About the One Health Intellectual Exchange Series

This interdisciplinary course will introduce the concept of One Health as an increasingly important approach to a holistic understanding of the prevention of disease and the maintenance of both human and animal health. The list of topics will include a discussion of bidirectional impact of animal health on human health, the impact of earth’s changing ecology on health, issues of food and water security and preparedness, and the benefits of comparative medicine. Learning objectives include 1) to describe how different disciplines contribute to the practice of One Health, 2) to creatively design interdisciplinary interventions to improve Global Health using a One Health model, and 3) to interact with One Health-relevant professionals in the Triangle and beyond. The course aims to include students from Duke, UNC and NC State from diverse disciplines relevant to One Health, including: human medicine, veterinary medicine, environmental science, public health, global health, public policy, and others.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Human Metapneumovirus found in Gorillas in Rwanda


In 2009, the deaths of 2 mountain gorillas in the Virunga massif in Rwanda were confirmed to be caused by metapneumovirus, a human respiratory illness. With less than 800 mountain gorillas in the wild, illnesses passed from people is a serious concern given the frequency of gorilla contact with humans. With habitat destruction, these gorillas are limited to parks surrounded by dense human populations. Additionally, wildlife tourism brings many people to the region. Understanding how the transmission of diseases from humans to mountain gorillas occurs will be important in protecting this endangered species. As a result, The UC Davis Wildlife Health Center established the Mountain Gorilla One Health Program, which will work to protect gorillas by improving the health of humans and other animals in the surrounding area.

The research article on this topic, which recently appeared in the online edition of Emerging Infectious Diseases can be found here.
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