One Arctic - One Health

One Health takes a multidisciplinary approach to health risks and risk mitigation for humans, animals, plants and the environment, with the understanding that human health welfare is dependent on ecosystem health. The U.S. and Canada started the One Health project under the Sustainable Development Working Group (SDWG) of the Arctic Council in 2015, Finland joined the project as a colead in 2017. This report is a summary of the Finnish activities and achievements in the One Arctic - One Health project during the Finnish Chairmanship of the Arctic Council. The main actions included the One Arctic - One Health conference in Oulu, establishment of the TremArctic network, and two published Systematic Review papers and two manuscripts. There were also joint sessions and presentations in scientific conferences, seminars and workshops, and joint meetings and collaboration with the other Arctic Council Working Groups, the University of the Arctic, other organisations, and scientific projects. The report concludes with some updated proposals for further work, based on previous works and reflecting progress over the past two years. The Finnish One Arctic - One Health team consisted of scientists from the University of Oulu, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), University of Helsinki and the Finnish Food Authority. This work was supported by the grant of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.Yhteisen terveyden (One Health) perusajatus on, että ihmisten, eläinten, kasvien ja ympäristön terveys on toisistaan riippuvaista, ainakin niin, että sairaassa ympäristössä ei ihminenkään voi olla hyvinvoiva. Yhdysvaltain johtaessa puhetta Arktisessa neuvostossa, USA ja Kanada aloittivat kestävän kehityksen työryhmän (SDWG) alaisuudessa One Health -hankkeen, jonka johtoon Suomi liittyi toimiessaan Arktisen neuvoston puheenjohtajana 2017-2019. Tämä raportti on yhteenveto Suomen toimista ja saavutuksista puheenjohtajakaudellaan. Tärkeimmät toimet olivat One Arctic - One Health -konferenssi Oulussa, TremArctic-verkoston toiminnan aloittaminen, kaksi julkaistua laajaa systemaattista katsausta ja kaksi käsikirjoitusta. Lisäksi Suomen työryhmä osallistui tieteellisiin konferensseihin, seminaareihin ja työpajoihin, sekä yhteisiin kokouksiin ja muuhun yhteistyöhön Arktisen neuvoston muiden työryhmien kanssa. Raportti sisältää myös päivitettyjä jatkotoimenpide-ehdotuksia, jotka perustuvat aikaisempaan työhön ja viimeisten kahden vuoden aikana tapahtuneeseen kehitykseen. Suomen Yksi Arktis – yhteinen terveys -työryhmä koostui asiantuntijoista Oulun yliopistosta, Terveyden ja hyvinvoinnin laitoksesta, Helsingin yliopistosta ja Ruokavirastosta. Hanketta rahoitti Suomen ulkoministeriö.Grundprincipen till One Health -tänkandet är att människohälsa, djurhälsa, planthälsa och ekosystemhälsa är nära besläktade. I alla fall så att människans välfärd kräver frisk natur. Under det amerikanska ordförandeskapet i Arktiska rådet inledde USA och Kanada One Health -projektet i regi av arbetsgruppen för hållbar utveckling (Sustainable Development Working Group, SDWG). Finland gick med i ledningen av projektet under Finland ordförandeskap 2017-2019. Denna rapport är en sammanfattning av finska åtgärder och resultat under Finlands ordförandeskap. De mest viktiga handlingarna var arrangerandet av One Arctic - One Health – konferensen i Uleåborg, startandet av TremArctic-nätverket, publiceringen av två systematiska litteraturöversikter och produceringen av två vetenskapliga manuskript. I tillägg deltog den finska arbetsgruppen i vetenskapliga konferenser, seminar och verkstäder med gemensamma sessioner och presentationer. Vidare hade man gemensamma möter samt annat samarbete med andra arbetsgrupper under Arktiska rådet. Rapporten innehåller också uppdaterade förslag till för ytterligare åtgärder baserade på tidigare arbeten och utvecklingen under Finland ordförandeskap. Finlands One Arctic – One Health - arbetsgrupp bestod av forskare från Uleåborgs universitet, Institutet för hälsa och välfärd, Helsingfors universitet, samt Livsmedelsverket. Projektet fick finansiering från det finska utrikesministeriet

Reduction of Gordonia terrae Biofilms by Host-Specific Bacteriophage

Reduction of Gordonia terrae Biofilms by Host-Specific Bacteriophage Audrey Waits and Indiren Pillay Biofilms are protective coatings that bacterial communities produce using extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Biofilms may form on a variety of surfaces, including water system pipes, living tissue, and indwelling medical devices. From a public health perspective, biofilms can pose a significant challenge. Because the biofilm is hydrophobic and highly selective in what substances are permitted through the EPS matrix, catheter-related infections caused by biofilms can be especially difficult to treat with antibiotics. In this study, we demonstrate that Gordonia terrae biofilms could be significantly decreased when exposed to a host-specific bacteriophage named Waits. Gordonia terrae are Gram-positive bacteria, that have been detected in rare cases on long-term catheters in severely immune-compromised patients. Biofilms of G. terrae were created on sterile medical-grade silicon discs. Once the biofilm was formed, each disc was sonicated to disrupt the biofilms, so that CFU/disc (colony forming units) could be determined as the average bacterial count on the biofilms. Once the average bacterial count was determined, the effectiveness of bacteriophage “Waits” to remove the biofilm was tested. An MOI (multiplicity of infection) of 10 was used to infect the biofilms. Biofilms were exposed to phage for 48 hours before dilution plating was done to determine how many bacterial cells remained on the discs. Comparing average bacterial counts on the silicon discs without phage versus with phage revealed a 99% decrease in bacterial counts. Based on this data, Gordonia–specific phage Waits is extremely effective at reducing Gordonia terrae biofilms on medical grade silicon discs

Isolation and Characterization of Waits, an A15 Subcluster Actinobacteriophage

Isolation and Characterization of Waits, an A15 Subcluster Actinobacteriophage Audrey Waits and Indiren Pillay Bacteriophages are incredibly abundant viruses that exclusively infect bacteria. With estimated abundance at 1031, most bacteriophages have not been characterized. The goal of this study was to isolate and characterize a novel Gordonia terrae bacteriophage from Middle Georgia. Soil samples were collected from Lake Laurel and the Oconee River Greenway, enriched with Gordonia terrae and then filtered to test for phage activity. Prospective lysate was serially diluted and assessed for plaque formation, indicating phage activity. Plaques were then purified using serial dilutions until all plaques were the same diameter, suggesting a pure phage culture. Once purified, samples of phage were visualized by transmission electron microscopy. Phage DNA was extracted, purified and subjected to restriction enzyme digest using BamHI, ClaI, EcoRI, HaeIII, and HindIII and gel electrophoresis. The resultant DNA profile was then compared to other known digests of phage DNA. When no similar patterns were found, a concentrated DNA sample was then sent off for sequencing. After sequencing, DNAMaster and Phamerator software were used to annotate the genome. Electron microscopy revealed an icoshohedral head with average diameter for the capsid at 55nm and average length of the non-contractile tail at 125nm. Based on the physical characteristics, phage “Waits” is in the Siphoviridae family. Gel electrophoresis showed that BamHI, ClaI, and HaeIII cut the DNA. Genome sequencing resulted in 52856 bp with GC content 62%. Preliminary analysis indicates phage Waits is a novel bacteriophage in the A15 taxonomic subcluster with 101 genes

Human infectious diseases and the changing climate in the Arctic

Abstract Climatic factors, especially temperature, precipitation, and humidity play an important role in disease transmission. As the Arctic changes at an unprecedented rate due to climate change, understanding how climatic factors and climate change affect infectious disease rates is important for minimizing human and economic costs. The purpose of this systematic review was to compile recent studies in the field and compare the results to a previously published review. English language searches were conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and PLOS One. Russian language searches were conducted in the Scientific Electronic Library “eLibrary.ru”. This systematic review yielded 22 articles (51%) published in English and 21 articles (49%) published in Russian since 2012. Articles about zoonotic and vector-borne diseases accounted for 67% (n = 29) of the review. Tick-borne diseases, tularemia, anthrax, and vibriosis were the most researched diseases likely to be impacted by climatic factors in the Arctic. Increased temperature and precipitation are predicted to have the greatest impact on infectious diseases in the Arctic

Chromosome Xq23 is associated with lower atherogenic lipid concentrations and favorable cardiometabolic indices

Abstract Autosomal genetic analyses of blood lipids have yielded key insights for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, X chromosome genetic variation is understudied for blood lipids in large sample sizes. We now analyze genetic and blood lipid data in a high-coverage whole X chromosome sequencing study of 65,322 multi-ancestry participants and perform replication among 456,893 European participants. Common alleles on chromosome Xq23 are strongly associated with reduced total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides (min P = 8.5 × 10−72), with similar effects for males and females. Chromosome Xq23 lipid-lowering alleles are associated with reduced odds for CHD among 42,545 cases and 591,247 controls (P = 1.7 × 10−4), and reduced odds for diabetes mellitus type 2 among 54,095 cases and 573,885 controls (P = 1.4 × 10−5). Although we observe an association with increased BMI, waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI is reduced, bioimpedance analyses indicate increased gluteofemoral fat, and abdominal MRI analyses indicate reduced visceral adiposity. Co-localization analyses strongly correlate increased CHRDL1 gene expression, particularly in adipose tissue, with reduced concentrations of blood lipids