Participation in One Health Networks and Involvement in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response: A Global Study

A participatory approach to move towards a One Health surveillance system for anthrax in Burkina Faso

The One Health approach calls for collaboration across various sectors and different scales to improve understanding of complex health issues. Regarding epidemiological surveillance, this implies the development of integrated systems that link several surveillance components operating in different domains (human, domestic animals, environment) and involving several actor networks. However, surveillance continues to operate in a very compartmentalized way, with little interaction between sectoral institutions and with the community for the governance and operation of surveillance activities. This is partly explained by the insufficient consideration of the local context and the late involvement of national stakeholders when developing programmes that aimed at strengthening the integration of surveillance. In low- and middle-income countries in particular, there is a strong influence of external partners on the development of intersectoral programmes, including surveillance systems. In this context, we developed and implemented a participatory planning process to support stakeholders of the surveillance system of anthrax in Burkina Faso, in the definition of the One Health surveillance system they wish for and of the pathway to reach it. The workshop produced an action plan that reflects the views and perspectives of representatives of the different categories of stakeholders and beneficiaries of surveillance. In addition, the participation of stakeholders in this participatory co-construction process has also improved their knowledge and mutual understanding, fostering a climate of trust conducive to further collaboration for surveillance activities. However, the quality of the participation raises some questions over the results, and contextual factors may have influenced the process. This underlines the need to include a monitoring and evaluation plan in the process to assess its implementation and ability to produce One Health surveillance modalities that are appropriate, accepted and applied over the long term.

The application of the One Health approach in the management of five major zoonotic diseases using the World Bank domains: A scoping review

The international authorities, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Health Organization, World Organization for Animal Health, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Bank, have endorsed the One Health concept as an effective approach to optimize the health of people, animals, and the environment. The One Health concept is considered as an integrated and unifying approach with the objective of sustainably balancing and optimizing the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. Despite variations in its definitions, the underlying principle remains consistent - recognizing the interconnected and interdependent health of humans, animals, and the environment, necessitating interdisciplinary collaboration to optimize health outcomes. The One Health approach has been applied in numerous countries for detecting, managing, and controlling diseases. Moreover, the concept has found application in various areas, including antimicrobial resistance, food safety, and ecotoxicology, with a growing demand. There is a growing consensus that the One Health concept and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals mutually reinforce each other. The World Bank has recommended five domains as foundational building blocks for operationalising the One Health approach, which includes: i) One Health stakeholders, roles, and responsibilities; ii) financial and personal resources; iii) communication and information; iv) technical infrastructure; and v) governance. The domains provide a generalised overview of the One Health concept and guide to its application. We conducted a scoping review following the five-staged Arksey and O'Malley's framework. The objective of the review was to map and synthesise available evidence of application of the One Health approach to five major zoonotic diseases using the World Bank domains. Publications from the year 2004, marking the inception of the term 'One Health,' to 2022 were included. Information was charted and categorised against the World Bank domains identified as a priori. We included 1132 records obtained from three databases: Embase, Medline, and Global Health; as well as other sources. After excluding duplicates, screening for titles and abstracts, and full text screening, 20 articles that contained descriptions of 29 studies that implemented the One Health approach were selected for the review. We found that included studies varied in the extent to which the five domains were utilised. Less than half the total studies (45%) used all the five domains and none of the studies used all the sub-domains. The environmental sector showed an underrepresentation in the application of the One Health approach to zoonotic diseases as 14 (48%) studies in 10 articles did not mention it as a stakeholder. Sixty two percent of the studies mentioned receiving support from international partners in implementing the One Health approach and 76% of the studies were supported by international donors to conduct the studies. The review identified disparate funding mechanisms employed in the implementation of the One Health approach. However, there were limited discussions on plans for continuity and viability of these funding mechanisms in the future.

Paving the way forward: Escherichia coli bacteriophages in a One Health approach

Escherichia coli is one of the most notorious pathogens for its ability to adapt, colonize, and proliferate in different habitats through a multitude of acquired virulence factors. Its presence affects the food-processing industry and causes food poisoning, being also a major economic burden for the food, agriculture, and health sectors. Bacteriophages are emerging as an appealing strategy to mitigate bacterial pathogens, including specific E. coli pathovars, without exerting a deleterious effect on humans and animals. This review globally analyzes the applied research on E. coli phages for veterinary, food, and human use. It starts by describing the pathogenic E. coli pathotypes and their relevance in human and animal context. The idea that phages can be used as a One Health approach to control and interrupt the transmission routes of pathogenic E. coli is sustained through an exhaustive revision of the recent literature. The emerging phage formulations, genetic engineering and encapsulation technologies are also discussed as a means of improving phage-based control strategies, with a particular focus on E. coli pathogens.

Orientation of One Health development: think globally and act locally

One Health is dedicated to maintaining and fostering a dynamic balance among humans, animals, and the environment. Since 2013, it has seen considerable developments globally. This review aims to encapsulate the history of One Health, as well as chart its future trajectory. Numerous research institutions founded under the principles of One Health have been established, and several pragmatic projects are currently underway. While it is imperative to solidify foundational education, further policy support is required to cultivate the One Health paradigm. Identifying research directions at a political level is necessary to provide the technical support needed for practical application. The future of One Health envisions a comprehensive approach to primary prevention, the utilization of open and shared data sets, as well as real-world surveys and interviews. This integrated approach is encapsulated in the concept of One Health Delivery. At this stage, One Health Delivery needs to build a systematic framework that focuses on integrating and communicating across disciplines and training researchers with complete practical skills.

How to move towards One Health surveillance? A qualitative study exploring the factors influencing collaborations between antimicrobial resistance surveillance programmes in France

Introduction

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue, against which international organisations and governmental bodies call for integration between surveillance programmes involved in human, animal, and environmental sectors. Collaborations are the primary feature of integration and deserve to be supported. However, little is known about the factors that can foster collaborations between surveillance programmes. This study aimed to provide a better understanding of the factors for setting-up collaborations between AMR surveillance programmes in France.

Methods

We performed a qualitative study based on 36 semi-structured interviews with programmes' coordinators and 15 with key-informant experts involved in AMR surveillance.

Results

The implementation of collaboration between sectors was multifactorial: we identified 42 factors grouped into six categories (i.e., characteristics of the overall AMR surveillance system, features of the collaborating programme, profile of the actors involved, characteristics of the collaboration itself, broader context, and AMR research activities). Collaborations were mainly fostered by good interpersonal relationship between actors, their interest in transdisciplinary approaches and the benefits of collaboration on the programmes involved. Limited resources and the complexity of the AMR surveillance system hindered collaboration. Paradoxically, coordinators generally did not perceive collaborations as a resource-pooling tool since they generally set them up only after consolidating their own programme.

Discussion

Since most factors identified were not specific to AMR, these results can be useful for other collaborative surveillance system. Ultimately, they provide a better understanding of stakeholders' motivations and influences driving collaboration, and can help researchers and risk managers promoting a One Health approach against public health threats.

Mapping food surveillance chains through different sectors

European countries are investing in strengthening disease surveillance from a One Health (OH) perspective. During the MATRIX project, in the context of the One Health European Joint Programme, existing surveillance chains across the sectors of animal health, food safety, and public health have been investigated through questionnaires. Provided information has then been selected to be displayed in a single slide using an implemented mapping template. Two real-life scenarios are presented as case studies: the surveillance activities in place in France for Salmonella in the pork meat food chain, and in Norway for Listeria monocytogenes in the dairy food chain. The results collected through the questionnaires and the lessons learnt during the mapping process are reported, to share the advantages and drawbacks of the methodology. Moreover, the presented template could be adjusted and applied to different contexts. Mapping the components of existing disease surveillance systems is a fundamental step in understanding the relationships between its components, and subsequently facilitating their collaboration and integration under a OH approach.

Employment status of AFROHUN-Uganda one health alumni, and facilitators and barriers to application of the one health approach: a tracer study

Background

The One Health (OH) approach integrates multiple competencies in the prevention and control of disease outbreaks. Through a range of OH competence-based activities, the Africa One Health University Network (AFROHUN) built the capacity of selected students at Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology. This study applied the Systems Theoretical Framework (STF) of career development to establish the employment status of AFROHUN-Uganda alumni, and the facilitators and barriers to application of the OH approach in their organisations.

Methods

We conducted an embedded mixed-methods study among a random sample of 182 AFROHUN-Uganda alumni of the 2013–2018 cohorts. For quantitative data, descriptive statistics were computed using Stata 14.0 statistical software. A total of 12 in-depth interviews were conducted, and NVivo 12 Pro was used to organise data during thematic analysis.

Results

While the majority, 87.4% were or got employed after participating in the AFROHUN Uganda capacity building programme, 68.1% were employed at the time of the survey, 57.7% had worked with their current employer for at least a year, and 39% held managerial positions. The facilitators of applying the OH approach into employing organisations included being knowledgeable about OH, the presence of a multidisciplinary workforce, the nature of activities implemented, and existing partnerships and collaborations between organisations. The barriers to the application of the OH approach included limited funding, a negative attitude towards working with people from other disciplines, and limited knowledge of the One Health approach.

Conclusion

Notably, more than two-thirds of the OH alumni were employed, and more than a third held managerial position. While these findings portray a fairly good absorption rate of the OH alumni into the workforce, they also highlight the facilitators of application of the OH approach that need to be promoted as well as the barriers that need to be addressed if the application of the OH approach is to be improved within the workforce.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12913-022-08537-7.

Search term “One Health” remains of limited use to identify relevant scientific publications: Denmark as a case study

One Health has become a popular approach, and scientific advancements in the field should be easily findable and accessible to a wide range of relevant audiences, from researchers to policymakers, and across sectors. We conducted a systematic narrative review of available scientific publications concerning One Health in the setting of Denmark that were retrievable using “One Health” as the key search term. Three searches in two databases yielded 30 retrieved publications, 13 of which were included in the review. The included publications had been published between 2015 and 2021. Twelve of the included publications were co-authored in collaboration across institutes from different sectors. Three of the included publications had focus on antimicrobial resistance, three on disease surveillance and/or control, and five were assessments or evaluations. The overall number of publications identified by a search using “One Health” as the key search term was small, and the search identified some publications that were not relevant to One Health. Our work thus highlights a missed scientific and communication opportunity of signposting articles as relevant to One Health. Using the expression “One Health” as keyword could help making One Health research more easily findable and thereby obtaining an overview of research in the field.

Analysis of the Quantitative Evaluation of the Public Medical and Health System Costs During Pandemic Governance: Investigation Based on COVID-19

It is of great reference significance for broadening the research perspective of pandemic governance, improving the efficiency of pandemic governance and the credibility of the government, to scientifically measure and analyze the public medical and health system costs. This article takes the typical case "pandemic prevention and control event of S city, China" as the research background. First, the concept of public medical and health system costs during pandemic governance is defined. Then, the public medical and health system costs are embedded into the pandemic governance system, and the generation process of the public medical and health system costs in the actual situation are investigated. Furthermore, through in-depth interview, multi-case grounded theory and fuzzy subordinate function analysis, the scientific construction of the public medical and health system cost index system are completed. Finally, based on G1 method/entropy method combined with weighting and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method, the public medical and health system costs of the pandemic prevention and control events of S city is measured. The results show the following: (1) it is important that good single dimensions and reliable indicators are embodied in the public medical and health system costs scale. Among them, the behavioral public medical and health system costs of the masses is the largest proportion of all indicators; (2) after the pandemic prevention and control event is over, the public medical and health system cost are difficult to repair, and some lagging ideas and behaviors shown by local governments lead to a continuous expansion of the public medical and health system costs associated with pandemic governance; and (3) local governments should not conceal information asymmetry. Instead, local governments should give greater freedom to other actors to deal with pandemic governance, and governance entities should cooperate with each other. This will mitigate the effect of public medical and health system costs. Corresponding policy recommendations are proposed.