April 2022



One Health Commission
2021 Annual Report

Connect, Create, Educate
for One Health




Mission / Vision
 
Mission
 
The charter of the One Health Commission is to educate and create networks to improve health and well-being outcomes of humans, animals and plants and to promote environmental resilience through a collaborative, global One Health approach.
  
We envision
 
A world in which the interconnectedness of animals, environment, plants and people is deeply, and systemically recognized, valued and acted upon for the benefit of all.
 
Goals

We will achieve our mission by: 

  • Connecting One Health Stakeholders
  • Creating Strategic Networks / Partnerships
  • Educating about One Health issues
 
to support a paradigm shift in collaborations, information sharing and active
health interventions.
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Incorporated in 2009 in Washington, DC as a tax exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the One Health Commission (OHC) was formed as an outcome of a One Health Initiative Task Force led by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) and other partner organizations.
 
Headquartered in central North Carolina but working globally, the OHC endeavors to ‘connect’ One Health stakeholders, to ‘create’ networks and action teams that work together across disciplines to ‘educate’ about One Health and One Health issues. Most of its work is accomplished by volunteers who are passionate and committed to doing what they can with what they have, where they are, to help the world understand just how urgent it is that we fully implement One Health, that we make it the default way of doing business at all levels of academia, government, policy and research.
 
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has shown the world what the One Health Community has been teaching and warning about for twenty years. And it has shown those of us working to further One Health implementation that there is much work yet to be done.
 
This report covers up to and during 2021 and the first 3 months of 2022 sharing the One Health Commission’s initiatives and actions. We hope you enjoy this brief overview. And we invite you to get involved in any way you can, wherever you are, with what you have, doing what you can to help us ‘connect, create, and educate’ about One Health.
 
Sincerely,
Cheryl Stroud, DVM, PhD
Executive Director


Learn more:

History /Background of the One Health Commission


Programs
 
The One Health Commission (OHC) believes that One Health ‘can’ become the default way of doing business at all levels of academia, research, government, policy and industry when individuals and groups from around the world work together in organized team efforts. In keeping with its mission, vision and goals, the OHC identifies gaps where implementation of One Health thinking and acting could have a powerful positive impact, saving lives, both animal and human, and improving ecosystem health for all living creatures. Individuals and groups from around the world are urged to join hands and work together in trans-disciplinary volunteer team efforts. All teams are supported by OHC staff, listserv and webinar resources with guidance provided by members of the Board of Directors as appropriate. Team leaders are selected from among those who step forward to get involved in long-term team efforts. The OHC provides a platform and opportunity for individuals to actively participate in the global One Health movement when they may not otherwise have avenues in which to act.

Global One Health Day
Connecting and Educating
 
Initiated in 2016 by the One Health Commission, the One Health Platform, and the One Health Initiative pro bono Team, global One Health Day is officially celebrated around the world every year on November 3.
 
The goal of One Health Day is to build the cultural will necessary for a sea change in how One Health-related challenges are assessed and addressed and how professionals exchange information across disciplines. One Health Day brings global attention to the need for One Health collaborations and allows the world to ‘see them in action’. It is designed to engage as many individuals as possible from as many arenas as possible in One Health education and awareness events and to generate an inspiring array of projects and events worldwide.

In its very first year One Health Day saw over 165 events registered in 37 countries reaching over 17,000 people. You can view maps and descriptions of One Health Day Events all over the world in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, even during the pandemic. Events do not have to fall right on November 3 but can occur anytime during the calendar year. Since its inception there have been over 740 events registered in celebration of global One Health Day.
And we know that many more events were held but did not get mapped because people did not know to register them on the One Health Day webpages; we were seeing them on #OneHealthDay social media postings.
 
Since the One Health Platform closed its doors early in 2021, and the One Health Initiative pro bono team is unincorporated with no budget or financial resources, the OHC now carries sole financial responsibility for leading global One Health Day.

  • One Health Day Student Events Competition
 
The One Health Day Student Events Competition has, since 2016, given cash awards to eleven student teams from around the world. Until further funding can be identified, the One Health Commission is now the sole financial supporting organization for One Health Day Student Event awards. In 2021 the One Health Commission awarded the $2,000 Student Event Competition 2020 Award to the trans-disciplinary student team from Pookode Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University working in partnership with the Center for One Health Education, Advocacy, Research and Training (COHEART) in Wayanad, Kerala, India.
Event Title: Building Next Generation Student
One Health Leaders for a Healthier Planet
 
A Month-long online event to commemorate One Health Day 2020. See the Project Summary Package .                 
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One Health Happenings Monthly Newsletters 
Connecting
 
Since June of 2015, when the OHC began the world’s first Global One Health Community Listserv (now over 16,000 strong), the Commis-sion has been compiling, creating and distributing an international monthly One Health Happenings (OHH) newsletter. OHH is the only ‘big picture’, monthly, global One Health news compilation in existence. Sixty-seven issues have been shared freely highlighting One Health news and information about global One Health issues. By January 2021, OHH had become so popular and so many people were seeking to include their One Health events and ‘Happenings’ in it that an online submission process had to be developed that is now being widely utilized. The OHC receives requests weekly from individuals who wish to be part of its community to receive OHH. Pageviews of the OHH Archive webpage have increased steadily to over 12,000 views per year. Likewise, pageviews of the listserv sign up webpage have also steadily increased to over 12,000 a year.
One Health Happenings Archive webpage pageviews

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One Health Awareness Month
Connecting, Creating, Educating
 
Just before the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything, the One Health Awareness Month Campaign was launched December 31, 2019 on Facebook by the One Health Commission and Louisiana One Health in Action. (See how it was conceived). Excitingly, the campaign was picked up and promoted by One Health advocates around the world and is now celebrated annually in January with social media postings and even some One Health educational events. A One Health Awareness Month calendar was created highlighting the many arenas (wicked challenges) begging to be addressed using a One Health approach. The calendar includes a list of One Health Resources for supporters to quickly grab and share when highlighting the many faces of One Health in their social media and local campaigns.

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One Health Social Sciences
Initiative (OHSS)
Connecting, Creating, Educating
 
The Social sciences are essential to understanding and addressing the root causes of disease and determinants of community health. The Commission’s One Health-Social Sciences Initiative  provides a platform for innovation and integration of all social science disciplines to strengthen the One Health movement. Since its ‘creation’ in 2017, the OHSS has developed a strong global following sharing 21 OHSS updates/ communications to the Global One Health Community listserv, and leading 17 open online meetings and 18 webinars (2 in 2021). In 2021 the leadership team also launched several Small OHSS Sub-Working Groups to give more individuals opportunities for leadership and involvement.

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One Health Education Initiatives Educating
 
The OHC Board of Directors decided early on that education, from cradle to grave, about One Health and One Health issues would be a major focus and a One Health Education Task Force (OHETF) was launched in 2015. You can review its initiatives on the One Health Education Initiatives Overview webpage. One early effort was publication of a One Heath Education Concept Paper. *
 
Lueddeke GR, Kaufman GE, Kahn LH, Krecek RC, Willingham AL, Stroud CM, Lindenmayer JM, Kaplan B, Conti LA, Monath TP, Woodall J, 2016, Preparing society to create the world we need through ‘One Health’ education (Part 1), South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH). doi: 10.4119/seejph-1841.
 
*The Commission would like to thank Drs. George Lueddek, first OHETF Chair, and Ulrich Laaser, Editor, SEEJPH for their support of these early efforts.
 
The paper was followed by a Press Release  (June 2016) exploring interest in participation in a pre-project proposal conference  to seek consensus on a plan to fund an envisioned global learning program. Response to the press release from individuals and organizations from around the world was heartening. With input from internationally-recognized reviewers, the OHETF next developed an online OH Education survey for individuals already familiar with One Health. Press release respondents were invited to complete the survey. Results were summarized and published on the One Health Commission’s OHETF webpage and were used to organize an online OH Education Conference held on November 18, 2016.


How important is it that students are introduced to One Health concepts in the educational curriculum at the following education levels, where 1 = not at all important and 5 = highly important.
 
The November 2016 Conference Slides and Recording were posted on the OHETF webpage and an Executive Summary of the Conference was published including an overview of Conference Conclusions.
 
Lueddeke, G. R., Kaufman, G. E., Lindenmayer, J. M. and Stroud, C. M. (2017), Preparing society to create the world we need through‘One Health’education (Part 2)”, South Eastern European Journal of Public Health (SEEJPH). doi: 10.4119/seejph-1858
Over the ensuing years, several One Health Education ‘outcomes’ have emerged:
 
1.     Creation of a Bat Rabies Education Initiative focused on the Americas
2.     Creation of a One Health Education-US Team
3.     Creation of a compilation of online primary/secondary One Health Education Resources
4.     Creation of an online One Health Opportunities Bulletin Board listing higher One Health education programs around the world
5. Launch of the international One Health for One Planet Education (1HOPE) Initiative
6.    Creation in 2021 of the Commission’s first One Health scholarship, the Dr. Gregory D. Bossart Memorial Award


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Educating: Facts Not Fear
 
Bat Rabies Education Team
 
Facts:
  • Rabies is a preventable deadly viral disease that can be transmitted to people by infected mammals, including bats.
  •  Bats need to be protected as an integral part of our global ecosystem; they serve important ecosystem services like pollination, seed dispersal, and eating disease-causing mosquitoes and crop-destroying insects.
  • With knowledge and understanding we can live safely with bats while protecting them.
 
The OHC tries to identify gaps and take actions to address them. Unfortunately, the public is generally unaware of the health risk that bats can pose to people and pets through the potential transmission of the deadly rabies virus. This is true all over the world. Not all bats have rabies, but bats are responsible for most human cases of rabies in the Americas. (In other global regions dogs are most frequently responsible for human cases of rabies). The One Health Commission’s Bat Rabies Education Team (BRET) provides educational resources, free downloadable posters (created with the Global Alliance for Rabies Control) and infographics (created in partnership with USDA Wildlife Research Center) in multiple languages using ‘Facts not Fear’ to help get the word out about protecting bats while recognizing the potential for them to transmit rabies to humans and pets, i.e. learning ‘habits that keep us safe’ like keeping pets vaccinated for rabies and how people and pets can stay safe around bats.
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One Health Education-US (OHE-US)  Educating
 
Incorporating One Health concepts into primary/secondary (K-12) Science, STEM, and Health education will strengthen curricula and help students develop an inherent understanding of the interconnections among animal, environmental and human health.  The One Health Education-US
(OHE-US) team compiles a list of K-12 One Health Educational Resources (see below) available for teachers to use in their classrooms.
 
In 2020 OHE-US launched a One Health survey for primary/secondary teachers that currently remains in the field and is still reaching primary and secondary teachers. 
 
See the survey preview for non-teachers.
 
Please feel free to share the actual Survey with K-12 teachers only.
  • Primary, Secondary, K-12 OH Education Resources
Incorporating One Health into primary/secondary (K12) education prepares our students 1) to be critical thinkers who inherently understand the connections of human, animal, and ecosystem health and 2) to be our future leaders and responsible citizens in our diverse, complex, and ever-changing world.
 
 
Resources have been (are being) compiled to help early education teachers develop and deliver One Health- themed curricula across primary / secondary (K-12) grades. Ideas for use and a framework for creating One Health-themed lessons are also shared in this suggested Basic Guide to Developing One Health Lessons for K-12.
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One Health Opportunities Online Bulletin Board and Higher Level One Health Educational Resources

The OHC online One Health Opportunities Bulletin Board was created in 2018 as a service for the global One Health Community. It is only as complete and helpful as the information that is brought forward. Categories of opportunities include Masters and PhD programs, One Health Certificate Programs, One Health courses and Summer Programs (online or in-person), Internships/ Externships/Scholarships, Volunteer and Employment Opportunities, Postdocs and Fellowships. The global One Health Community is encouraged to both submit and review announcements on this page. 
 
At the bottom of the Opportunities webpage a compilation of links to additional Higher Level One Health Educational Resources is growing. Please help us make it more complete by sending any items that should be included in that section to ohc@onehealthcommission.org.

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New in 2021!!! 
The Commission’s first One Health Scholarship – the Dr. Gregory D. Bossart Memorial One Health Scholarship
 
Funded by Georgia Aquarium and administered by the One Health Commission, the Bossart Memorial One Health Scholarship was launched September, 2021 in memory of OHC Board member, Dr. Gregory D Bossart who lost his battle with cancer in 2019. Dr. Bossart was a highly respected veterinarian, pathologist, and conservationist committed to advancing the understanding of marine mammals as sentinels of ocean and human health. One Health was a long-time prominent theme in his research. This scholarship in his memory now supports each year one graduate student doing One Health framed research in wildlife biology, epidemiology, veterinary, medical, public health, basic or social sciences or other post-graduate program focusing on the interconnections between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

The first Awardee of the Bossart One Health Scholarship in November 2021 was Taylor Weary for her One Health Project ‘Healthy Children, Healthy Chimps: Reducing respiratory disease transmission from humans to chimpanzees in Uganda’. Taylor is a DVM/PhD Student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison, Wisconsin, USA working in the lab of Dr. Tony Goldberg.

See Taylor’s One Health Project:  
 
Healthy Children, Healthy Chimps:
Reducing respiratory disease transmission from
humans to chimpanzees in Uganda
 
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Nurturing the Next Generation of One Health leaders

In addition to supporting the One Health Day Student Event Awards and the Bossart Scholarship, one of the Commission’s most exciting and fulfilling endeavors since 2015 has been supporting creation of an independent International Student One Health Alliance (ISOHA), working with them to Connect Student One Health Groups around the world, providing a Student News webpage on the OHC website, a Student One Health Listserv and providing webinar platform support (16 webinars to date) for their educational efforts. It is wonderful watching these young people develop their impressive leadership skills as they prepare to carry the One Health torch forward in their own careers.
 
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One Health Vector-Borne Diseases
Education Initiative
 
Under development. A One Health Vector-Borne Diseases Education Initiative will take actions to teach the public how to keep themselves and their animals safe from vector-borne diseases.

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Impact: Outputs and Outcomes

Resources and Services for the Global One Health Community
 
The One Health Community has struggled to develop ‘metrics’ to measure impact and show the value of implementing One Health. If a tally of things that would NOT have happened, or ‘not’ been in place is any measure of impact, then the following information will be some indication of ‘impact’ the One Health Commission has had in its efforts to further the One Health paradigm shift.


  • The OHC’s Global One Health Community Listserv 

Established in 2015 with a handful of contacts, the OHC Global One Health Community Listserv has grown to over 16,000, having increased by over 6,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. It is used to distribute One Health Happenings newsletters and any other relevant calls and announcements to the Global One Health Community. In addition to supporting each of its working groups, the OHC also provides listserv services for the International Student One Health Alliance (ISOHA). 

  • Community Building Online Meetings
 
Since 2015 the OHC has led or provided online meeting support for over 25 Community Building online meetings, including 9 led by ISOHA, 14 led by the Commission’s One Health Social Sciences Team (OHSS) and 1 led by the One Health Latin America community that has evolved into the One Health Latino America, Ibero y Carib (OHLAIC) Network.
Community Building online meetings led by the OHC.
(Click Register to start the recordings)
 
   
Community building online meetings led by ISOHA
with webinar support provided by the One Health Commission.
 
 
As a result of these activities the Global One Health Community is more ‘connected’, knows what groups are doing what and where to find ‘synergy’ of actions. This is critical for joining hands to raise collective voices calling for implementation of One Health locally, nationally, regionally, internationally.
  • Educational Webinars
 
Since 2015 the OHC has led or provided webinar support for over 100 educational webinars, including 10 led by ISOHA, 47 led by OHC partner the Washington DC One Health Academy, 3 hosted by the Rabies in the Americas (RITA) Conference, 21 led by the Commission’s One Health Social Sciences Team (OHSS) and several hosted by Idaho One Health. Attendance records indicate that thousands of individuals have participated in these educational events in the past 8 years.
Example: OH in the US webinar Series: One Health 101 – What’s all the fuss?
 
In light of COVID-19 and previous outbreaks of other zoonotic diseases that pass between animals and humans (Examples: SARS, MERS, HIV Aids, Ebola, Zika etc), leaders at the 2021 G7 Summit meeting endorsed “strengthening a ‘One Health’ approach across all aspects of pandemic prevention and preparedness.”
 
Yet there is a need for better understanding by the general public of what One Health is all about. To meet this need, on June 30, 2021 the One Health Commission and staff of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering
 
and Medicine, in partnership with the Wilson Center and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, hosted the first in a series of ‘One Health in the US’ webinars. The OHC provided the webinar platform and moderators. The event was widely promoted in public networks and popular media representatives were invited. See the press release.
 
Over 1000 people registered, so many that we had to temporarily expand webinar seating capacity in the GoToWebinar account. Over 420 attendees remained engaged in the webinar for the whole 90 minutes. As of April 26, 2022 the recording has been viewed 224 times. You can view that recording and see handouts shared during the webinar. Follow up sessions in this series are under development.

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  • Raising Awareness about One Health
 
In 2020 and 2021 the OHC Executive Director, Dr. Cheryl Stroud, gave over 40 invited One Health presentations, 1 documentary and 4 podcast interviews and moderated 1 webinar for the German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ). Since 2014 she has given over 120 One Health talks / lectures and interviews and facilitated connections and introductions for One Health speakers for countless other events for which she did not, herself, speak. The OHC is now recognized as a leader in the Global One Health Community, expanding its message about implementing One Health.

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The OHC Website 
 
The One Health Commission website has become a community driven, globally recognized repository of One Health Resources as revealed by the increase in pageviews of the entire website, the homepage and other highly visited pages. It is quite evident in these graphs that the pandemic sent many people to us to find out more about One Health.

  • COVID-19 and One Health Webpages
 
In January 2020 the OHC began compiling select popular media OpEds and Commentaries about the COVID-19 pandemic that mentioned and/or called for One Health. So far, from 2020, 2021 and 2022 over 350 articles have been included and more continue to be published and brought forward. This initiative has proven to be of strong interest to OHC website visitors. The COVID-19 and One Health webpage has had 15,577 unique pageviews in 2020 and 21,851 pageviews in 2021. As of April 23, 2022 it has been visited almost 6,000 times in the first 3 months of the year.
  • NEW in 2021!!
One Health Teaching Resources for Public Health Educators

In 2016 One Health was added by the U.S. Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) to the Accreditation Criteria for Schools of Public Health and Public Health Programs requiring that all public health students would be able to “Explain an ecological perspective on the connections among human health, animal health and ecosystem health (eg, One Health)”. In 2021, the OHC and student intern Neil Vezeau, DVM/MPH student and former ISOHA leader, prepared and implemented a Survey  to 180 public health administrators and faculty exploring interest, gaps, perceived need and indications of the types of resources preferred by educators in MPH programs. Over 40 survey responses were received informing curation of appropriate resources into an OHC webpage of One Health Resources for Public Health Educators. This initiative became Neil’s MPH Capstone project with Executive Director Stroud serving as his mentor. Now ‘Dr.’ Vezeau is serving as the Commission’s Technical Consultant and Project Manager.

  • New in 2022!!!
International One Health Strategic Action Plans Webpages
 
Many national and subnational governments, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and intergovernmental organizations have recognized the need for a One Health approach. To elucidate this evolving policy landscape, the One Health Commission has begun compiling their One Health Strategic Action Plans. This compilation is a global One Health community effort and input from the community is welcomed as we make this webpage a tool for showing colleagues and policymakers how much One Health thinking is being implemented globally.
  • Who’s Who in One Health Webpages
 
It is exciting to watch the One Health movement spread around the globe. To help the world ‘see’ what is going on, the OHC has compiled Who's Who in One Health organizations maps revealing 'all' groups and organizations so far identified that are actively working to further One Health by leading One Health education, research and outreach activities and programs. The list became 'so' long we have broken out separate maps for Academic, Government, Non-Profit and For-Profit organizations that are embracing and working to further One Health.
  • Additional Website Resources
 

Advocating for One Health - Think Globally, Act Locally
 
Though the Commission works globally and, as a 501c3 non-profit licensed and based in the U.S., can only do limited ‘lobbying’, it is working to educate U.S. law/policy makers and staffers about the urgency of embracing and implementing One Health. Since July 2019 the OHC has provided overview webpages about the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act of 2019 that was reintroduced in the 117th U.S. Congress in 2021. At the bottom of those webpages one can review advocacy efforts (such as educational Congressional ‘Briefings for both House and Senate) and access information on how U.S based organizations can become part of an informal coalition of US One Health partners being led by the One Health Commission.

No other organization intentionally recruits professionals across so many sectors
to join hands in so many collaborative global community
One Health actions and endeavors.

Impact Story #1

Showing the value of One Health networks
 
In 2020 the WHO Global Outreach and Response Network (GOARN) invited the OHC to become a member and sought its assistance in a COVID-19 Call to Action seeking experts willing and able to assist GOARN during the pandemic. The One Health European Joint Program (OHEJP) was invited to join in and both OHC and OHEJP pushed out calls in their global (OHC) and European (OHEJP) networks. The Call-to-Action message went to over 12,000 (at the time) participants in the OHC Global One Health Community listserv. Within 2 weeks of the messages going out to the listserv, GOARN had received over 600 applications to participate in the COVID-19 response.
 
That ‘outcome’ prompted the partners to initiate a Global Survey about One Health Networks (OHNs) and Participation in the Response to COVID-19 led by the OHC, the OHEJP, and WHO GOARN. The sample included 1,050 respondents from 94 countries across a range of organizations and work sectors. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents indicated involvement in pandemic response activities. Being part of an OHN was positively associated with being involved in the COVID-19 response (odds ratio: 1.8, 95% confidence interval: 1.3–2.4). Lack of opportunities was a commonly reported barrier to involvement globally, with lack of funding the largest barrier in the WHO African region.
 
This insight into diverse workforce involvement in the pandemic response internationally helps fill a gap in the global health workforce and public health education literature. An expanded understanding of the perceived roles and value of One Health Networks can inform targeted interventions to improve public health education and workforce capacity to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies such as epidemics and pandemics. The summary of this investigation was published in 2022.
 
Streichert LC, Sepe Ludovico P, Jokelainen P, Stroud CM, Berezowski J, Del Rio Vilas VJ, Participation in One Health Networks and Involvement in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response: A Global Study, Frontiers in Public Health, Vol. 10, 2022, DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.830893
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Impact Story #2

Bat Rabies Education Team (BRET) elucidating ‘Gaps’
Sometimes just asking a question can raise awareness and inspire action!
 
The OHC seeks to identify gaps and to take actions to address them. BRET was formed in 2015 to promote bat rabies education and awareness in the Americas, especially in K-12 children and parents. Its first focus region was the U.S. and one of its early initiatives was a survey in 2017 to public health officials across the U.S. to discover any existing bat rabies education programs led by public health departments. Responses came from 10 states. Over half (55.3%) of the responding organizations reported that they did ‘not’ conduct any activities specifically for bat rabies education.
 
Another gap that BRET identified was the lack of a ‘real-time’ communications system to alert veterinary practitioners in the U.S. when cases of rabies are diagnosed in any animals in their local areas. Veterinary clinicians are a first line of defense against rabies spillover from wildlife to companion animals, protecting both pets and people. Yet, canine rabies has been so well controlled in the U.S. (through vaccination programs) that many veterinarians forget to include this deadly zoonotic disease on their disease rule-out lists when managing their daily cases.
 
As a follow on to the first survey BRET sent a reach-out letter to US State Veterinarians and State Public Health Veterinarians asking if their states had a ‘real-time’ rabies veterinary alert system in place. There would be no specific client, pet or exact location data shared, just an alert: “Attention! A case of rabies has been confirmed in a bat/cat/racoon/skunk, etc. in your region. Be on the look-out for potential spillover cases to unvaccinated domestic/companion animals in your area!!” This would remind veterinarians to keep rabies front of mind in their daily practice when presented with unvaccinated, ill animals.
 
BRET received replies from 9 states. We learned:
  • Los Angeles County, CA does indeed have such a system in place. In fact, when they have a rabies positive bat they not only do ‘in person’ notification of veterinary clinics, they go door-to-door in the neighborhood where the rabid bat was found warning local residents to be on the look-out. “We started doing the in-person notification of vet clinics in 2017 after a survey of clinics clarified that few veterinarians were aware that rabid bats had been found near their clinics in the preceding year.”
  • In another state all positive rabies tests are posted on the Department of Health and Human Services website in real-time. Any person in the public can subscribe to the page to be notified of updates (e.g. new posting of a positive test) immediately by text or email message. So any veterinary practitioner that wants to learn of such results in real-time has the option.
  • Another state issues a “rabies alert” in the event of a single case of rabies in a domestic animal or when the level of rabies in wild animals (primarily bats and skunks) rises above “normal.” A rabies alert letter is sent to veterinarians, county commissioners, state representative/ senator, and the local health department for the affected county to raise awareness, promote specimen submission, and for parties to educate the public about rabies. That state does not notify veterinarians or other parties when a single case of rabies is detected in a wild animal. “We’ll explore doing this, perhaps through our state veterinary professional association. Thank you for taking on this project!”
  • One state reported: We do not have an alert system for rabid bats, but we recently developed a queriable map to keep track of rabid bat detections …….. Our Department of Agriculture has a blast fax system to send urgent information to veterinary clinics state-wide. A positive bat would not rise to the level of alert on this system, however, any other positive animal would. We will move our bat map externally so that vets and the public can easily access it, and we can send announcements regarding positive bat detections out through the [local Vet Med Association] weekly.
 
But the most ‘impactful’ responses BRET received were these:
 
  • “With the cooperation of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Office of Public Health (Louisiana Department of Health) has been able to create an alert system for the state’s accredited veterinarians. We established this email-based system within the past two weeks. The system has already been utilized to notify veterinarians in Louisiana of two cases of skunk rabies in one region of the state. We thank you for reminding us to pursue the goal of creating this alert network.”
 
  • One public health official said, “I would LOVE to set up a [real-time veterinary alert] system, but I don't think we would have buy-in from others within my department unless there was a specific call for this system to be implemented. So I will say again that I would LOVE to receive this request formally so I can forward it on to the higher ups in my organization.”

The One Health Commission raises these issues and brings them forward when/where no one else does. If the OHC were not asking these questions, who would be?

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Resources & Financial Management

It costs nothing for an organization or an individual to participate in the Commission's activities or be part of its Global One Health Community. However, it is only the support of our financial sponsors that allows us to continue and additionally to expand our efforts.
 
Most of our support comes from academic and other non-profit organizations, from associations and individuals. In the interest of transparency or for anyone interested, our yearly IRS 990 forms can be viewed via ProPublica’s non-profit explorer website.
 
You may be amazed at how ‘much’ we have been able to make happen on such a very thin budget for so many years. Then, like many non-profits, the pandemic set us back significantly on fundraising. But with your help we can not only continue the work we have going, but also expand with these planned initiatives:
 
  • Expand One Health Day Student Awards
  • Better Support Action Teams/Working Groups
  • Cover publication costs for any articles they prepare
  • Cover costs of travel for presenting at conferences about their One Health Team’s work
  • Provide more staff support for meetings and use of online meeting platforms      
  • Lead more Educational Webinars ‘with’ the opportunity for CE, CNE, CME. To date we have not been able to afford to offer these much-needed attractions
  • Annual In-Person Board meetings - it means ‘so much’ to meet in person when possible
  • 5 Student Travel Scholarships/year   
  • International Students for One Health (ISOHA): Offer financial support in addition to the listserv, webinar platform and networking support that the OHC already provides 
  • Lead Global One Health Community Workshops
  • Hire development and fundraising staff
  • Hire Program Officer to help oversee Action Teams
Thank you to these Organizations
for their generous support of the Commission's work through the years! 

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association of Swine Veterinarians
American Medical Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Microbiology
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
American Veterinary Medical Association
Association of Academic Health Centers
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies
Farm Foundation
Harvard Center for Comparative Medicine
Human Animal Bond Research Initiative Foundation
International Food Information Council Foundation
Iowa State University Nutrition and Wellness Research Center
Iowa State University Center for Food Security and Public Health
Morris Animal Foundation
National Institute for Animal Agriculture
National Pork Board
North Carolina Biotechnology Center
Ovarian Cancer Symptom Awareness Organization
Puccini Foundation
UC Davis One Health Institute
United States Animal Health Association


NEW in 2022!!! Institutional donors are invited to place their logo on their favorite OHC webpage to highlight OHC initiatives they love most.

Thank you so much, also, to these Individuals who have donated to the Commission's work through the years,
(Some as sustainers with monthly donations!)

2013 – April 2022
 

This annual report is an overview of what your financial support can help make happen.
 
Donations of ‘any’ size are welcome. Find out how to help.
 
as an organization, corporation or individual.
  
 
The One Health Commission is a US based a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, E.I.N. 27-0799294, working globally to ‘connect, create, and educate’ for One Health.
 
Financial contributions are tax deductible.




Connect With Us!            

1+-984-500-8093 | ohc@onehealthcommission.org