1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 4, 2010
Media contact: Rusty Cawley, 469-338-9479, rcawley@tamu.edu
Task Force on One-Health Approach to Influenza
publishes summary of its findings in
CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal
• Panel of 18 leading U.S. influenza experts recommends:
o Improving vaccines and enhancing capacity for vaccine production
o Expanding and improving surveillance of influenza viruses
o Improving early detection of flu in humans and animals
o Developing new tools to interrupt transmission
o Applying new developments from the fields of molecular biology
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Emerging Infectious Diseases, a journal of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, has published a summary of findings from the Task Force on a One-Health
Approach to Influenza, the FAZD Center announced today.
The summary is available at http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/8/e1.htm. The summary also is
scheduled to appear in the journal’s August 2010 print issue, the FAZD Center said.
The full report – “Responding to Influenza Pandemics Findings from the Task Force on One-
Health Approach to Influenza Assessment of Critical Issues and Options” – is available on the
FAZD Center’s website at http://fazd.tamu.edu/files/2010/03/ITF-Final-Report.pdf.
The DHS National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD Center) and
the NIH/NIAID Western Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious
Diseases convened the task force in December 2009 in Washington, D.C.
The task force comprises 18 leading experts in pandemic flu, drawn from leading academic
institutions and several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of the Interior, and the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The members of the task force represent diverse
fields and disciplines, including molecular biology, immunology, virology, public health, veterinary
and human medicine, wildlife ecology, and epidemiology.
Members used the ongoing global H1N1 pandemic as a case study and applied the principles of
One Health to address this question: Why do some pathogens lead to seasonal flu outbreaks
while others lead to pandemics that may overwhelm the public health system? “One Health”
refers to an international initiative to merge human medicine with veterinary medicine in an effort
to better protect people, livestock, pets and wildlife from newly emerging, potentially catastrophic

2. diseases. Roughly 75 percent of emerging infectious human diseases began as infectious animal
diseases, according to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention.
“The distinctions between animal health and human health are not always meaningful,” the
report says. “Many times we must address both human and animal health at the same time in
order to address either successfully.”
Among its findings, the report makes five major recommendations:
• Expand and improve surveillance of influenza viruses – Surveillance should focus on
three key populations:
o Humans who work closely with animals.
o Livestock and pets that are likely hosts for flu viruses.
o Wildlife and feral animals.
Where there may be sensitivity to collecting surveillance data from humans, enhanced
surveillance may be accomplished by the use of non-invasive measures, such as air,
water, oral fluid, and litter sampling.
• Improve vaccines and vaccine production – There is an immediate need for more
affordable, effective, and easily deliverable vaccines that can be rapidly approved,
distributed, and administered. Current efforts to transition from egg-based vaccine to cell
culture vaccine production should be supported.
• Improve early detection – The nation should develop better methods for diagnosis and
detection, including hand-held field devices. It should also apply computer modeling and
visual analytics to help sort and analyze massive amounts of data about influenza, its
transmission and effects.
• Develop new tools to interrupt transmission – It is vital for researchers to identify critical
intervention points and to develop methods to interrupt transmission of the disease,
particularly between animals and humans
• Apply new developments from the fields of molecular biology -- Emerging developments
could significantly improve understanding of how a lethal virus evolves and how to stop
its transmission and spread.
To learn more, visit these web sites:
• DHS National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense,
http://fazd.tamu.edu
• NIH/NIAID Western Regional Center of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging
Infectious Diseases, www.rcebiodefense.org/rce6/rce6pub.htm
About the FAZD Center
The National Center for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense (FAZD Center) performs research and
develops products to defend the nation from high-consequence foreign animal and emerging/zoonotic
diseases. Founded in April 2004 as a DHS Center of Excellence, the FAZD Center leverages the resources of
12 major universities and nine Minority Serving Institutions.. The FAZD Center is headquartered at Texas
A&M University. Visit the FAZD Center’s web site at fazd.tamu.edu .
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