One Health Approach : The Need of Hour
Muskan Sengar 4thyear
Co-author : Omprakash Sahu
Dau shri Vasudev Chandrakar Kamdhenu Vishwavidyalaya, Anjora, Durg , Chhattisgarh
“One health means – a collaborative ,multisectoral , transdisciplinary approach – working at local, regional ,national and global levels – with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animal, plant and their shared environment “ by WHO
It has been very clear over few decades that majority of novel emergent zoonotic infectious disease originate in animals are due to human activities including changes in environment ,use of chemicals in agriculture , deforestation ,exploitation of soil, urbanization, acid rain ,pollution ,industrialization ,trade and travels .A broad collaborative approach is needed to understand the ecology of each emergent zoonotic disease which cuts the boundary of animals ,human and environmental health for better assessment ,analysis of condition and to develop appropriate plans and control measure in response of it.
Rabies is considered as model diseases in which one health concept can be applied, which connects humans, animals and environments health and world. In low- and middle-income countries there are still large number of deaths. Approximately 55,000 people die due to rabies even after having preventable measure.
Government and non-government organizations has to collaborate with each other and conduct protective activities such as strategic vaccination in dog, raising public awareness and increasing capacity of health professionals to deal with critical situation .But this is not sufficient for complete eradication of Rabies. We have to strengthen surveillance, outbreak response, investigation, mass dog vaccination, increasing efficiency of vaccine, human vaccination, supply of free post exposure prophylaxis in all susceptible areas, dog population management ,public awareness ,professional education and multisectoral collaboration.
As we know prevention is better than cure and there is no cure after appearing of clinical sign in human and animals .Therefore, it is crucial to control animals to animal and animal to human transmission of rabies which not only reduces the post exposure vaccine but also lowers budgetary load for rabies control in humans.97% of cases of rabies to people are due to dog bites therefore at least vaccinating 70% of dog at risk is cheapest and most effective way to stop Rabies transmission. Mass vaccination of dog population is key, but it should be done in humane manner without torturing or hurting the animal and in accordance with animal welfare. Population management of street dog can be done by animal birth control techniques such as spaying and neutering.
But public participation is compulsory for the success of program and this can be achieved by public awareness campaigns. Last year on World Rabies Day 2021, the theme was “Rabies: Facts not Fear” on which WHO in association with FAO has launched OpenWHO.org a free online courses on how we can prevent Rabies in humans and control it in Dogs and other animals .Interested candidates from any profession ,any field can apply for this course free of cost.
So let the idea “one health-zero death” become practical by applying multisectoral one health approach’s strong strategies to prevent and control spread of Rabies.
