objective:

Integrate and streamline the collection and analysis of environmental, veterinary, and vector zoonotic data using a One Health approach to data system development.

There is an urgent need for diagnostic strategies for infections which are host-independent, so as to effectively track zoonotic spread, monitor animal carriers of pathogens, and evaluate transmission dynamics. Infection of a host - pathogen or human- by an animal results in recognition by the immune response, which consequently causes release of inflammatory mediators. Many scientists have explored the use of cytokines as diagnostic indicators of disease, but the conserved nature of the immune response in humans and animals results in cross-reactivity among many pathogens, making evaluation of the results difficult, especially in high disease burden populations. Measuring the pathogen-specific signature, however, is advantageous - as it offers discrete identification of active infection, and discrimination from exposure. It also offers a universal strategy that can be applied to human and animal hosts of infection - allowing for One Health Biosurveillance. Achieving this, however, requires the development of a) tailored strategies for the measurement of biochemically disparate pathogen signatures in clinical samples and b) ultra-sensitive detection of such signatures in the host. The sensor team at Los Alamos National Laboratory is working on both of these aspects, and the development of One Health Diagnostic platforms, the focus of the work presented here.

Objective:

Our goal is to develop deployable strategies for infectious disease diagnosis at the point-of-care that are applicable to multiple hosts of infection - conforming to the global One Health Strategy for diagnostics. We aim to develop methods that do not require prior knowledge of the pathogen in question, and can facilitate rapid and effective decision-making and situational awareness.

Bangladesh is a South Asian country with large human and poultry populations which is highly affected with frequent outbreaks of both high and low pathogenic avian influenza since 2007. Very few studies have been carried out to reveal the farm biosecurity at backyard poultry that might have contributed to the spread of avian influenza in Bangladesh, specially rural areas. Therefore, we aimed to characterize biosecurity practices of poultry farm including the movement of live birds which is a well-known risk factor for the geographic dissemination of the virus among poultry flocks and personnel hygiene of poultry workers for rapid detection and effective risk management of incursion of HPAI and LPAI viruses.

Objective:

We have conducted this study to characterise the movement and contact patterns of poultry in Bangladesh that could be associated with transmission of newly-introduced subtypes of avian influenza virus in two districts of Bangladesh as well as to summarise the patterns arising from the network analysis in a way that can inform the parameterisation of spatially explicit stochastic models of transmission of newly-introduced subtypes of avian influenza virus in the two types of areas.

Brucellosis, endemic in Armenia, is recognized as a significant public health challenge with a major economic burden. To address the regional threat of brucellosis for both animal health and public health, the œOne Health Surveillance of Brucellosis in Armenia” was initiated in December 2016. The project aims to develop scientifically sound strategies and policies for sustainable control of the disease.

Objective:

To understand the disease burden, we studied the epidemiological and clinical characteristics and associated costs for brucellosis patients hospitalized in Nork hospital in 2016.

Erysipeloid is a zoonotic bacterial infection transmitted to humans from animals. Symptoms include inflamed joints and skin; there is also a generalized type of the infection in which bacteria spread through the lymphatic and blood vessels, leading to the emergence of widespread skin lesions and the formation of secondary foci of infection in internal organs. Morbidity has no age or gender specifics; there is summer and autumn seasonality. The agent of the infection - Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae can be found in many domestic and wild animals. Wild rodents and ectoparasites play an essential role in spreading the disease and serve as a source of infection contaminating the environment.

Objective:

The goal of this study was to characterize the epidmiological, geographic, and historical characteristics of erysipeloid outbreaks in the Republic of Armenia.

Pesticides are used in agriculture and in the home to control pests such as insects, weeds, fungi and rodents. Pesticide poisoning in animals is usually due to misuse or accidental exposure. Information on poisonings in livestock in North America is largely lacking. Examples of hotlines in the U.S. for animal poisoning consultations include the APCC ($65.00 fee) and the Pet Poison Helpline (PPH) ($59.00 fee). The APCC fields calls 24 hours/day, 7 days/week about animal poisonings from the U.S., its territories and Canada. Using data from almost 4 years of APCC calls we describe the occurrence, category and class of pesticides involved, and outcomes of suspected pesticide exposures in livestock. This information is useful to raise awareness, encourage the proper use of pesticides and identify specific pesticides with negative impact on livestock health.

Objective:

This study characterizes the epidemiology of suspected pesticide poisoning in livestock in the United States (U.S.) and Canada using data from calls to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control Center (APCC).

Tavush Marz, in northeastern Armenia, occupies 9,1% of its territory. In recent years in this area either no surveys were conducted or they were incomplete. Tavush Marz is a tourism center as well as a border Marz with strategic importance. The presence of tularemia was first confirmed in 1949 in Noyemberyan. Natural foci of tularemia are located in forest zones where Sylvemus uralensis and its flea vectors are the source of infection.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to analyze the epizootic potential of four areas of Tavush Marz.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory is collaborating with epidemiologists of the US Dept. of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Center for Epidemiology and Animal Health (CEAH) to increase animal health surveillance capacity. CEAH monitors selected syndromic animal health indicators for stakeholder reporting. This project’s goal was to extend this capacity to bovine veterinary laboratory test accession data.

Objective:

Standardize selection of indicator data streams and corresponding alerting algorithms for syndromic, reportable disease, and confirmed diagnostic categories derived from veterinary laboratory test order data for bovines.