One Health research and training and government support for One Health in South Asia

Abstract

IntroductionConsiderable advocacy, funding, training, and technical support have been provided to South Asian countries to strengthen One Health (OH) collaborative approaches for controlling diseases with global human pandemic potential since the early 2000s. It is essential that the OH approach continues to be strengthened given South Asia is a hot spot for emerging and endemic zoonotic diseases. The objectives of this article are to describe OH research and training and capacity building activities and the important developments in government support for OH in these countries to identify current achievements and gaps.Materials and methodsA landscape analysis of OH research, training, and government support in South Asia was generated by searching peer-reviewed and grey literature for OH research publications and reports, a questionnaire survey of people potentially engaged in OH research in South Asia and the authors’ professional networks.ResultsOnly a small proportion of zoonotic disease research conducted in South Asia can be described as truly OH, with a significant lack of OH policy-relevant research. A small number of multisectoral OH research and OH capacity building programmes were conducted in the region. The governments of Bangladesh and Bhutan have established operational OH strategies, with variable progress institutionalising OH in other countries. Identified gaps were a lack of useful scientific information and of a collaborative culture for formulating and implementing integrated zoonotic disease control policies and the need for ongoing support for transdisciplinary OH research and policy-relevant capacity building programmes.DiscussionOverall we found a very small number of truly OH research and capacity building programmes in South Asia. Even though significant progress has been made in institutionalising OH in some South Asian countries, further behavioural, attitudinal, and institutional changes are required to strengthen OH research and training and implementation of sustainably effective integrated zoonotic disease control policies.

Checklist for One Health Epidemiological Reporting of Evidence (COHERE)

“…Adoption of One Health approaches is growing, driven in part by the inherent integration of diverse disciplines and in part through the emergence of financial and resource support for policy and program initiatives, educational programs, and research [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] . However, such growth may be constrained by the preferences of journal editors, boundaries on resources, lack of sustainable government commitment, and a paucity of international educational opportunities [5] , [17] , [18] , [20] , [21] , [22] . As One Health re-emerges as a top priority for those involved in the mitigation of diseases and promotion of wellness, it is important to recognize the challenges faced by those who work collaboratively to integrate the knowledge of multiple disciplines.…”

The 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: A review of the current evidence

“…In anticipation that COVID-19 cases might be linked to the exposure to a live wild animal market, the Chinese Government has banned wild animal business on January 21, 2020 19 . These spillover events further highlight the importance of adopting the One Health framework in approaching the pre-emption and prevention of novel and emerging dangerous pathogens 105 106 .HCWs are always exposed to an elevated risk of exposure to infectious diseases and may contribute to the morbidity and mortality, as seen in previous outbreaks of Nipah and Ebola Virus Disease 107 108 109 110 111 . Transmission of infection from asymptomatic patients has been a major concern as exemplified in the incident where a patient undergoing surgery infected 14 HCWs before the onset of fever 112 .…”

One Health research and training in Australia and New Zealand

“…This activity is supported by funding from the Avian and Human Influenza Fund, World Bank, and the European Union. A ‘One Health Education into Action’ approach is the signature feature of the Massey programme that is described in detail in a review of One Health in South Asia (42). …”