One Health a Useful Framework for Collaborative Disease Surveillance

Climate change is giving ticks better conditions to expand their range and spread harmful pathogens, like Lyme disease, to human and animal hosts.

Cyril Akwo, currently pursuing his PhD in Epidemiology with a Collaborative Specialization in One Health, wants health professionals and researchers from a range of disciplines to consider the numerous factors that affect the spread and surveillance of ticks and tick-borne disease. To that end, he is using the One Health approach to develop a collaborative framework that will bring more than just public health experts into the conversation.

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

The One Health Student Committee is looking for student speakers for their 2021 OHSC Coffee House Event.

Are you a student looking to present your research project to a larger audience? Do you have a passion for One Health?

Following the success of last year’s event, the One Health Student Committee is excited to announce that they will be hosting another coffee house on August 10th (6:00 to 7:45pm) and 12th (noon to 1:45pm)! The OHSC Coffee House grants students the opportunity to present their research and have a discussion with the audience about their projects and One Health.

Presentations will be no more than 20 minutes in length with an additional 20 minutes for discussion and questions. You can watch some of last year's presentation on the One Health Institute's YouTube channel.

If you are interested in participating, please fill out the following survey by July 18th. Both undergraduates and graduates are welcome.

Zoonotic pathogen transmission is rapidly increasing and in order to enhance preparedness for potential future pandemics, a solid understanding of the many environmental and social determinants that may drive this process is essential.

A main goal of this project is to conduct a scoping literature review on the determinants that facilitate zoonotic pathogen spillover, with a special focus on spillback. Then, using this information, develop a comprehensive framework that could guide future measurements to better determine the associated risks and also test for spillover and spillback events (spillover involves transmission from animal hosts to humans while spillback involves transmission back from humans to animal hosts).

I have been taking a deep dive into the most recent literature, specifically looking at findings from SARS-CoV-2 and SARS transmission. As well, I have been creating and identifying appropriate databases, search strings, and the most relevant information. More recently, I have started developing and implementing level 1 and level 2 screening questions and have begun the process of reviewing appropriate articles for the next stage of analysis.

The summer so far, working on this project has been an incredible experience. I have learned from some amazing individuals in the field, discovered how a project is initiated, and felt the highs and lows of doing research. I am excited to continue further along with the project and be able to present the findings.

Three University of Guelph faculty and a PhD student will be presenting a session on One Health informatics at the upcoming 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS21) ​​​​​.

A moderated panel discussion on the topics of 'One Health Informatics and the Stewardship of Complex Systems' will feature Drs. Theresa Bernardo (Population Medicine and Co-lead Global Burden of Animal Diseases Informatics Theme), Deborah Stacey (Computer Science and Co-lead Global Burden of Animal Diseases Informatics Theme) and Graham Taylor (Engineering and Canada Research Chair in Machine Learning), as well as Kassy Richmond (Computer Science PhD Student).

ISTAS21 is cohosted by the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo and will take place October 28-31.

Are you a University of Guelph faculty member who conducts research that is One Health-related?

Please check out our One Health affiliated faculty list for a list of campus faculty who have self-identified as One Health researchers.

We are currently updating this list and if you would like to be added, please send a photo along with your research interests to onehealth@uoguelph.ca.

If you like to be removed from this list, or if there are faculty on this list who are no longer at the University of Guelph, we would like to know that too. Thank you!

​​​​​​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.

One Welfare World first annual conference is September 15-16, 2021. This virtual conference will highlight the One Welfare Framework, and how One Welfare is relevant in the context of the COVID Pandemic. 

Global Conference on Climate Change is September 16 to 18, in person in London, UK. This conference will address the multidimensional aspects of the climate change problem and present solutions.