The One Health vision embraces the fact that we don’t exist in isolation. Human health is closely linked to that of animals and plants, and we’re all bound to the health of the ecosystems we live in. The effect of humans on our interconnected world is undeniable and it’s clear that we must begin to tackle the major threats to human, animal, and environmental health to avoid numerous fundamental crises.
Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges.
Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.
The world is more interconnected than ever. But our global network goes beyond humans: the health of all people on Earth is intimately dependent on the wellbeing of our ecosystems – our animals, plants, microbes, and the atmosphere that sustains us all. In this article, Belgian veterinary scientist Jan Spaas shares his thoughts on the ‘One Health’ approach from the WHO, and the bi-directional link between human and animal health.
Infectious diseases are commonly associated with bacteria and viruses. However, fungi should also be added to this list as there is growing concern that antifungal resistance could be the next global challenge. Moreover, because fungi are eukaryotic like humans, developing targeted treatments without causing toxicity to the host presents a significant challenge. The World Health Organization has recently published its first list of health-threatening fungi. This list aims to promote research to enhance the global response to fungal infections and the growing issue of antifungal resistance. One ‘high-priority’ fungus in particular, Candida auris, has mycologists holding their breath due to its rapid global spread and multidrug resistance.
Environments are scattered with the DNA of the organisms that inhabit them. Analyzing this DNA could shine a spotlight on how our planet’s biodiversity is changing, from studies in the depths of the oceans to the frigid polar regions. From a One Health perspective, biodiversity is crucial to promoting healthy ecosystems and healthy people.
But, while methods that sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) are increasingly powerful in detecting species without direct observation, we need increasingly powerful algorithms to make sense of the complex DNA world around us to truly protect our planet's biodiversity.
The UN has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the ten major threats to humanity. In Belgium, AMR is associated with around 8000 deaths per year and contributes to an estimated 4.95 million global human deaths annually, set to almost double by 2050. Unfortunately, there are worryingly few novel antimicrobials in development, and even fewer are currently available to patients with severe infections who need them most. Why?
The One Health vision embraces the fact that we don’t exist in isolation. Human health is closely linked to that of animals and plants, and we’re all bound to the health of the ecosystems we live in. The effect of humans on our interconnected world is undeniable and it’s clear that we must begin to tackle the major threats to human, animal, and environmental health to avoid numerous fundamental crises.
Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges.
Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.
The world is more interconnected than ever. But our global network goes beyond humans: the health of all people on Earth is intimately dependent on the wellbeing of our ecosystems – our animals, plants, microbes, and the atmosphere that sustains us all. In this article, Belgian veterinary scientist Jan Spaas shares his thoughts on the ‘One Health’ approach from the WHO, and the bi-directional link between human and animal health.
Infectious diseases are commonly associated with bacteria and viruses. However, fungi should also be added to this list as there is growing concern that antifungal resistance could be the next global challenge. Moreover, because fungi are eukaryotic like humans, developing targeted treatments without causing toxicity to the host presents a significant challenge. The World Health Organization has recently published its first list of health-threatening fungi. This list aims to promote research to enhance the global response to fungal infections and the growing issue of antifungal resistance. One ‘high-priority’ fungus in particular, Candida auris, has mycologists holding their breath due to its rapid global spread and multidrug resistance.
Environments are scattered with the DNA of the organisms that inhabit them. Analyzing this DNA could shine a spotlight on how our planet’s biodiversity is changing, from studies in the depths of the oceans to the frigid polar regions. From a One Health perspective, biodiversity is crucial to promoting healthy ecosystems and healthy people.
But, while methods that sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) are increasingly powerful in detecting species without direct observation, we need increasingly powerful algorithms to make sense of the complex DNA world around us to truly protect our planet's biodiversity.
The UN has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the ten major threats to humanity. In Belgium, AMR is associated with around 8000 deaths per year and contributes to an estimated 4.95 million global human deaths annually, set to almost double by 2050. Unfortunately, there are worryingly few novel antimicrobials in development, and even fewer are currently available to patients with severe infections who need them most. Why?
Drug repurposing describes the process where drugs originally designed for one condition turn out to be highly effective for another. Historically, drug repurposing has often occurred by chance. However, in the era of big data and artificial intelligence, new data-driven opportunities are arising to discover new roles for old medicines and help patients in unexpected ways.
The One Health vision embraces the fact that we don’t exist in isolation. Human health is closely linked to that of animals and plants, and we’re all bound to the health of the ecosystems we live in. The effect of humans on our interconnected world is undeniable and it’s clear that we must begin to tackle the major threats to human, animal, and environmental health to avoid numerous fundamental crises.
Thankfully, visions like One Health aim to lead multiple sectors, disciplines, and communities in the right direction to find sustainable non-human-centric solutions to these challenges.
Let’s take a look at what One Health is and how the EU and Belgium are playing their part.
The world is more interconnected than ever. But our global network goes beyond humans: the health of all people on Earth is intimately dependent on the wellbeing of our ecosystems – our animals, plants, microbes, and the atmosphere that sustains us all. In this article, Belgian veterinary scientist Jan Spaas shares his thoughts on the ‘One Health’ approach from the WHO, and the bi-directional link between human and animal health.
Infectious diseases are commonly associated with bacteria and viruses. However, fungi should also be added to this list as there is growing concern that antifungal resistance could be the next global challenge. Moreover, because fungi are eukaryotic like humans, developing targeted treatments without causing toxicity to the host presents a significant challenge. The World Health Organization has recently published its first list of health-threatening fungi. This list aims to promote research to enhance the global response to fungal infections and the growing issue of antifungal resistance. One ‘high-priority’ fungus in particular, Candida auris, has mycologists holding their breath due to its rapid global spread and multidrug resistance.
Environments are scattered with the DNA of the organisms that inhabit them. Analyzing this DNA could shine a spotlight on how our planet’s biodiversity is changing, from studies in the depths of the oceans to the frigid polar regions. From a One Health perspective, biodiversity is crucial to promoting healthy ecosystems and healthy people.
But, while methods that sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) are increasingly powerful in detecting species without direct observation, we need increasingly powerful algorithms to make sense of the complex DNA world around us to truly protect our planet's biodiversity.
The UN has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) one of the ten major threats to humanity. In Belgium, AMR is associated with around 8000 deaths per year and contributes to an estimated 4.95 million global human deaths annually, set to almost double by 2050. Unfortunately, there are worryingly few novel antimicrobials in development, and even fewer are currently available to patients with severe infections who need them most. Why?
Drug repurposing describes the process where drugs originally designed for one condition turn out to be highly effective for another. Historically, drug repurposing has often occurred by chance. However, in the era of big data and artificial intelligence, new data-driven opportunities are arising to discover new roles for old medicines and help patients in unexpected ways.