One Health Case Studies Now Online

By Veterinary Practice News Editors

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges has teamed up with another organization to publish 15 case studies on One Health topics.

The material, produced by researchers and available at http://bit.ly/1WH4qr7, may be used by instructors in fields such as veterinary medicine, human medicine and public health.

One Health is a concept that closely links the health of animals, people and the environment.

“This is one of our most promising initiatives in the area of One Health,” said AAVMC’s executive director, Andrew T. Maccabe, DVM, MPH, JD. “What’s unique about this program is it unites different health professions on a common platform to begin educating new generations of health professionals about the One Health approach.”

The case studies range from “A Veteran and His Dog,” which focuses on carbon monoxide poisoning, to “Pet Ownership,” which addresses the health benefits of human-animal interaction.

Each online report, selected from among 34 proposals, targets a potential audience and offers student and facilitator materials. “Pet Ownership,” for example, is recommended for veterinary, veterinary technician, medical, nursing and public health students.

Managing the project with AAVMC were the Association for Prevention, Teaching and Research and the Washington, D.C., organization’s Healthy People Curriculum Task Force.

The case studies will be presented in early March at AAVMC’s annual conference. Each lead author will be named a One Health Scholar.

Besides “A Veteran and His Dog” and “Pet Ownership,” the other case studies are:

• “Bordetella Infections in Cystic Fibrosis Patients”
• “Staphylococcus pseudintermedius: Look What the Dog Dragged In?”
• “Care of Immunocompromised Individuals: The Role of Companion Animals in Mental Health”
• “Lead Poisoning”
• “Q Fever in the Suburbs: Zoonotic Disease Outbreak Tabletop Training Exercise”
  “Brucella suis: A Re-emerging Pathogen at the Human, Livestock, and Wildlife Interface”
• “Of Dogs and Men: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus”
• “Human-Animal Interaction”
• “Chagas Disease: Connections Between Humans, Animals and the Ecosystem”
• “More Than Just Companions: The Role of Animal Assisted Therapy in Prevention, Health and Wellness”
• “Animals, Humans and the Environment in the Epidemiology of Chikungunyavirus”
• “When Nature Strikes! An Unusual Infection in a Child from New Orleans”
• “The Pathomechanics of Degenerative Joint Disease: A One Health Comparative Case Study Approach”