One Health Initiatives Overview

Introduction to One Health Initiatives (OHI)

• One Health integrates human, animal, and environmental health.
• Historical approaches have evolved to recognize interconnected systems.
• Key principles emphasize collaboration, coordination, and communication across disciplines for transformative outcomes.

Global Context and Food Systems

• Food safety ensures food does not harm consumers.
• Food security aims for adequate food production, preventing undernutrition.
• Food quality focuses on producing nutritious and consumer-acceptable food.

Animal Disease Control

• Companion animals fulfill emotional, behavioral, and social needs of humans.
• Maintaining sustainability, biodiversity, and environmental health is crucial for future ecosystems.

Wild & Stray Animal Management

• Hong Kong recognizes six common wild & stray species along with their associated diseases.
• The Wild Animal Protection Ordinance effective from August 2024 aims to protect local wildlife.

Emerging Infectious Diseases

• Pathogens are microorganisms that cause diseases upon host colonization.
• Infection refers to the multiplication of pathogens within a host or population.
• Zoonosis involves diseases that can transfer between humans and animals.
• Emerging infectious diseases are newly recognized or evolved diseases that show increased incidence or geographical spread.
• Re-emerging diseases are those that have previously declined but resurface.

Spillover Effects

• Spillover occurs when pathogens transmit from reservoirs to new species, leading to disease.
• Notable examples include SARS-CoV-2 transmission mechanisms involving bats and pangolins.
• Canine distemper shows transmission dynamics between wild dogs and other species, affecting populations.

Biosecurity and Immunization

• Biosecurity encompasses strategies to prevent pathogen spread.
• Immunization helps the immune system to recognize and combat pathogens in the future.

System Thinking and Complexity

• A system consists of interconnected elements organized to produce specific behaviors.
• Stocks refer to accumulations within the system; flow indicates changes over time.
• Feedback loops can influence conditions within the system.
• Understanding system behavior relies on identifying repeating event patterns.

Foresight and Futures Thinking

• Foresight employs methods to anticipate future scenarios and outcomes, utilizing tools like the Futures Wheel.

Glossary of Key Terms

• One Health: An integrative approach that balances health across people, animals, and ecosystems.
• Sustainability: Ability to maintain processes over time.
• Ecosystem: Interaction of living organisms and their environment.
• Equity, Equality, and Inclusivity: Concepts related to rights, opportunities, and community value.
• Development: Growth and advancement in changing contexts, focusing on human enhancement.
• Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary: Collaboration across boundaries versus integration of knowledge from multiple disciplines.
• Transdisciplinary: Development of a new framework beyond traditional disciplinary confines.
• Critical Thinking: Objective evaluation of information and arguments.
• Critical Reflexivity: Self-assessment of personal beliefs and values.

Explore the multifaceted approach of One Health initiatives, which integrates the health of humans, animals, and the environment. This quiz covers global food systems, animal disease control, and the management of wild and stray animals, highlighting their interconnectedness and the importance of collaboration across disciplines.