Testing of wastewater can serve as an early warning system to help spot emerging outbreaks of COVID-19 before they are identified by traditional swab tests at testing facilities.

A team of researchers including Drs. Lawrence Goodridge (Food Science), Ed McBean (Engineering), Heather Murphy (Pathobiology) and Marc Habash (Environmental Sciences) have been sampling wastewater in on-campus residences and in the wastewater of several municipalities to look for COVID-19 variants.

The virus can be shed in the feces of those infected with COVID-19 days before they begin to feel ill. The team has already found variants in local wastewater and they may be able to detect new, emerging variants that have yet to be identified.

Read the University of Guelph News article here.​​​​

The One Health Student Committee has planned a series of events and activities to help you learn about One Health and its applications!

The Exploring One Health (EOH) learning series is designed for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students interested in learning about One Health. 

The EOH Series aspires to:

• Introduce students to One Health and fundamental One Health concepts
• Provide students with a chance to learn from One Health professionals
• Offer students opportunities to apply One Health concepts

When? May 17-30, 2021. Most activities are asynchronous and can be completed at your own pace during this time.

Upon completing all activities, participants will receive an OHSC Exploring One Health Certificate!

For more information, visit the Exploring One Health website. The deadline to register is May 10th. Register here!

Salmonella enterica is a bacterial zoonotic pathogen of global importance that causes approximately 80 million cases of foodborne illness each year. Transmission dynamics of Salmonella from livestock to humans, from livestock to the environment and from the environment to humans are complex, and a systematic approach must be applied in order to reduce the burden of human salmonellosis.

Dr. Lawrence Goodridge, Leung Family Professor of Food Safety in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph and Director of the Canadian Research Institute for Food Safety, has developed such an approach to controlling salmonella in humans, animals and the environment using genomics-based approaches. This Syst-OMICS approach was discussed with examples of how it is being applied to reduce the burden and duration of foodborne salmonellosis.

Preventing Future Pandemics using Social Media and Search Engines

Typing a question into a search engine can be important data for researchers who are trying to model and predict future outbreaks of diseases like avian influenza. Dr. Rozita Dara is doing just that. She has discovered that search engines can be an effective and accurate tool for prediction because of how many questions people ask Google and the fact that their locations are tied to their searches.

Dr. Dara thinks such a surveillance tool could have serious implications for and beyond avian influenza outbreak management and prevention, informing public health decisions around control measures and intervention policies.

Read about how One Health is related to her research here.

Kids' Health Improves with UV-treated Well Water

In the United States and in many parts of the world, private wells are federally unregulated which means that the responsibility for testing and treating the water rests on the shoulder of homeowners who may be ill equipped to do so. Consequently, harmful pathogens in groundwater can contribute to illness.

Dr. Heather Murphy is researching how treating private well water with ultraviolet (UV) light may help in reducing gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses in children in rural Pennsylvania.

Read about how One Health is related to her research here.

The Centre for Public Health and Zoonoses (CPHAZ) Symposium is a one-day, virtual event that brings together all pillars and forms of public health and zoonotic disease work and research.

The abstract submission deadline has now passed but feel free come and spend the day and enjoy the presentations! We guarantee you’ll learn something new. Registration is free and can be done by completing this survey.  A detailed schedule will be posted on the CPHAZ website shortly.

If you have questions please contact cphaz@uoguelph.ca.

On April 24th (10 am to 6 pm EST), Colorado State University's One Health Club presents a symposium designed to begin equipping clinicians, technicians and students in the veterinary field with knowledge and tools to be effective contributors in protecting animal health in a changing climate.

From an interdisciplinary One Health perspective, climate change as it relates to animal health will be explored through the lens of emerging disease, conservation implications, emergency management, veterinary care, and sustainable business initiatives.

Registration is $50 or free for students. Register here.

Our website has been redesigned and we think it looks sharp!

You can find everything University of Guelph One Health-related here including info on One Health academic programs, events, affiliated faculty, the One Health Student Committee, Faculty Focus articles, past newsletters, links to social media and more. Special thanks to B.Comm. co-op student Mikayla Derewianko for all her work on the website.

International Conference on One Health, 2021 on May 24 to 25 in London, UK, and July 19 to 20 in Paris. This virtual conference aims to bring together scientists, researchers and scholars to exchange and share experiences and research results on all aspects of One Health.

One Health European Joint Programme annual scientific meeting is June 9 to 11, online and in Copenhagen. Discover the newest research results in One Health, in particular in foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging threats.​​​​​​

Canadian Veterinary Medicine Association hybrid conference is July 22 to 25, 2021, in Calgary, Alberta. Register for access to 80 hours of continuing education, and a virtual exhibit hall & social programs.

American Veterinary Medical Association hybrid convention is July 29 to August 1, 2021​​​, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.