What do we really need to know about animals?
Dr. Rod Jouppi, Laurentian University, Canada*
The “One Health Initiative“is a worldwide endeavour. One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to address critical challenges and attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, and our environment. Health itself is at a critical junction. For this to succeed, it will take broad-based efforts by both the veterinary and the human medical professions. We as a profession need to communicate with our health care counterparts (i.e. veterinarians) to let them know the cooperative roles we can each play. A successful amalgamation of efforts as envisioned by One Health will enhance the quality of care for all of our patients.
The interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health is at the heart of One Health. For the sake of animal patients, as well as the global human population, it is essential that this initiative succeeds. Emerging disease in the last decade (Avian & Swine influenza, West Nile, Sars, etc.) has generally involved zoonotic transmission. There are issues with immunocompromised pet owners. There is the trauma that can occur from animal to man and visa versa. There is the human/animal bond and the many benefits that humans derive from animals as well as human/animal conflicts. There is a very complex relationship between animals and man and the environment. The speed of world travel and global warming has introduced us to new diseases as well as new methods of transmission.
The difficulty is to initiate this complex aspect of One Health as part of the curriculum in medical schools. I have begun this attempt at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Ontario, Canada and I would like to present the issues involved in moving this concept forward, and how and why it needs to be part of the medical school curriculum.
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