In Italy the ‘one health’ approach is at the center of the NRP, with 500 million destined to the Regions for health and climate emergency, but there is still a lot to do, also from the point of view of information: 8 out of 10 Italians they ignore the definition – according to a Swg-Federchimica Aisa survey – as well as having a scarce awareness of the principles and value of the interconnection between human, animal and environmental health. Today in Rome, experts in veterinary medicine, public health and food safety met with journalists during the continuing professional training course “The interconnection between human, animal and environmental health and the relationship between zoonoses and pandemics”, the first appointment of the project Be Informed – Boehringer Ingelheim Journalist Training Academy.
The project is promoted by the Master Sgp of the University of Rome Sapienza in collaboration with the National Association of Italian Veterinary Doctors (Anmvi), with the aim of providing information professionals with all the tools and elements to inform and communicate correctly on the dynamics of ‘one health’. “It is estimated that, in the last 30 years, about 70% of emerging human infectious diseases are zoonoses or vector-borne diseases”, says Bartolomeo Griglio, Head of Prevention, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Piedmont Region. “The prevention and control of diseases capable of causing epidemics between humans and animals contribute to maintaining the integrity of our ecosystem, for the benefit of all living beings, guaranteeing biodiversity. Only by overcoming the barriers between agencies, individuals , specialties and different sectors – he argues – it will be possible to release the energy and share the knowledge necessary to face the serious threats to the health of all living species and to the integrity of the ecosystem itself. It is not possible to solve today’s problems and future threats with past methods: we must develop innovative, multidisciplinary and future-oriented solutions to face the challenges that await us “.
A primary role in the application of the principles of ‘one health’ is played by veterinary medicine, which in this sense must be considered a cornerstone of public health. The prevention and control of zoonoses is also fundamental in pets, which in Italy are more than 62 million: 1 family out of 3 has at least one at home. “The ‘one health’ approach mobilizes multiple sectors of society and the economy: the veterinarian is present in all these sectors not only because he treats animals, but also as an important actor in public health prevention”, explains Daniela Boltrini, vice president Anmvi.
“The prevention of zoonoses in companion animals. He continues – is made up of periodic veterinary checks and visits, vaccinations, examinations and analyzes, parasitic protection, proper nutrition and correct use of the prescribed veterinary drug, with particular regard to antimicrobials. The new animal health legislation, in force since 27 September 2022, brings the one health approach of the European legislator into Italian law and will make anyone who owns or manages a pet animal responsible, based on the principle that where there is an animal there must be a veterinarian “.
The concept of unique health also passes through the control of food safety – reads a note -. Being able to guarantee safe food and a healthy diet within the planetary boundaries to the future population of 10 billion people represents the most important challenge of ‘one health’ in the food sector. And it is news these days that WHO, FAO, with Unep (United Nations Environment Program) and the World Organization for Animal Health (Woah) have launched a joint plan, which will focus on ability of health systems to work in a ‘one health’ perspective and on the control of endemic, emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, neglected and vector-borne tropical diseases, food safety risks and antimicrobial resistance.
“In the field of food safety, the current listeriosis epidemic is a virtuous example of medical-veterinary collaboration in the surveillance of a food-borne zoonosis – comments Umberto Agrimi, director of the Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Iss -. The coordination between human and food surveillance carried out centrally by the Ministry of Health, the operation of regional laboratories and services in the prevention departments, the alignment of integrated medical-veterinary surveillance on advanced whole diagnostic methods genome sequencing and the convergence of surveillance of human isolates on a single national genomic analysis platform, which communicates with the veterinary one, have made it possible to better address this epidemic and to confirm the value of medical-veterinary collaboration in a traditional field of application of one heal th “.
To bring the one health model to fruition, the role of all citizens is fundamental. Civic associations – continues the note – can do a lot to keep attention and make the right to health enforceable as a fundamental human right, in which health and disease are considered the results of processes that are not only biological but also economic, social, political, cultural and environmental.
“Access to health for all (76.7%), fight against social inequalities (61.4%), psychophysical well-being (51.4%), equal distribution of wealth (36.5%) and the search for sustainability ( 22%) are the issues that citizens of 24 European countries have indicated as priorities for an effective strategy on global health – concludes Francesca Moccia, deputy secretary of Cittadinanzattiva -. More than half of the citizens involved said that the pandemic has changed in a decisive way personal priorities and one’s way of acting Finally, it emerged that the behavior of the single individual could have a decisive weight for the protection of the environment, while institutions could have it in guaranteeing a psychophysical prevention program for the entire population. How can we build a new global health policy from the bottom up? An example is the recent Cittadinanzattiva program, which aims to jointly write a global health civic charter in which to indicate the future commitments of institutions and citizens “, she concludes.
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