The document discusses the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health through a discussion of emerging infectious diseases led by Dr. Baljit Singh and Dr. Susan Catherine Cork. They highlight the importance of a One Health approach and interdisciplinary collaboration to address complex health issues at the human-animal-environment interface, using case studies of vector-borne diseases like Lyme disease and West Nile virus. The discussion emphasizes how disease risks can change with environmental and climatic factors.

1. The interconnections between
human, animal and environmental
health
Dr. Baljit Singh, Dean
Dr. Susan Catherine Cork, Professor and Department Head, Ecosystem &
Public Health
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
March 23, 2017

2. Welcome!
 Webinar series by University of Calgary scholars
 Information presented is a summary of the
scholars’ research
 Keep the conversation live on Twitter during the
webinar using #exploreUCalgary

3. Dr. Baljit Singh
 BVSc and MVSc (Punjab Agricultural University),
PhD (Guelph); Post-doctoral training at Texas
A&M University and Columbia University
 Professor and Associate Dean, Western College
of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Saskatchewan
 Professor and Dean, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, University of Calgary
 Current interests: Veterinary medical and
graduate education/curriculum; Research in
mechanisms of pulmonary diseases
 Fellow, American Association of Anatomists; 3M
National Teaching Fellow; Qualified Veterinarian
in Canada and USA

4. Dr. Susan Catherine Cork
 BVSc, PhD in Veterinary Science, Massey University,
New Zealand
 Veterinary Diagnostic Service Development, Royal
Government of Bhutan
 Senior policy and leadership roles in Government in
the UK, New Zealand
 Postgraduate diploma in Public Policy
 Current interests in emerging infectious diseases
(human-environment -wildlife interface), veterinary
public health & public policy
 Member of the Royal Society of Biology, and the
Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (London) and
the Canadian and Alberta Veterinary Medical
Associations

5. Infectious diseases, humans and
livestock
SARSepidemic 2009
E. coli 2009
Whooping Cough 2012
PEDV 2014
Ebola 2014
Listeria breakout 2008

6. Economic impact of infectious
pathogens

7. Infectious disease threats in Canada
 Emergence and expansion of infectious diseases in the Arctic
 Muskox health and safe game food
 Impact of rat-associated zoonoses in urban communities
 >12% Canadians face food insecurity
 Food and water safety
 Anti-microbial resistance

8. Challenges of current models
Canada invested billions in labs and researchers
Researchers work in silos
Students are not trained in team work
Universities, government and industry don’t work together
Less focus on rural and remote communities
Socio-economic losses continue to mount
Universities need “collaboratories” and a “a new social contract”

9. One Health and team science
 One Health is a framework to develop research and community
engagement programs to solve complex problems at the interface of
animals, humans and the environment, and to educate the next
generation of leaders in interdisciplinary problem solving and policy
development

10. One Health: Diclofenac-vultures-
dogs-rabies

11. Environmental disasters requiring
One Health solutions

12. Matilde Tomaselli, PhD candidate (EPH)
Scientific
knowledge
Indigenous
knowledge
Individual interviews
Group interviews
Participatory activities
Field disease investigation
Hunter-based sampling
Archived data

13. Areas of concern in Canada
• Disease outbreaks and pandemics
• Vaccine-preventable diseases
• Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria
• Healthcare-associated infections
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Food- and water-borne illnesses
• Tuberculosis
Dr. David Butler-Jones, Chief Public Health Officer in Canada in “Report on the State of
Public Health in Canada, 2013”

14. Department activities
Who we are and what we do ‘………From molecules, microbes and ecosystems
to public policy…………..’
Department Website http://vet.ucalgary.ca/eph/
 Research Themes & Trainees
 Policy & Knowledge Translation
 Infectious Disease
 Environmental Complexity
 Agricultural Sustainability

15. Emerging & re-emerging zoonoses
(World Health Organization)
Nipah Virus
Hendra virus
Multidrug resistant bacteria
Lyme Borreliosis
West Nile
H1N1
Reston virus
Venezuelan
Equine Encephalitis
E.coli O157
E.coli O104
Lassa fever
Yellow fever
Ebola
Monkeypox
Influenza A(H5N1))
Rift valley
Fever
MERS-CoV
Ross River
virusEquine
morbillivirus
Nv-CJD
E.coli non-O157
West Nile Virus
Reston Virus
Brucellosis
Hantavirus pulmonary
syndrome
Leptospirosis

16. Vector-borne diseases –
ecological context
 What are vector-borne diseases?
 Arthropod vectors – life cycles
• Arachnids (ticks, mites)
• Insects (fleas, lice, flies, mosquitoes etc.)
 Host-Pathogen-Environment
• Dis-ease = an imbalance
• Host - pathogen dynamics and
vector ecology
• Geographical and climatic influence
(favored habitats)
• Vector competence
• Host susceptibility
• Disease modeling and risk assessment

17. Non arthropod vector-borne
disease


18. Case studies :
Arthropod vector-borne diseases
 Lyme Disease
• Zoonotic (can impact human health,
canine health, cycles in ticks & other
wildlife)
 West Nile Virus
• Zoonotic (impacts equine health/
some bird species/human health
risk, cycles in wild birds-mosquitoes)
 Epizootic haemorrhagic disease
• Not zoonotic


19. What is Lyme Disease ?

20. Tick life cycle


21. Risk factors
 Density of ticks – how is
this determined?
 Density of deer hosts for
adult ticks
 Feeding habits of ticks
(host preferences?)
 Preferred habitats for life
cycle stages - Geographic
location/changing micro-
climate…
 Nymph stage more likely
to transmit Lyme disease


22. Tick surveillance
Tools and resources for sampling
Photo: Dr Kathryn Berger

23. Ticks and Lyme Disease
distribution – Canada
Vector borne diseases

24. Lyme disease and bird movements


25. Ticks and Lyme Disease distribution

26. Lyme Disease in Alberta
 Emerging concerns in Western Canada ?
health.alberta.ca/health-info/lyme-disease
 Submit a tick program
health.alberta.ca/documents/Tick-Submit-a-tick-
Program-Handout
 Disease reporting in animals and humans

27. Mosquito-borne diseases –
West Nile Virus

28. 1999
West Nile Virus – Epidemiology
1999 – 2008, North America
2001
2003 2008
www.cdc.com

29. Disease prevention and control
 Integrated pest management & disease ecology
 Mosquito surveillance & screening
 Active and passive surveillance (mosquitoes, birds,
horses, humans)

30. Epizootic Haemorrhagic Disease
(EHD)
 Conservation and Wildlife
 Agricultural impacts
 Tourism impacts
 Not zoonotic
 Potential effects of climate change
 Interdisciplinary team
 Importance of entomological data
 Disease models (pros and cons)
Adult
4 larval
stages
30

31. Disease models/climate change
 Modelling the Northward Expansion of Culicoides
sonorensis under Future Climate Scenarios
 http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/jou
rnal.pone.0130294
 Pathogen- Orbivirus
 Vector- Culicoides sonorensis
 Disease-Epizootic haemorrhagic disease

32. SDM current distribution C. sonorensis
Sept EHD 2013 outbreak
Deer die offs, 2012
Sept EHD 2013 outbreak
Outbreaks overlaid onto current distribution map for C. sonorensis developed by A. Zuliani (2013)
32

33. Results: RCP 8.5 – extreme
scenario
Cs occurrence >60%
2010
2030s
2050s

34. One Health & vector-borne
diseases
 Acknowledgments
• Dr Alessandro Massolo/Dr
Kathryn Berger/Anna Zuliani
(EHD)
• Dr Tim Lysyk/Dr Greg
Johnson/Dr Sean Marshall/Dr
Alessandro Massolo/Anna
Zuliani (Culicoides sp &
climate models)
• Dr Kathryn Berger (Lyme
Disease)


35. Complex dynamics in a
changing World

36. Summary/takeaways
 One Health is an interdisciplinary approach to solving
complex problems which impact humans, animals and
the environment
 Emerging and re-emerging diseases continue to
challenge human and animal health
 Vector and disease distribution can change as a result
of human activities and environmental/climatic
factors

37. Summary/takeaways
 Disease risks depend on many factors including the
presence of suitable hosts and vectors and
environmental conditions in which disease
transmission can occur
 Public health authorities provide current information
on disease concerns (and what you should be
concerned about) in your region

38. Thank you
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and watch videos on the outcomes of our scholars’
research at
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39. Other webinar topics
For ideas on other UCalgary webinar topics,
please email us at
exploreucalgary@ucalgary.ca