I recently completed a health risk assessment that included blood work and a visit with my doctor. Giving any thought to my physical wellbeing has never been a high priority for me as I am generally healthy. Except for the occasion bruise and sprain, for I am rather clumsy, I typically see my physician once a year for a fifteen minute commiseration about getting older and a “see you next year”.
But this year was different. Not that I was sick, but I was surrounded by family members who were contending with some serious medical issues. One of the recurring conversations I have had with family members is the risk of contacting disease resistant bacteria such as MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a dangerous side effect of extended hospital stays.
If it wasn’t bad enough that MSRA kills an estimated 18,000 Americans a year, researchers have found evidence of MSRA in domesticated animals and wildlife. Closely housed, antibiotic-treated livestock, such as pigs, has created an environment of resistant bacteria putting animal and farmer at risk. MSRA has been found in pets and zoo animals, likely infected by their human caretakers.
But now, researchers have discovered MSRA in wildlife. At the University of Iowa, scientists collected samples from injured wildlife admitted into their Wildlife Care Clinic. Seven of the 114 animals admitted carried the MSRA bacteria including owls, pigeons, a beaver, a heron, and a squirrel. [1.]
Expanding evidence of zoonotic diseases [2.] has lead to the creation of One Health Initiative, a collaboration of experts in human, animal and environmental health. Their mission – “Recognizing that human health (including mental health via the human-animal bond phenomenon), animal health, and ecosystem health are inextricably linked, One Health Initiative seeks to promote, improve, and defend the health and well-being of all species by enhancing cooperation and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, other scientific health and environmental professionals and by promoting strengths in leadership and management to achieve these goals.” [3.]
I have always been aware of the health risk involved with being around animals. Diseases like rabies, cat scratch fever, tetanus play a large role in determining the vaccinations that my pets are given and what wildlife I was willing to care for. But I had given little thought to these resistant bacteria transmissions and the impact that they can have on the human as well as animal populations. I am intrigued to learn more about One Health Initiative and how this collaboration will improve the health of all.
Sources
1. Antibiotic-Resistant Bugs Go Wild, Jill U. Adams, 18 October 2012, http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/10/antibiotic-resistant-bugs-go-wil.html?ref=hp
2. A zoonosis is an infectious disease that is transmitted between species (sometimes by a vector) from animals to humans or from humans to animals – Wikipedia definition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoonosis
3. One Health Initiative - http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/mission.php
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