A multi-country One Health foodborne outbreak simulation exercise: cross-sectoral cooperation, data sharing and communication

Abstract

IntroductionThe awareness of scientists and policy makers regarding the requirement for an integrated One Health (OH) approach in responding to zoonoses has increased in recent years. However, there remains an overall inertia in relation to the implementation of practical cross-sector collaborations. Foodborne outbreaks of zoonotic diseases continue to affect the European population despite stringent regulations, evidencing the requirement for better ‘prevent, detect and response’ strategies. Response exercises play an essential role in the improvement of crisis management plans, providing the opportunity to test practical intervention methodologies in a controlled environment.MethodsThe One Health European Joint Programme simulation exercise (OHEJP SimEx) aimed at practicing the OH capacity and interoperability across public health, animal health and food safety sectors in a challenging outbreak scenario. The OHEJP SimEx was delivered through a sequence of scripts covering the different stages of a Salmonella outbreak investigation at a national level, involving both the human food chain and the raw pet feed industry.ResultsA total of 255 participants from 11 European countries (Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands) took part in national level two-day exercises during 2022. National evaluations identified common recommendations to countries aiming to improve their OH structure to establish formal communication channels between sectors, implement a common data sharing platform, harmonize laboratory procedures, and reinforce inter-laboratory networks within countries. The large proportion of participants (94%) indicated significant interest in pursuing a OH approach and desire to work more closely with other sectors.DiscussionThe OHEJP SimEx outcomes will assist policy makers in implementing a harmonized approach to cross-sector health-related topics, by highlighting the benefits of cooperation, identifying gaps in the current strategies and suggesting actions required to better address foodborne outbreaks. Furthermore, we summarize recommendations for future OH simulation exercises, which are essential to continually test, challenge and improve national OH strategies.

Basis for a One Health Approach—Inventory of Routine Data Collections on Zoonotic Diseases in Lower Saxony, Germany

“…As a result, data from the various sectors have not yet been combined directly. Such data combination is made even more difficult by the lack of harmonisation between MOSS [21,35]. A general solution is hard to create, as the different purposes of the data collections, the different underlying legal acts and the different competent authorities hinder a common approach.…”

“…Overall, communication, trust and exchange between sectors need to be improved in the future to enable collaboration and joint analyses in the One Health context [17,33]. These goals can be achieved through further and advanced training as well as collaborative projects [21,35].…”

Implementation of One Health surveillance systems: opportunities and challenges - Lessons learned from the OH-EpiCap application

“…Regarding Resources, our results showed the existence of OH-focused training opportunities (2 [1.5-3.5]), although they remain insufficient and not specific to the surveillance of the hazard of interest. Organizing joint communication training or pre-emptive collaborative training (such as outbreak simulation exercises) [32] and reinforcing OH education are important to foster multi-sectoral collaborations [3,19,33]. OH training should also include cross-cultural communication skills, team building and trust development [18].…”

Intersectoral collaboration in a One Health approach: Lessons learned from a country-level simulation exercise

“…The conduction of the exercise was carried out for two days in person, giving the table-top exercise the opportunity to have a deep, collaborative, and constructive group discussion on strengthening OH crisis preparedness. The SimEx scenario, delivered through a sequence of scripts covering the different stages of a national-level Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that involved both the human food chain and the pet feed chain, was elaborated by the OHEJP SimEx Project Team [ 8 , 9 ]. The exercise involved collaborative group discussions on the role and functionality of relevant systems, data sharing, and cooperation and communication in an outbreak situation.…”

“…Under the OHEJP, a national-level foodborne outbreak table-top simulation exercise (SimEx) was conceptualised to practice OH interoperability and collaboration across the different sectors in an outbreak scenario on a national level. Eleven European countries, including Portugal, participated in the exercise [ 8 , 9 ].…”