A One Health Perspective on Q Fever

Q fever, a widespread zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetiid, produces a complex and polymorphic disease in humans. As a zoonotic disease, control in animals will influence the level of disease seen in humans, thus resulting in interesting one health perspectives for disease control. Here the authors describe the clinical manifestations in animals and humans, as well as the current diagnostic methods available and the strategies for disease control. A review on the published information regarding Q fever as a disease with impact for veterinary public health and public health is presented.

Antibiotic Resistance in the Veterinary Perspective

Antibiotic resistance is an emerging threat to achieving one health all over the globe. The phenomenon leads to the emergence of drug-resistant microbes previously susceptible to an antibiotic. Drug-resistant microbes are the major reasons for medical complications like patient mortality and treatment failure. Unregulated use of antibiotics in animal husbandry is one of the major reasons for the emergence of antibiotic resistance. The resistance enters the human population mainly through the food chain. The genetic markers associated with drug resistance spread among different bacterial species by horizontal gene transfer mechanisms. Therefore, regulation of antibiotics use in animal husbandry and proper safety measures at farm level are necessary to check drug-resistant microbes entering the food chain. This chapter discusses the antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, genetic mechanisms involved, the spread of resistance, and also the available strategies to combat antimicrobial drug resistance.

One Health and Parasites

One health is a collective term used to address human and animal health issues under one platform. More than half of the diseases of humans are directly or indirectly related to animal health and spread from animals to humans or vice versa. Etiological agents of zoonotic diseases may be bacterial, viral, or parasitic in origin. Among them, parasitic agents are very important because they are either directly involved as etiological agents or as vectors of other pathogenic organisms. Parasitic zoonoses are transmitted to humans through vectors, food, or drinking water, and thus categorized as vector borne, food borne, and water borne parasitic zoonoses. Food borne and water borne parasitic zoonoses include all those parasitic diseases which are transmitted to humans by consuming contaminated food and water. An extensive alliance is necessary amongst physicians, veterinarians, and public health workers for timely response and approach to guarantee the prevention and management of infections.

A One Health Perspective on Q Fever

Q fever is a worldwide zoonotic infectious disease caused by Coxiella burnetii and ruminants, namely, cattle, sheep, and goats, are known to be the main reservoir for human infection. C. burnetii infection in animals can result in epizootic abortions which are often associated with vast bacteria shedding in birth fluids and placentas. Human infections mainly occur in persons handling infected animals and their products. Here the authors describe the history, bacteriology, biosafety, and epidemiology of Q fever, now known to be a serious threat to veterinary public health.

Veterinary Public Health

Health and disease have always co-existed with man and animal. One medicine concept was developed in ancient times as recorded in the writings of Greek and Roman scholars. In the ecological context, animal activities tend to influence welfare of man in a number of ways and vice versa. The veterinarians are the only healthcare professionals likely to see both people and their animals and aware of the potential threat of zoonotic infections to clients. History behind conceptualization of veterinary public health to one health is discussed thoroughly, and eventually, veterinary public health is referred to as the planetary route and path to one health.

Risk Management and Risk Communication in the Case of Vector-Borne Disease

Change in environmental and socio-economic, emerging zoonotic diseases will be an increasing challenge for public health in Europe and in Macedonia also. The risks and consequences triggered by vector-borne diseases (VBD) for public health in Macedonia are just starting to emerge in public awareness. This is clearly shown by recent events such as spread of hemorrhagic fevers in Europe. The term “public health” in the scope of this chapter suggests re-conceptualization of public health by adapting the risk governance framework developed by the International Risk Governance Council (IRGC) for this purpose. The IRGC approach is distinguished from more classical risk governance approaches, inter alia, by an explicit inclusion of a systematic concern assessment. However, unfortunately, not all countries are adapted on this innovative public health model. This chapter shows results of a risk management study based on interview in depth with the officials regard public health risk, in frame of one health concept in the Republic of Macedonia.

Emerging Global Health Approaches at the Human-Animal Interface

The vagueness of the term one health is the result of multiple developments that it has brought together. Therefore, a historical and conceptual analysis, divided in three sections, is performed for understanding these tensions and their backgrounds. First, an account of different and changing attitudes towards animals and their health is given, especially in religion, modern philosophy, and pre-modern dealing with disease supposedly caused by animals and plants. The second part reconstructs early bacteriology as a search for environmental disease factors and a struggle with zoonoses in a globalized research effort. The final and largest section analyses the development of international policies on zoonoses and one health from the 1950s until today, sketching the way from a veterinarian and medical national public health issue via socio-economic perspectives to the perception of a global threat by emerging diseases which fueled inter-agency cooperation in an unprecedented manner.

One Health Study Design

One health is an integrated approach that considers human, animal, and environmental health components that can improve prediction. One health implies that data on man and animal health and environmental indicators are studied and interpreted together. This chapter focuses on population-based quantitative and qualitative one health study designs with an emphasis on field surveys to understand disease dynamics and how to control measures being tested. The aim is not on early diagnoses of emerging diseases but instead of that on endemic zoonosis. It first describes examples on joint monitoring and surveillance to control diseases and then practical information on planning of a field study design, and concludes on the advantages of one health study designs. Also discussed are possible constraints for their implementation. For the examples, single sector approach could not explain the main epidemiological considerations.

We Are Not Part of Nature; We Are Nature

This chapter explores holism as it pertains to health in African thought. Specifically, it uses the philosophical notion of personhood to illustrate holism within the biomedical research context. In African philosophy, nature is an organic whole, and the creation and sustenance of ecological balance or interdependence between human and non-humans, the visible and the invisible are most desired. The individual is anchored in a mesh of relationships within the family, village, environment, all of whom are primordial sources of that person's physical, psychic, and spiritual existence and wellbeing. It is a fallacy, indeed absurd to think that humans can exist or act as though they are independent of the environment they live in while continually sensing it via sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. In a sense, humans are not just a part of nature; they are nature. It is a holistic perspective, as opposed to anthropocentrism. The continued neglect of this philosophical perspective in favor exclusively of anthropocentrism or individualism is the cause of much human crisis.