Conservation medicine

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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. [1] It is also known as planetary health, environmental medicine, medical geology, or ecological medicine. [1] [2]

Contents

The environmental causes of health problems are complex, global, and poorly understood. Conservation medicine practitioners form multidisciplinary teams to tackle these issues. Teams may involve physicians and veterinarians working alongside researchers and clinicians from diverse disciplines, including microbiologists, pathologists, landscape analysts, marine biologists, toxicologists, epidemiologists, climate biologists, anthropologists, economists, and political scientists. [2]

Prevalence

A physician in the 1800s, Rudolf Virchow, once said "between animal and human medicine, there is no dividing line- nor should there be". [3] The intersection of the health of animals, humans, and their environment has been an area of discussion since then. The term conservation medicine was first described in the 1990s with the recognition of the impact human population, environmental degradation, illegal hunting, and biodiversity loss contributed to the health of wildlife populations in Africa. [4] The increasing interest in conservation medicine since then represents a significant development in both medicine and environmentalism. [5]

While the initial discovery of conservation medicine focused on health of wildlife populations, it became apparent that human health is also impacted by animals and the environment as humans became more aware of zoonotic diseases. [3] Diseases that spread between animals and humans such as certain strains of the flu, salmonellosis, West Nile virus, the plague, coronaviruses (severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)), rabies, brucellosis, malaria, HIV, avian influenza, Lyme disease, Nipah virus, and other emerging infectious diseases are among the few human diseases known to be connected to the environment or animal health. [6] As of 2023, up to 70% of emerging infectious diseases (EID) originate from animals, [7] which has brought the concept of conservation medicine to the forefront of current ideas in healthcare.

While the hands-on process of conservation medicine in individual cases is complicated, the underlying concept is quite intuitive, namely, that human health, wildlife health, and ecosystem health are all related. [8] The threat of zoonotic diseases that travel to humans from animals is central. For example, burning huge areas of forest to make way for farmland may displace a wild animal species, which then infects a domesticated animal. The domesticated animal then enters the human food chain and infects people, and a new health threat emerges. Conventional approaches to the environment, animal and human health rarely examine these connections. In conservation medicine, such relationships are fundamental. Professionals from the many disciplines involved necessarily work closely together.

History and One Health

Since the emergence of the idea of conservation medicine, many human physicians and veterinarians have adopted the initiative titled One Health. [9] One Health evolved from the early idea of One Medicine, which was developed by veterinary communities as early as the 1900s. [9] Originally, One Health solely promoted the interconnectedness of animal health and human health, and failed to recognize the role of the ecosystem's health in the health and wellbeing of animals and humans. [9] However, One Health is now a recognized and valued approach to optimize the health of people, animals, and the environment, and has been adopted by a multitude of organizations and governing bodies to guide their work in protecting global health. [10] The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) utilize the One Health approach to better understand and mitigate threats to human health. [10] [11] The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) utilizes the One Health approach to improve animal health across the globe through advocacy and the spread of veterinary information. [12] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) highlights their use of One Health to protect the environment stating "when we protect one, we protect all". [13]

The concept of conservation medicine utilizes a One Health approach, and specifically works to decrease disease and health risks humans and animals experience due to the degradation of the natural environment. [14]

Social impact

Looking at the environment and health together, conservation medicine has the potential to effect rapid change in public opinion on complex societal issues, by making the distant and ill-defined, local and pressing. For instance, global warming may vaguely define long-term impacts, but an immediate effect may be a relatively slight rise in air temperature. This in turn raises the flight ceiling for temperature-sensitive mosquitoes, allowing them to feed on higher flying migratory birds than usual, which in turn may carry a disease from one country or continent to another.

Likewise, the broad topic of suburban sprawl is made more relevant when seen in terms of the immediate imbalance it brings to rural ecosystems, which increases population densities and forces humans into closer contact with animals (like rodents), increasing the risk of new cross-species diseases. When tied to actual cases (such as SARS or HIV/AIDS), this holistic outlook resonates more powerfully with the public than more abstract explanations.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zoonosis</span> Disease that can be transmitted from other species to humans

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geophagia</span> Practice of eating earth or soil-like substrates such as clay or chalk

Geophagia, also known as geophagy, is the intentional practice of eating earth or soil-like substances such as clay, chalk, or termite mounds. It is a behavioural adaptation that occurs in many non-human animals and has been documented in more than 100 primate species. Geophagy in non-human primates is primarily used for protection from parasites, to provide mineral supplements and to help metabolize toxic compounds from leaves. Geophagy also occurs in humans and is most commonly reported among children and pregnant women.

In epizoology, an epizootic is a disease event in a nonhuman animal population analogous to an epidemic in humans. An epizootic disease may occur in a specific locale, more generally, or become widespread ("panzootic"). High population density is a major contributing factor to epizootics. The aquaculture industry is sometimes plagued by disease because of the large number of fish confined to a small area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental hazard</span> Harmful substance, a condition or an event

An environmental hazard is a substance, state or event which has the potential to threaten the surrounding natural environment or adversely affect people's health, including pollution and natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes. It can include any single or combination of toxic chemical, biological, or physical agents in the environment, resulting from human activities or natural processes, that may impact the health of exposed subjects, including pollutants such as heavy metals, pesticides, biological contaminants, toxic waste, industrial and home chemicals.

EcoHealth Alliance is a US-based non-governmental organization with a stated mission of protecting people, animals, and the environment from emerging infectious diseases. The nonprofit focuses on research aimed at preventing pandemics and promoting conservation in hotspot regions worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerging infectious disease</span> Infectious disease of emerging pathogen, often novel in its outbreak range or transmission mode

An emerging infectious disease (EID) is an infectious disease whose incidence has increased recently, and could increase in the near future. The minority that are capable of developing efficient transmission between humans can become major public and global concerns as potential causes of epidemics or pandemics. Their many impacts can be economic and societal, as well as clinical. EIDs have been increasing steadily since at least 1940.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health ecology</span> Study of human health and ecosystems

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.

Disease is described as a decrease in performance of normal functions of an individual caused by many factors, which is not limited to infectious agents. Furthermore, wildlife disease is a disease when one of the hosts includes a wildlife species. In many cases, wildlife hosts can act as a reservoir of diseases that spillover into domestic animals, people and other species. Wildlife diseases spread through both direct contact between two individual animals or indirectly through the environment. Additionally, human industry has created the possibility for cross-species transmission through the wildlife trade.Furthermore, there are many relationships that must be considered when discussing wildlife disease, which are represented through the Epidemiological Triad Model. This model describes the relationship between a pathogen, host and the environment. There are many routes to infection of a susceptible host by a pathogen, but when the host becomes infected that host now has the potential to infect other hosts. Whereas, environmental factors affect pathogen persistence and spread through host movement and interactions with other species. An example to apply to the ecological triad is Lyme disease, where changes in environment have changed the distribution of Lyme disease and its vector, the Ixodes tick. The recent increase in wildlife disease occurrences is cause for concern among conservationists, as many vulnerable species do not have the population to recover from devastating disease outbreaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disease vector</span> Agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism

In epidemiology, a disease vector is any living agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen to another living organism; agents regarded as vectors are organisms, such as parasites or microbes. The first major discovery of a disease vector came from Ronald Ross in 1897, who discovered the malaria pathogen when he dissected a mosquito.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Tabor</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental social science</span>

Environmental social science is the broad, transdisciplinary study of interrelations between humans and the natural environment. Environmental social scientists work within and between the fields of anthropology, communication studies, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology; and also in the interdisciplinary fields of environmental studies, human ecology and political ecology, social epidemiology, among others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka</span> Ugandan scientist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Health</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Health Model</span> Concept of interaction between all components of the global ecosystem determining its health

The concept of One Health is the unity of multiple practices that work together locally, nationally, and globally to help achieve optimal health for people, animals, and the environment. When the people, animals, and environment are put together they make up the One Health Triad .The One Health Triad shows how the health of people, animals, and the environment is linked to one another. With One Health being a worldwide concept, it makes it easier to advance health care in the 21st century. When this concept is used, and implied properly it can help protect and save the lives of both people, animals, and the environment in the present and future generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonna Mazet</span> American epidemiologist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife trade and zoonoses</span> Health risks associated with the trade in exotic wildlife

Wildlife trafficking practices have resulted in the emergence of zoonotic diseases. Exotic wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar industry that involves the removal and shipment of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish all over the world. Traded wild animals are used for bushmeat consumption, unconventional exotic pets, animal skin clothing accessories, home trophy decorations, privately owned zoos, and for traditional medicine practices. Dating back centuries, people from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe have used animal bones, horns, or organs for their believed healing effects on the human body. Wild tigers, rhinos, elephants, pangolins, and certain reptile species are acquired through legal and illegal trade operations in order to continue these historic cultural healing practices. Within the last decade nearly 975 different wild animal taxa groups have been legally and illegally exported out of Africa and imported into areas like China, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, Russia, Europe, and South America.

Pandemic prevention is the organization and management of preventive measures against pandemics. Those include measures to reduce causes of new infectious diseases and measures to prevent outbreaks and epidemics from becoming pandemics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hayman (disease ecologist)</span> New Zealand epizootic epidemiologist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Alonso Aguirre</span> American veterinarian, wildlife biologist

A. Alonso Aguirre is an American veterinarian, wildlife biologist, academic and researcher. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy, College of Science, and he also chairs the university Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at George Mason University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Primate reintroduction</span>

Primate reintroduction is a form of species reintroduction and is the process by which captive or previously free-ranging primates are either translocated or rehabilitated and released into the wild. The goals of primate reintroduction efforts are typically to reestablish or reinforce wild populations, improve the welfare of reintroduced individuals, and/or restore ecosystems. Primate reintroduction is associated with primate rehabilitation which is a form of wildlife rehabilitation that provides care and treatment for individual primates that have been injured, orphaned or abandoned in preparation for reintroduction back into the wild. Rehabilitation and reintroduction together are a strategy to combat the widespread decline of primate biodiversity worldwide and keep primate species and their habitats safe from extinction. The rehabilitated primates are most frequently formerly captive monkeys confiscated or rescued from the illegal pet and bushmeat trades.

References

  1. 1 2 "Conservation Medicine Overview". Dr. Sharon Deem. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  2. 1 2 Weinhold, Bob (Aug 2003). "Conservation medicine: combining the best of all worlds". Environmental Health Perspectives. 111 (10): A524–A529. doi:10.1289/ehp.111-a524. ISSN   0091-6765. PMC   1241627 . PMID   12896870.
  3. 1 2 Deem, Sharon L. (2016-07-29). "Conservation Medicine: A Solution-Based Approach for Saving Nonhuman Primates". Ethnoprimatology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects: 63–76. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_4. ISBN   978-3-319-30467-0. PMC   7122636 .
  4. ↑ Kock, M. D. (1996). "Wildlife, People and development: Veterinary contributions to wildlife health and resource management in Africa". Tropical Animal Health and Production. 28 (1): 68–80. doi:10.1007/bf02250729. ISSN   0049-4747.
  5. ↑ Deem, Sharon L. (2016-07-29). "Conservation Medicine: A Solution-Based Approach for Saving Nonhuman Primates". Ethnoprimatology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects: 63–76. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_4. ISBN   978-3-319-30467-0. PMC   7122636 .
  6. ↑ "CDC Newsroom". CDC. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  7. ↑ "One Health news, resources and funding for global health researchers - Fogarty International Center @ NIH". Fogarty International Center. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  8. ↑ "Working Together for One Health | One Health | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
  9. 1 2 3 Deem, Sharon L. (2016-07-29). "Conservation Medicine: A Solution-Based Approach for Saving Nonhuman Primates". Ethnoprimatology. Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects: 63–76. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-30469-4_4. ISBN   978-3-319-30467-0. PMC   7122636 .
  10. 1 2 "One Health Basics | One Health | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  11. ↑ "One Health news, resources and funding for global health researchers - Fogarty International Center @ NIH". Fogarty International Center. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  12. ↑ "What we do". WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  13. ↑ US EPA, ORD (2022-10-27). "One Health". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
  14. ↑ "Conservation Medicine - Local conservation, global health". Conservation Medicine. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
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