Dr. Gumi,  associate professor, epidemiology, College of Agricultural Science, Bule Hora University, Ethiopia, visited Ohio State December 6 - 7.  

Dr. Gumi spoke to a large group of students and faculty about "One Health Concepts from Traditional Healers and Professional Perspectives: Implications for Practical Interventions in Pastoral Communities."  

His talk was part of an ongoing Brown Bag Series supported by the Center for African Studies, GOHi and Global Water Institute called "Voices from the Field." In these informal  presentations and discussions, faculty and other professionals share their experiences doing research, teaching and outreach in Africa. Learn more about the 2018 series on the Global Water Institute website.

While at Ohio State, he also met with leaders from several departments including Veterinary Preventative Medicine, Infectious Diseases, GOHi, Center for African Studies and Global Water Institute. 

After hosting a successful 4th International Congress on Pathogens at the Human and Animal Interface (ICOPHAI) in Doha, Qatar in November 2017, the ICOPHAI consortium is evolving into a society. A request of interest will be sent to individuals and institutions in the near future. Please stay tuned and send any comments or questions to [email protected].

 

The 5th biennial ICOPHAI will be held in 2019 in Canada. Stay tuned for more updates.

The Ohio State Global One Health initiative (GOHi) and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center's (OARDC) Food Animal Health Research Program (FAHRP) will collaborate on a research project and build capacity as part of an $8.7 million grant awarded to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will fund research to tackle global hunger and food safety in Ethiopia and Burkina Faso. 

The research, referred to as the CAGED project, will be a cluster randomized community-based trial, testing whether improvements in a child's growth pattern can be attained by providing access to quality protein sources and improved health. To achieve overall health and wellness, trainings will be conducted on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices, and information and materials will be disseminated on the proper ways to raise chickens in a clean and safe environment. Studies also will be conducted on the foodborne pathogen, Campylobacter, and its genetic makeup, to better understand the bacteria, how it spreads and its connection to EED.

The goal will be improved growth among children in the intervention group by reducing infections from food contaminated with the bacteria Campylobacter, which can be found in infected animals such as chickens. Eliminating the bacteria would decrease the prevalence of recurrent diarrhea and in combination with increased access to eggs, children participating in the study would have reduced rates of stunting and malnutrition. 

GOHi and the FAHRP have been involved in the development of the project and will be key to the research's coordination, oversight of molecular epidemiology and training of a PhD fellow in capacity building components. 

 
Learn more about the CAGED research project.

The Government of Ethiopia and development partners held extensive meetings to develop a national action plan based on the Joint External Evaluation findings, using the One Health approach. GOHi actively participated during the workshop.

Also in December and January, GOHi supported and participated during the Ethiopian National Rabies and Anthrax document development.

GOHi had the opportunity to be involved in the Ethiopian plan to address Brucellosis surveillance. 

GOHi assisted with the study design, obtaining ethical approval and conducting the National Brucellosis  serosurveillance in Ethiopia.

Drs. Shu-Hua Wang and Getnet Yimer coordinated involved partners including CDC Atlanta, national and regional reference labs, local Universities in Ethiopia (University of Gondar, Bule Hora University and Jimma University) and involved ministries. 

GOHi trained all data collectors and local coordinators in utilization of electronic data collection platform (Magpi), building research capacity in-country. The Brucellosis survey is currently in its final stage of molecular lab analysis and national results will be disseminated March 2018.