In This Issue
Winter 2019 Newsletter
- APHA Abstract Submission Deadline Fast Approaching
- Earth Day 2019: Protect our Species
- One Health in Action: Rooted Locally in San Cayetano, Corrientes, Argentina
- APHA 2018 Annual Meeting Recap in San Diego
- The 2018 One Health Leadership Award Winner Is Announced!
- VPH Member Spotlight: Meet Our Chair
- Upcoming Events
- Get Involved with the VPH SPIG!
Editor: Jessica S. Schwind, VPH Communication Chair
APHA Abstract Submission Deadline Fast Approaching
By Thomas Doker, APHA Program Planner
This year's APHA annual meeting will be held November 2nd to the 6th in historic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the theme 'Creating the Healthiest Nation: For Science. For Action. For Health.' APHA’s meeting and expo represents the largest annual gathering of public health professionals with more than 12,000 people in attendance! The Veterinary Public Health special interest group's abstract submission deadline is Saturday, February 23th, so please get your submissions in soon!
Topics considered will include those covering the impact of One Health issues (animal-human-ecosystem interaction, zoonoses, food safety, and Veterinary Public Health), especially those related to health equity. The program will consist of two or three 90-minute sessions, with four 15 to 20-minute presentations at each, and an additional poster session addressing the following suggested topics:
- How does Veterinary Public Health support One Health issues?
- Occupational risks for zoonotic disease exposures (including those associated with pathogens developing antimicrobial resistance)
- One Health epidemiology and informatics: How can technological advancements help surveillance, diagnosis, reporting, and response to diseases and other Public Health issues?
- One Health surveillance of emerging zoonoses, vector-borne diseases, and the link to ecosystem change
- One Health: Connecting the human-animal bond and the impacts this dynamic relationship has on the environment
All accepted abstracts will be grouped into appropriate sessions using the above suggestions as a guide. However, all Veterinary Public Health and One Health topics will be considered. Submitted abstracts may also be appropriate for planned co-sessions with other APHA sections. Presenting at the annual APHA meeting is a great way to spotlight your research, program or policy, and provides an opportunity to network with leading professionals in One Health. Please consider submitting an abstract using the link below for the 2019 APHA Meeting occurring in Philadelphia.
“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”
― Rachel Carson
Earth Day 2019: Protect Our Species
By Sarah Wagner, VPH Student Member
Every year, millions of people make New Year's resolutions, hoping to spark positive change for the world around them. May I suggest another resolution to add to your list? In 2019, let us bring awareness to the decline of a diverse array of plant and animal species and encourage individuals to align their principles with those of One Health. One way to spark positive change is to create a healthier world for all by protecting earth’s species and the ecosystems in which they thrive. In 1962, the release of Rachel Carson’s novel The Silent Spring, enlightened the American public of the potential dangers and consequences of widespread pesticide use. Carson’s novel sparked a culture of environmental consciousness which led to the inception of our first Earth Day on April 22, 1970 [1].
The first Earth Day led the integration of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among others, into the U.S government [2]. As members of the American Public Health Association, we are educators and advocators for public health and, by association, the environment in which it is dependent upon. Today, Earth Day is a global event with participation from followers in over 192 countries. Celebrations in past years have included planting trees, cultivating gardens, picking up trash, or spreading awareness of the importance of planetary health. This year we can continue to participate in Earth Day by looking to the goals of the 2019 Protect our Species campaign:
- Educate and raise awareness about the accelerating rate of extinction of millions of species and the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.
- Achieve major policy victories that protect broad groups of species as well as individual species and their habitats.
- Build and activate a global movement that embraces nature and its values.
- Encourage individual actions such as adopting a more plant-based diet and stopping pesticide and herbicide use.
From these goals, we can be inspired to act by working collaboratively to promote creative solutions to limit the decline of species in our communities and worldwide. The Protect our Species campaign highlights bees, other insects, elephants, giraffes, whales, and coral reefs as species of interest this year. Fortunately, the rate of extinctions can still be slowed, and many of our declining, threatened and endangered species can still recover if we work together now to build a united global movement of consumers, voters, educators, faith leaders, and scientists who demand immediate action [3]. In 2019, let's not give up on this New Year's resolution. Through our collective action, we can improve the health of people, animals, and the environment.
Works Cited:
- History Channel. (2011, April 14). Earth Day Timeline. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/earth-day-timeline
- Earth Day Network. (n.a.). Earth Day. Retrieved from https://www.earthday.org/earthday/
- Earth Day Network. (n.a.). Earth Day 2019- Protect our species. Retrieved from https://www.earthday.org/campaigns/endangered-species/earthday2019/
One Health in Action: Rooted Locally in San Cayetano, Corrientes, Argentina
By Sahana Kuthyar, VPH Supporter
The characteristic howl of the black and gold howler monkey booms through the forests and into the town of San Cayetano, Corrientes in Argentina. Situated in the northeastern corner of the country, the town is a mosaic of fragmented forests, wetlands, and human settlements, all of which border the Riachuelo river. San Cayetano is teeming with wildlife, including howler monkeys, capybaras, maned wolves, caimans, and more than 170 species of wild birds. The black and gold howler monkeys are adapted to live in forest patches and serve as sentinels of ecosystem health, reflecting changes in habitat conditions, disease transmission, and cascading effects of climate change.
Wildlife species live at the human-animal interface, where ecological overlap among humans, domestic animals, and wildlife is increasing due to anthropogenic development. In San Cayetano, human settlements are a combination of households and farmland where domestic animals, such as cattle, horses, and dogs, roam free and frequently enter the fragmented forests. Additionally, dogs have been known to attack howler monkeys when they cross between forest patches, which increases inter-species interaction. The ecological overlap among species at the human-wildlife interface in San Cayetano presents a high potential for zoonotic disease transmission.
Diarrheal disease poses a significant threat to public health in northeastern Argentina, one of the poorest regions of the country [1]. A changing ecosystem due to climate change and land-use transformation is increasing the frequency and intensity of floods, which is creating a higher waterborne disease burden. In a long-term collaborative project, the local research station, Estacion Biologica Corrientes (EBCo), has hypothesized that howler monkeys are reservoirs for Giardia intestinalis, a waterborne protozoan pathogen which causes giardiasis [2, 3] . Thus, the entire community is at a high risk for disease burdens stemming from ecological overlap.
However, the residents understand the implications of zoonotic disease and are working on a public health initiative using a One Health framework. They are collaborating with EBCo to limit disease transmission at the human-to-wildlife interface and create wildlife corridors. Their first initiative to decrease human-wildlife contact is to build treetop bridges for howler monkeys to cross over roads. Researchers at EBCo and local students have designed five bridges with materials donated from companies in the forest industry. The bridges will be comprised of wooden posts and walkways bolstered with steel wire.
Emerging zoonoses are a public health concern, especially at human-wildlife interfaces. San Cayetano’s local, bottom-up approach to One Health aims to improve health across all species and promote wildlife conservation. The construction of these wildlife corridors is designed to mitigate the potential for zoonotic disease transmission. However, howler groups will become more connected and possibly interact at a higher rate, which could lead to a higher transmission frequency of Giardia and other pathogens. Thus, it is crucial to continue to raise awareness of the risks associated with infectious disease transmission and to promote multi-scaled public health policies.
Works Cited:
- Molina, N., Minvielle, M., Grenòvero, S., Salomòn, C., Basualdo, J. 2011a. High prevalences of infection with Giardia intestinalis genotype B among children in urban and rural areas of Argentina. Ann. Trop. Med. Parasitol. 105, 299-209.
- Kowalewski, M.M., Salzer, J.S., Deutsch, J.C., Raño, M., Kuhlenschmidt, M.S., Gillespie, T. R. 2011. Black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya) as sentinels of ecosystem health: patterns of zoonotic protozoa infection relative to degree of human-primate contact. Am. J. Primatol. 71, 1-9.
- Kuthyar, S., Kowalewski, M. M., Roellig D. M., Gillespie, T. R. Molecular epidemiology of cross-species Giardia intestinalis transmission in Northern Argentina. 2019. In preparation.
APHA 2018 Annual Meeting Recap in San Diego
By Jessica S. Schwind, VPH Communication Chair
Thousands of public health supporters travelled to the beautiful city of San Diego, California, for APHA’s 2018 Annual Meeting and Expo. Last year was the 146th annual meeting where public health workers, scientists, advocates, educators, and students gathered from around the world. The meeting theme was “Creating the Healthiest Nation: Health Equity Now,” and attendees were able to choose from hundreds of presenters who spoke on research, policy and practice, ranging from climate change's impact on health equity to community engagement practices for vulnerable populations.
The APHA Veterinary Public Health special interest group hosted an informative poster session on 'Connecting the human-animal bond and health benefits across the economy.' The group also hosted three oral sessions entitled 'One Health: Addressing threats, impacts, and opportunities at the human-animal ecosystem interface as a result of human health equity,' 'Emerging infectious diseases and the One Health perspective,' and 'Health disparities across Humans, Animals, and the Environment'. Each session showcased speakers from across the nation who highlighted the important One Health work being conducted in their communities. Not only that, each session was met with record attendance!
Similar to past years, the VPH group was able to offer continuing medical education credit for veterinarians and veterinary technicians. Credits were also available for the Certification of Public Health too. Below are some highlights from VPH-sponsored events at the 2018 APHA annual meeting.
The VPH group would love to see you at this year's annual meeting in Philadelphia! Thousands of new abstracts are presented each year, easily making APHA 2019 the most influential meeting in public health.
The 2018 One Health Leadership Award Winner Is Announced!
By Catherine Machalaba, VPH Chair
The Veterinary Public Health executive board is proud to announce Tom Gecewicz is our 2018 One Health Leadership award recipient. Thank you to Tom for his long-term support for our group and role in APHA (over 25 years!) and valuable public health contributions as a community health officer. We are grateful for his service as a Member-at-Large and committed steward of our group. Tom has always promoted the VPH SPIG’s successes, including forming alliances with other APHA Sections and SPIGs and broadening the scope of disciplines to also include non-veterinarians for a true One Health focus. Tom brings an important local public health department perspective and helps keep us current on pragmatic issues in veterinary public health to ensure our focus is relevant to public health practice. Well done and congratulations, Tom!
VPH Member Spotlight: Meet our Chair
Special Guest: Catherine Machalaba, VPH Chair
Catherine Machalaba serves as policy advisor and research scientist at EcoHealth Alliance. Under the USAID Emerging Pandemic Threats PREDICT-2 project she analyzes the effectiveness of One Health policies and practices, and is a researcher on a study of Rift Valley Fever ecology and epidemiology in South Africa. She was a lead author of the World Bank One Health Operational Framework published in 2018. She holds degrees in biology and public health and is completing a doctoral degree in environmental health. Catherine served as newsletter editor and led the policy committee before becoming chair of the Veterinary Public Health SPIG.
Question 1) How did you first get interested in One Health/Veterinary Public Health as a concept?
I worked for a summer as a field agent while in college– collecting dead birds for West Nile virus surveillance after it was first detected in the U.S. a few years earlier. I was responsible for a small piece of the overall program, but it was exciting to see how outreach campaigns, public reporting, sample collection and cold chain, vector monitoring, laboratory analyses, and local, state and federal support all contributed to a coherent surveillance program to inform risk monitoring and management. There was a vector-borne disease education component, and I gained such an appreciation for interacting with the public – and in particular, I was surprised that people were generally interested in learning more and were receptive to ways to reduce risk at the human-animal interface. The role was an incredible opportunity to learn about the role of veterinary public health in sentinel detection while also gaining valuable insight into local public health department operations. After I finished my MPH and a fellowship in a clinical setting, I knew I wanted to do something focused on environmental conservation, but I wasn’t immediately sure how to make my public health training relevant. When I learned about the organization EcoHealth Alliance that was conducting research at the nexus of conservation, global health, and capacity strengthening and working with a range of partners, I knew I had found my calling!
Question 2) What is your favorite part about working in One Health?
The variety of disciplines that One Health lends collaboration with. Understanding the drivers of risk and finding the best course of action to reduce negative outcomes can provide really diverse pathways for research and action depending on the issue and context. Clinicians, ecologists, economists, data scientists, anthropologists, and many others all can have critically important roles to play in finding solutions. One Health is a really exciting way to help promote health in all policies in meaningful ways. I’m always fascinated about the wide of range of applications for One Health. The APHA Annual Meeting has been a great way to be exposed to new One Health research and see the range of settings where One Health approaches are being used to have a positive impact on public health.
Question 3) You have been super involved with the Veterinary Public Health SPIG over the years and we have seen tremendous growth! As the current Chair of VPH, what are some of your goals for this coming year?
Our members have done an incredible job of raising awareness about the relevance and value of veterinary public health and building excitement about One Health. This has helped us to build out diverse partnerships within the organization and contribute in really exciting ways – including partnering on co-sessions, sharing information, and developing and reviewing policy statements. We are moving towards Section status and have expanded leadership roles and visibility this year that will allow us to keep creating channels for beneficial collaboration in APHA and externally. One priority for 2019 is establishing links with the AVMA to share information and engaging state and local affiliates to promote One Health at local levels. We also have some exciting programing planned- great sessions at the Annual Meeting (with CE offerings for veterinarians and veterinary technicians), outreach for National Public Health Week, and we are aiming to hold a webinar with the Student assembly. Our communications team also has an ambitious agenda that will make it easier for our group to disseminate valuable opportunities and resources. APHA adopted a One Health policy statement in 2017 (that our group led development of) with action steps that we are excited to actively help implement. Each member is a conduit for new collaborations, ensuring a strong scientific foundation for APHA and amplifying your work through the public health community.
Question 4) Do you have any words of advice for members wanting to be more active in the group or in One Health, in general?
Engage! The are many ways to have significant impact in APHA, and we invite you to get in touch about priority issues and areas you are interested in leading on or skillsets that you are keen to develop or utilize, and as well as avenues where you feel the group or One Health community could be doing more. Members are working in diverse settings and have tremendous insight about different processes where APHA or our group specifically can add value. For example, a member encouraged our group to provide input into the Council on Education in Public Health’s accreditation criteria - a great opportunity we wouldn’t have otherwise known about (and we are proud that One Health was included in the revised criteria). I’m so inspired by the individual and collective impact of our membership, including our former chairs Dr. Courtney and Dr. Doker who have gone on to serve on the APHA Executive Board and Governing Council where they have a role in shaping the direction of the Association and have fostered great interest in One Health! APHA has prioritized leadership development pathways, and the VPH SPIG has a variety of leadership positions that allow members to get involved in really exciting ways. Take advantage of APHA’s offerings to see where your own One Health research and interests can enhance public health practice and policy (such as via webinars, the American Journal of Public Health, and by showing your research at the APHA Annual Meeting and in the newsletter). If there’s a gap in practice, consider policy statement development – this directly informs APHA’s issue prioritization and policy outreach. Since joining APHA in 2012, I’ve been encouraged by how receptive APHA colleagues are about veterinary public health, and how excited other communities are to see the public health community engaging on One Health. Sharing the momentum of APHA’s activities in other professional communities can reinforce One Health progress across the board and keep providing new pathways for collaboration and impact.
Thank you for your time and effort, Catherine!
Upcoming Events
February
APHA Abstract Submission Deadline: February 23rd
March
Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Annual Conference: March 8th - 10th
The Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health's Annual Meeting: March 20th - 22nd
April
National Public Health Week: April 1st - 7th
Earth Day: April 22nd
Get Involved with the VPH SPIG!
Join us.
We would love for you to get involved! Please consider becoming a member of the largest public health association in the U.S. to contribute expertise and help guide practice and policy change. Select the 'Veterinary Public Health Special Primary Interest Group' as one of your sections when signing up at the link below.
Make a Donation.
The APHA VPH group accepts donations to support our outreach programs at the Annual Meeting to help amplify our positive impact. Thank you in advance for donating!
Stay Connected.
The Veterinary Public Health Newsletter is a quarterly publication for APHA's Veterinary Public Health Special Primary Interest Group. Are you involved in a One Health-related program or activity at home or abroad? Does it complement our focus to bring awareness to the human-animal-environment connection and advance the One Health concept? If so, we want to share your story via our newsletter and social media sites! Please contact us at aphaveterinarypublichealthspig(at)gmail(dot)com for more information. Thank you for reading!
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