Taking forward a 'One Health' approach for turning the tide against the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus and other zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential

The appearance of novel pathogens of humans with epidemic potential and high mortality rates have threatened global health security for centuries. Over the past few decades new zoonotic infectious diseases of humans caused by pathogens arising from animal reservoirs have included West Nile virus, Yellow fever virus, Ebola virus, Nipah virus, Lassa Fever virus, Hanta virus, Dengue fever virus, Rift Valley fever virus, Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, and Zika virus. The recent Ebola Virus Disease epidemic in West Africa and the ongoing Zika Virus outbreak in South America highlight the urgent need for local, regional and international public health systems to be be more coordinated and better prepared. The One Health concept focuses on the relationship and interconnectedness between Humans, Animals and the Environment, and recognizes that the health and wellbeing of humans is intimately connected to the health of animals and their environment (and vice versa). Critical to the establishment of a One Health platform is the creation of a multidisciplinary team with a range of expertise including public health officers, physicians, veterinarians, animal husbandry specialists, agriculturalists, ecologists, vector biologists, viral phylogeneticists, and researchers to co-operate, collaborate to learn more about zoonotic spread between animals, humans and the environment and to monitor, respond to and prevent major outbreaks. We discuss the unique opportunities for Middle Eastern and African stakeholders to take leadership in building equitable and effective partnerships with all stakeholders involved in human and health systems to take forward a 'One Health' approach to control such zoonotic pathogens with epidemic potential

A stochastic SIRI epidemic model with relapse and media coverage

This work is devoted to investigate the existence and uniqueness of a global positive solution for a stochastic epidemic model with relapse and media coverage. We also study the dynamical properties of the solution around both disease-free and endemic equilibria points of the deterministic model. Furthermore, we show the existence of a stationary distribution. Numerical simulations are presented to confirm the theoretical results.Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo RegionalMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadConsejería de Innovación, Ciencia y Empresa (Junta de Andalucía)Faculty of Sciences (Ibn Tofail University

A review of the One Health concept : increasing awareness and collaboration between the Maltese medical and veterinary professionals

The One World, One Health concept was initiated in 2004 by the Wildlife Conservation Society with the aim of establishing an interdisciplinary and crosssectoral approach to preventing epidemic or epizootic diseases and to maintain ecosystem integrity. This concept has gained importance nowadays due to the increase in emerging and re-emerging diseases most of which are zoonotic in nature. Collaboration between the Maltese medical and veterinary professions is necessary to diagnose and control these diseases. A number of points are made questioning the current state of collaboration between these professions, with the aim of increasing the trust and communication between the said professions thus ensuring the best possible defence against diseases which can be a threat to both the human and animal population on the Maltese islandspeer-reviewe

Emerging and Re-Emerging Zoonoses of Dogs and Cats.

Since the middle of the 20th century, pets are more frequently considered as "family members" within households. However, cats and dogs still can be a source of human infection by various zoonotic pathogens. Among emerging or re-emerging zoonoses, viral diseases, such as rabies (mainly from dog pet trade or travel abroad), but also feline cowpox and newly recognized noroviruses or rotaviruses or influenza viruses can sicken our pets and be transmitted to humans. Bacterial zoonoses include bacteria transmitted by bites or scratches, such as pasteurellosis or cat scratch disease, leading to severe clinical manifestations in people because of their age or immune status and also because of our closeness, not to say intimacy, with our pets. Cutaneous contamination with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Leptospira spp., and/or aerosolization of bacteria causing tuberculosis or kennel cough are also emerging/re-emerging pathogens that can be transmitted by our pets, as well as gastro-intestinal pathogens such as Salmonella or Campylobacter. Parasitic and fungal pathogens, such as echinococcosis, leishmaniasis, onchocercosis, or sporotrichosis, are also re-emerging or emerging pet related zoonoses. Common sense and good personal and pet hygiene are the key elements to prevent such a risk of zoonotic infection