A zoonosis or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen that can jump from a non-human to a human and vice versa.
Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species,their habitats,and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an interdisciplinary subject drawing on natural and social sciences,and the practice of natural resource management.
Conservation medicine is an emerging,interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between human and non-human animal health and environmental conditions. Specifically,conservation medicine is the study of how the health of humans,animals,and the environment are interconnected and affected by conservation issues. It is also known as planetary health,environmental medicine,medical geology,or ecological medicine.
Parasitic worms,also known as helminths,are large macroparasites;adults can generally be seen with the naked eye. Many are intestinal worms that are soil-transmitted and infect the gastrointestinal tract. Other parasitic worms such as schistosomes reside in blood vessels.
Health ecology is an emerging field that studies the impact of ecosystems on human health. It examines alterations in the biological,physical,social,and economic environments to understand how these changes affect mental and physical human health. Health ecology focuses on a transdisciplinary approach to understanding all the factors which influence an individual's physiological,social,and emotional well-being.
Sir Roy Malcolm Anderson is a leading international authority on the epidemiology and control of infectious diseases. He is the author,with Robert May,of the most highly cited book in this field,entitled Infectious Diseases of Humans:Dynamics and Control. His early work was on the population ecology of infectious agents before focusing on the epidemiology and control of human infections. His published research includes studies of the major viral,bacterial and parasitic infections of humans,wildlife and livestock. This has included major studies on HIV,SARS,foot and mouth disease,bovine tuberculosis,bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE),influenza A,antibiotic resistant bacteria,the neglected tropical diseases and most recently COVID-19. Anderson is the author of over 650 peer-reviewed scientific articles with an h-index of 125.
The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,or UVAS originally known as Lahore Veterinary College,is a public university located in Lahore,Punjab,Pakistan.
Molecular pathology is an emerging discipline within pathology which is focused in the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs,tissues or bodily fluids. Molecular pathology shares some aspects of practice with both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology,molecular biology,biochemistry,proteomics and genetics,and is sometimes considered a "crossover" discipline. It is multi-disciplinary in nature and focuses mainly on the sub-microscopic aspects of disease. A key consideration is that more accurate diagnosis is possible when the diagnosis is based on both the morphologic changes in tissues and on molecular testing.
Gary Tabor is an American environmentalist with over 30 years' experience working on behalf of large scale conservation internationally as well as 12 years as a leader within the U.S. environmental philanthropic community. Tabor is known for his role as a catalyst in forwarding progress through large landscape conservation,pioneering the fields of Conservation Medicine and EcoHealth,and advising agencies and organizations about contemporary environmental issues.
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a Ugandan veterinarian and founder of Conservation Through Public Health,an organisation dedicated to the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas,other wildlife,humans,and livestock in Africa.
One Health is an approach calling for "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally,nationally,and globally,to attain optimal health for people,animals and our environment",as defined by the One Health Initiative Task Force (OHITF). It developed in response to evidence of the spreading of zoonotic diseases between species and increasing awareness of "the interdependence of human and animal health and ecological change". In this viewpoint,public health is no longer seen in purely human terms. Due to a shared environment and highly conserved physiology,animals and humans not only suffer from the same zoonotic diseases but can also be treated by either structurally related or identical drugs. For this reason,special care must be taken to avoid unnecessary or over-treatment of zoonotic diseases,particularly in the context of drug resistance in infectious microbes.
The One Health Institute works at the interface of animals,people,plants,and the environment to solve complex problems that impact health and conservation around the world. The institute is part of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and is home to the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center and many other programs and projects. The executive director of the One Health Institute is Dr. Michael Ziccardi. The One Health approach recognizes that the health of domestic animals,wildlife,and people are inextricably linked to one another and the environment.
Planetary health is a multi- and transdisciplinary research paradigm,a new science for exceptional action,and a global movement. Planetary health refers to "the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems on which it depends". In 2015,the Rockefeller Foundation–Lancet Commission on Planetary Health launched the concept which is currently being developed towards a new health science with over 25 areas of expertise.
Jonna Ann Keener Mazet is an American epidemiologist and Executive Director of the University of California,Davis One Health Institute. Recognized for her innovative and holistic approach to emerging environmental and global health threats,she is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Mazet is a professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine,where she focuses on global health problem solving,especially for emerging infectious disease and conservation challenges.
Robert Lloyd Rausch was an American parasitologist,mammalogist,and veterinary physician.
Francisca Mutapi is a Professor in Global Health Infection and Immunity,co-Director of the Global Health Academy at the University of Edinburgh,and Deputy Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Unit Tackling Infections to Benefit Africa. She is the first black woman known to have been awarded a professorship by the University of Edinburgh.
Disease ecology is a sub-discipline of ecology concerned with the mechanisms,patterns,and effects of host-pathogen interactions,particularly those of infectious diseases. For example,it examines how parasites spread through and influence wildlife populations and communities. By studying the flow of diseases within the natural environment,scientists seek to better understand how changes within our environment can shape how pathogens,and other diseases,travel. Therefore,diseases ecology seeks to understand the links between ecological interactions and disease evolution. New emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are increasing at unprecedented rates which can have lasting impacts on public health,ecosystem health,and biodiversity.
Peter Daszak is a British zoologist,consultant and public expert on disease ecology,in particular on zoonosis. He is the president of EcoHealth Alliance,a nonprofit non-governmental organization that supports various programs on global health and pandemic prevention. He is also a member of the Center for Infection and Immunity at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He lives in Suffern,New York.
David Hayman is a New Zealand-based epizootic epidemiologist and disease ecologist whose general multi-disciplinary work focuses on the maintenance of infectious diseases within their hosts and the process of emergence and transmission to humans specifically related to bats. He has gathered data on the relationship between ecological degradation due to anthropogenic actions,and increased pathogen emergence in humans and animals. During COVID-19 he was involved as an expert in several international collaborations,some convened by the World Health Organization,and was a regular commentator in the New Zealand media about the country's response to the pandemic. He has had lead roles in research organisations at Massey University and Te Pūnaha Matatini and was the recipient of the 2017 Rutherford Discovery Fellowship Award. Since 2014 Hayman has been a professor at Massey University.
