scholarly journals Using a One Health approach to assess the impact of parasitic disease in livestock: how does it add value?

Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 144 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
JONATHAN RUSHTON ◽  
MIEGHAN BRUCE

SUMMARYHuman population increases, with greater food demands, have resulted in a rapid evolution of livestock food systems, leading to changes in land and water use. The scale of global livestock systems mean that changes in animal health status, particularly in parasite levels, have impacts that go beyond farm and sector levels. To quantify the true impact of parasites in livestock, frameworks that look at both resources and services valued in markets and those that have no true market value are required. Mitigating the effects of parasitic disease in livestock will not only increase productivity, but also improve animal welfare and human health, whilst reducing the environmental burden of livestock production systems. To measure these potential benefits, a One Health approach is needed. This paper discusses the types of methods and the data collection tools needed for a more holistic perspective and provides a framework with its application to coccidiosis in poultry. To build a body of knowledge that allows the ranking of parasite diseases in a wider animal health setting, such One Health frameworks need to be applied more frequently and with rigour. The outcome will improve the allocation of resources to critical constraints on parasite management.

Foods ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Bell ◽  
Jorge Ferrão ◽  
Lígia Pimentel ◽  
Manuela Pintado ◽  
Tito Fernandes

Changes in present-day society such as diets with more sugar, salt, and saturated fat, bad habits and unhealthy lifestyles contribute to the likelihood of the involvement of the microbiota in inflammatory diseases, which contribute to global epidemics of obesity, depression, and mental health concerns. The microbiota is presently one of the hottest areas of scientific and medical research, and exerts a marked influence on the host during homeostasis and disease. Fermented foods and beverages are generally defined as products made by microbial organisms and enzymatic conversions of major and minor food components. Further to the commonly-recognized effects of nutrition on the digestive health (e.g., dysbiosis) and well-being, there is now strong evidence for the impact of fermented foods and beverages (e.g., yoghurt, pickles, bread, kefir, beers, wines, mead), produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms, on general health, namely their significance on the gut microbiota balance and brain functionality. Fermented products require microorganisms, i.e., Saccharomyces yeasts and lactic acid bacteria, yielding alcohol and lactic acid. Ingestion of vibrant probiotics, especially those contained in fermented foods, is found to cause significant positive improvements in balancing intestinal permeability and barrier function. Our guts control and deal with every aspect of our health. How we digest our food and even the food sensitivities we have is linked with our mood, behavior, energy, weight, food cravings, hormone balance, immunity, and overall wellness. We highlight some impacts in this domain and debate calls for the convergence of interdisciplinary research fields from the United Nations’ initiative. Worldwide human and animal medicine are practiced separately; veterinary science and animal health are generally neither considered nor inserted within national or international Health discussions. The absence of a clear definition and subsequent vision for the future of One Health may act as a barrier to transdisciplinary collaboration. The point of this mini review is to highlight the role of fermented foods and beverages on gut microbiota and debate if the need for confluence of transdisciplinary fields of One Health is feasible and achievable, since they are managed by separate sectors with limited communication.


Author(s):  
Stephen G. Mackenzie ◽  
◽  
Ilias Kyriazakis ◽  

The focus of this chapter is on the environmental impact consequences of endemic livestock health challenges that lead to deterioration in animal health, and on the potential impacts arising from their mitigations. The first part of the chapter concentrates on the potential of animal health to affect the environmental impact of livestock systems. Subsequently, it reviews the literature to date which has quantified the impact of health challenges for the environmental impacts of livestock systems. The potential of successful health interventions to mitigate negative environmental impacts represents a point of synergy between concerns around environmental sustainability and animal welfare, both of which represent 'hot topics' in the discourse surrounding the livestock industry and its sustainability. The challenges associated with modelling health interventions and their potential to mitigate environmental impacts constitute the last section in the chapter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzana Smeets-Kristkova ◽  
Thom Achterbosch ◽  
Marijke Kuiper

Nigeria is one of the most dynamic economies in Africa. Strong GDP and population growth coupled with urbanization trends place tremendous pressures on natural resources and the food systems that are dependent on them. Understanding the impact of these “mega trends” is important to identify key leverage points for navigating towards improved nutrition and food security in Nigeria. This paper contributes to the Foresight Project of the Food Systems for Healthier Diets which aims to analyse how the food system in Nigeria is expected to transform in the next decades, and to identify the leverage points for making sure that the transformation contributes to balanced consumer diets. For the food systems foresight, a well-established global economy-wide model, MAGNET, is applied that enables to capture the interlinkages among different food industry players in one consistent framework. By linking MAGNET to the GENUS nutritional database, it is further possible to relate the developments occurring on a macro-level with detailed macro and micronutrient consumption. Model projections suggest that a process of intensification of agriculture in combination with land substitution appears critical for the evolution of food and nutrition security, and for shifts towards healthy diets for the population. Intensification results in greater diversity of the production systems, which in turn cascades into positive effects on the diversity in the food supply and better food security outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9706
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Voutzourakis ◽  
Alexandros Stefanakis ◽  
Sokratis Stergiadis ◽  
Leonidas Rempelos ◽  
Nikolaos Tzanidakis ◽  
...  

Due to increasing demand, many traditional, grazing-based Mediterranean sheep production systems have introduced intensified feeding regimes, increased investments in infrastructure and drug use to increase milk yields. However, compared to bovine milk production systems, there is limited knowledge about the impact of these intensification practices on animal welfare and health and on the quality of dairy products. The aim of this study was therefore to quantify the effects of management practices and environmental conditions background on udder health, parasitism and milk quantity and quality in Cretan traditional production systems. Milk yields were higher in semi-intensive production systems while concentrations of several nutritionally desirable compounds such as omega-3 fatty acids were found to be higher in milk from extensive systems. Antibiotic and anthelmintic use was relatively low in both extensive and semi-intensive production systems. There was no substantial difference in parasitic burden, somatic cell counts, and microbiological parameters assessed in milk. Recording of flock health parameters showed that animal health and welfare was high in both extensive and semi-intensively managed flocks, and that overall, the health status of extensively managed ewes was slightly better. In contrast, environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) had a substantial effect on parasitism and milk quality.


2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 ◽  
pp. 238-238
Author(s):  
M. Hovi

According to the EC Regulation 1804/99, health and welfare of organic livestock should be promoted primarily by preventive measures using appropriate breeds, feeds and feeding practices and husbandry techniques for the species in question and by implementing stable social conditions for breeding animals (CEC, 1999). Whilst the EC Regulation on organic livestock production came into force fairly recently in August 2000 and has hardly had a chance to have an impact on existing organic production systems, there is a growing body of epidemiological evidence on the impact of organic management on the health and welfare of livestock. Furthermore, a three-year networking project, the Network for Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Agriculture (NAHWOA), between 17 institutes from 13 different EU countries has recently published their conclusions and recommendations on animal health and welfare in organic production systems (Anon, 2002). A recent review of literature (Hovi et al., in press) and the NAHWOA conclusions suggest that animal health situation in organic livestock systems is similar to that found in conventional systems. Some differences in the prevalence of different conditions exist. A typical example of higher dry period but lower lactation period levels of mastitis in organic than in conventional systems is presented in Figure 1. It has been suggested that the minimal organic standards and their implementation via certification procedure are likely to provide several preconditions for good living conditions for farm animals (Sundrum, 2001), and the NAHWOA concludes that the current evidence supports the claim that organic livestock production often provides better welfare than conventional production systems, particularly by providing more freedom for species-specific behaviour for livestock. It has, however, been suggested that the organic standards do not necessarily provide a balanced approach to animal welfare and that some conflicts between welfare aims and other organic farming objectives may exist (Anon, 2002). An example of how experts perceive the impact of organic standards on animal welfare is given in Figure 2.


Author(s):  
Alexandra Fetsch ◽  
Danai Etter ◽  
Sophia Johler

Abstract Purpose of Review In this article, we aim to provide an overview of the occurrence and characteristics of livestock-associated (LA-) meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). We further question the role of LA-MRSA as a potential foodborne pathogen. We investigate recent findings and developments from a One Health perspective also highlighting current strategies and initiatives aiming to improve reporting, control, and prevention of LA-MRSA. Recent Findings While the overall number of invasive MRSA infections in humans is decreasing (in most European countries and the USA) or steadily increasing (in the Asia-Pacific region), the role of LA-MRSA as causative agent of invasive disease and as potential foodborne pathogen is still poorly understood. LA-MRSA prevalence in livestock remains high in many geographical regions and the acquisition of new virulence and resistance determinants constitutes a growing threat for human health. Summary The true incidence of LA-MRSA infections due to occupational exposure is unknown. Improved MRSA monitoring and tracking procedures are urgently needed. Strain typing is crucial to enable improved understanding of the impact of LA-MRSA on human and animal health.


Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3585
Author(s):  
Lucy Dablin ◽  
Simon L. Lewis ◽  
William Milliken ◽  
Alexandre Monro ◽  
Mark A. Lee

Assessing the palatability of forage from locally adapted trees could improve the sustainability of livestock production systems. However, grasses continue to dominate livestock feed across the Amazon. We established a silvopastoral cattle farming system in Peru, comparing three different forage tree species with grass monocultures using a randomised block design. Trees were arranged in alleys of 0.5 × 7.5 m, planted alongside grass, and were directly browsed by cattle. Browse removal was estimated by three methods: destructive sampling, canopy measurements and leaf counts. We found that all three tree species were palatable to cattle. Plots containing trees and grass produced more available forage (mean > 2.2 Mg ha−1) for cattle than the grass monocultures (mean = 1.5 Mg ha−1). Destructive sampling below 1.6 m demonstrated that cattle consumed 99% of the available Erythrina berteroana forage, 75% of the available Inga edulis forage and 80% of the available Leucaena leucocephala forage in 8 days. This research demonstrates methodologies to estimate the intake of locally adapted browse species by cattle and highlights the potential benefits of silvopastoral systems in the Amazon. Planting trees could also benefit animal health and provide ecosystem services such as soil regeneration, enhanced nutrient cycling and carbon capture.


Author(s):  
Nadia Coppola ◽  
Nicolás F. Cordeiro ◽  
Gustavo Trenchi ◽  
Fernanda Esposito ◽  
Bruna Fuga ◽  
...  

Antimicrobial resistance is a critical issue that is no longer restricted to hospital settings, but also represents a growing problem involving intensive animal production systems. In this study, we have performed a microbiological and molecular investigation of priority pathogens carrying transferable resistance genes to critical antimicrobials in one-day-old chickens imported from Brazil to Uruguay. Bacterial identification was performed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and antibiotic susceptibility was determined by Sensititre. Antimicrobial resistance genes were sought by polymerase chain reaction and clonality was assessed by PFGE. Four multidrug-resistant (MDR) representative strains were sequenced by Illumina and/or Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Twenty-eight MDR isolates identified as Escherichia coli ( n = 14), Enterobacter cloacae ( n = 11) and Klebsiella pneumoniae ( n = 3). While resistance to oxyiminocephalosporins was due to bla CTX-M-2 , bla CTX-M-8 , bla CTX-M-15 , bla CTX-M-55 and bla CMY-2 , plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance was associated with qnrB19 , qnrE1 , and qnrB2 genes. Finally, resistance to aminoglycosides and fosfomycin was due to the presence of 16S rRNA methyltransferase rmtG and fosA -type genes, respectively. Short and long-read genome sequencing of E. cloacae ODC-Eclo3 strain revealed the presence of IncQ/ rmtG (pUR-EC3.1, 7400-pb), IncHI2A/ mcr-9.1 / bla CTX-M-2 [pUR-EC3.2, ST16 (pMLST), 408,436-bp] and IncN2/ qnrB19 / aacC3 / aph(3’’)-Ib (pUR-EC3.3) resistance plasmids. Strikingly, the bla CTX-M-2 gene was carried by a novel Tn 1696 -like composite transposon designated Tn 7337 . In summary, we report that imported one-day-old chicks can act as Trojan horses for the hidden spread of WHO critical priority MDR pathogens harboring mcr-9 , rmtG and extended-spectrum β-lactamase genes in poultry farms, which is a critical issue within a One Health perspective. Importance section Antimicrobial resistance is considered a significant problem for global health, including within the concept of "One Health", therefore, the food chain is a link that connects human and animal health directly. In this work, we searched for microorganisms resistant to antibiotics considered critical for human health in intestinal microbiota of one-day-old baby chicks imported to Uruguay from Brazil. We described antibiotic-resistant genes to antibiotics named as to watch or reserve for the WHO, such as rmtG or mcr9.1 , which confers resistance to all the aminoglycosides and colistin, respectively, among others genes, and their presence in new mobile genetic elements that favor its dissemination. The sustained entry of these microorganisms evades the sanitary measures implemented by the countries and production establishments to reduce the selection of resistant microorganisms. These silently imported resistant microorganisms could explain a considerable part of the antimicrobial resistance problems found in the production stages of the system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

Abstract   Climate change (CC), considered by IPCC as unequivocal, is associated with significant changes in long-term weather characteristics and short-term weather extremes in different regions of the globe. The increasing of exposure to several risk factors within the human, animal and environmental dimensions is one of the effects of CC. Considering that the persistence and mobility of chemicals/toxins are influenced by weather conditions, we can predict that human exposure will be affected. Additionally, changes in biota are also predicted as an adaptation to the CC scenario and due to the increased use of biocides. Additionally, the need for other agriculture regions due to CC will increase the contact with wildlife leading to “spill overs” and increasing the risk of occurring new pandemics. Several aspects still need to be targeted for future research projects aiming to understand the variability in exposure that can be promoted by CC and the impact on human health. Considering that CC affects not only human health, but also the environment and consequently the animal health, the One Health perspective is considered an adequate approach to tackle the foreseen effects. One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach, aiming to achieve optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between humans, animals, and their shared environment. This workshop aims to give an overview of the potential effects of CC regarding the increased exposure to several risk factors and the contribution of One Health as a multidisciplinary approach to tackle these issues. Five interlinked presentations will bring to the table several facets: CC, One Health, exposure to chemicals/toxins and biota. The workshop will focus mainly the impact of CC on public health and presenting some ways forward, namely in what regards to a multi-sectorial regulatory approach as a way of protecting human health. The workshop includes a first presentation by Joana Lobo Vicente from European Environment Agency to give an overview of climate change and the effects on environment, at European level, and with a special focus on exposure to chemicals. Further on, three presentations held by Ricardo Assunção, Carla Martins and Carla Viegas, researchers from academic Portuguese institutions, will shed a light on the exposure to chemicals, toxins and biota in Europe, the expected consequences and the associated burden of disease, and the azoles resistance by fungi. Lastly, the presentation of Susana Viegas will give an overview of the relevance of the One Health approach to tackle the CC impacts and how science can support a multi-sectorial policy action. Altogether, these presentations will highlight the need for a multi-sectorial intervention under the One Health to maximize the co-benefits in the three domains. The establishment of preventive measures is characterized by several challenges, but it is expected to allow Public Health achievements. Key messages CC will have extensive negative impacts on the exposure to different risk factors. The lack of studies focused on the assessment of the indirect effectsof the CC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2053 (1) ◽  
pp. 012001
Author(s):  
Mee San Kiu ◽  
Ying Jie Chin ◽  
Fah Choy Chia ◽  
Phui Fung Wong

Abstract The rapid evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT) has significantly impacted the way of conduct business and influenced current daily lifestyles. Observing this phenomenon, researchers and industry practitioners are increasingly paying attention to the research and development of smart buildings. This research aimed to focus on the readiness of smart buildings in Malaysia and research objectives were set to determine the readiness, potential benefits of implementing smart buildings and the challenges faced in the current state towards adopting smart buildings in Malaysia. Based on the 140 questionnaire survey responses from various construction professionals, descriptive statistics and Kruskal-Wallis test were conducted. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge on understanding on current readiness of Malaysia in the implementation of Smart Building and brought up the main challenges faced towards the adoption of Smart Building. In conclusion, Malaysia has not fully ready to take advantage of the benefits the smart revolution will bring, including greener, safer and more efficient energy use.


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