Assignment on one health

BEREKET GETNET
NSR/471/12

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 Case one

Investigating Salmonella and Wild Songbirds: A One Health

Approach

During 2020, epidemiologists in Oregon contacted CDC about a peculiar finding a

strain of Salmonella causing human illnesses matched a strain of Salmonella
isolated from a wild songbird, specifically a pine siskin.

Additionally, in late 2020, the Wildlife Health Laboratory in California received an

increased number of reports from the public and other agencies about Salmonella
in wild songbirds. This gave investigators a clue that the two events may be
related.

The focus area was how to prevent and control and the increased numbers of sick
birds, which was concerning because of the potential for infection in people and
other animals that may have contact with birds and bird feeders.

People can get sick when they touch their mouth with unwashed hands after
touching wild birds, bird feeders, bird baths, or pets that have contact with wild
birds. Pets can also get sick if they hunt and catch sick birds or have contact with
bird droppings.

To learn more about the illnesses in people and pets and the die-offs of songbirds,
CDC worked with :

 state and local health departments,

 wildlife departments,
 and wildlife research laboratory networks to identify and sequence
Salmonella isolates

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Public health departments interviewed people infected with Salmonella
Typhimurium to see if they had contact with wild birds before their illness started.

CDC’s role was bringing together partners from multiple states and agencies to
collaborate on addressing this problem. Creating the advice for CDC’s
investigation notice was also a collaborative effort—CDC scientists reviewed
existing scientific literature and consulted subject matter experts to compile
recommendations for safe interaction with wild birds and bird feeders.

The advice included ways to clean and disinfect bird feeders and bird baths, as well
as what to do with dead birds and when it is appropriate to remove bird feeders
completely.

The advice, developed using a One Health approach, was shared by partners to
help prevent further illnesses among people, pets, and wildlife. This was the first
time Salmonella in wild birds was linked to an outbreak of human illnesses.

This investigation led to better understanding of the occurrence and relationship of

Salmonella infections in people, pets, and wildlife. Investigation partners noted
that collaborating with CDC and other health agencies was beneficial because of
the different perspectives brought to this issue at the intersection of human and
animal health.

For example, those working in wildlife were considering human health aspects of
this outbreak, By working together, CDC and state health and wildlife partners
were able to identify links between sick people and wild birds, such as contact with
bird feeders, which may have led to the spread of illness. For wildlife officials,
having CDC involved increased the reach of health messaging to a national level
and helped raise

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 Case two

Understanding Antibiotic Resistance in Water: A One Health

Approach
Antibiotic resistance, the ability of pathogens to defeat the drugs designed to kill
them, can affect many aspects of daily life.

Antibiotics save lives, but any time antibiotics are used—in people, animals, or
crops—they can cause side effects and can lead to antibiotic resistance, making
infections harder or impossible to treat.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens can also share their resistance genes with other
pathogens. Even if they have never been exposed to antibiotics, this allows the
other pathogens to become resistant to antibiotics.

As a One Health issue impacting life across humans, animals, and the environment,
antibiotic resistance is found in one of the most basic resources for life – water.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens and their genes have been found in streams, rivers,
lakes, and oceans. They can often be traced back to discharge flowing from
hospitals, farms, or sewage systems. Even properly functioning wastewater
treatment systems may not fully remove resistant pathogens and their genes.

Focus area: CDC recently sat down with international experts across One Health to
discuss this critical issue and hear more about the important work happening to
track antibiotic resistance in water, examine its impact on public health, and take
action to address this potential threat.

Dawn Sievert, CDC’s Science Advisor for Antibiotic Resistance, served as

moderator, leading off the conversation with Amy Kirby, Program Lead of CDC’s
National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS)

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a surveillance system tracking transmission of various pathogens in communities,
including pathogens that are resistant.

NWSS builds off of a CDC Antibiotic Resistance Solutions Initiative investment to

research antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wastewater, providing critical data from
across the United States to CDC researchers in a matter of hours.

One route antibiotic resistance can enter the environment is through biofilms—a
difficult to remove communal habitat of organisms living on surfaces.

CDC’s Biofilm Laboratory explained that biofilms are an ideal home for antibiotic-
resistant bacteria to live and to share resistance genes.

To eliminate this risk of exposure, CDC’s Biofilm Laboratory, devised a solution

by applying phages viruses that are targeted to kill specific bacteria—directly to
plumbing surfaces in hospitals, a common source of biofilms in health care, to
disintegrate the biofilm structure and destroy the resistant bacteria inside.

They emphasized that this innovative solution keeps resistant bacteria away from
patients and healthcare workers, while also keeping resistant bacteria from entering
wastewater through plumbing.

When resistant bacteria do enter wastewater through plumbing, the effect can be
seen throughout the environment.

Another participant was Veterinary Preventative Medicine at the Ohio State

University discovered that not only do resistant bacteria and their genes exist in the
wastewater of hospitals; they persist in surrounding surface water, river sediment,
and river wildlife, even after the water is decontaminated.

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Antibiotics are not just flowing into the water through wastewater systems. They
are also entering through discharge from pharmaceutical companies, healthcare
facilities, and even human waste.

This discharge can put pressure on bacteria living in water, allowing them to
develop resistance.

These bacteria can then share their genes with other bacteria living in wastewater
and surface waters, potentially exposing surrounding humans and animals.

Case three

CDC’s One Health Office and Georgia Aquarium Work Together to

Investigate Otters with SARS-CoV-2

Like many other zoonotic infectious diseases, SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes
COVID-19 — does not respect species boundaries.

It poses a risk to not only people, but to animals as well. The COVID-19 pandemic
is the latest example of a disease emerging as a result of close contact between
animals and people.

When SARS-CoV-2 broke out among Asian small-clawed otters at Georgia

Aquarium in Atlanta, it was clear that a One Health investigation was needed to
learn how the otters became infected and to prevent the virus from spreading
further to people and other animals.

A One Health approach recognizes the close connection between the health of
people, animals, and their shared environment and the role this connection plays in
the emergence of new diseases.

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To effectively address diseases that threaten people and animals, like COVID-19,
experts across the spectrum of human, animal, and environmental health all need to
work together with the goal of achieving the best health outcomes for people and
animals.

The focus of the investigation was to inform public health and animal health
guidance for those who may come in contact with animals, including public health
professionals, animal health professionals (such as veterinarians), pet owners,
wildlife experts, pet store staff, and many others. which have different needs from
what typical public health guidance usually covers and prevent SARS-CoV-2
infection from animal to human.

In mid-March of 2021, staff at Georgia Aquarium noticed their seven Asian small-
clawed otters were lethargic and not as hungry as usual. By April, the otters were
also showing signs of respiratory illness.

Aquarium veterinary staff first contacted the State Veterinarian’s office and then
the Georgia Department of Public Health to ask for permission to test the otters for
SARS-CoV-2 infection. Their request was approved. To everyone’s surprise, the
results were positive.

CDC’s One Health Office was brought into the conversation to support the
Georgia Department of Public Health investigation into the animals’ infections

The investigation into the Asian small-clawed otters is especially important

because it will help us continue to learn more about SARS-CoV-2 in highly
susceptible animal species.

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Otters are closely related to mink, which are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2
infection and have been infected in large numbers on mink farms around the world
during the pandemic.

Examining infections in otters could add more understanding of why must lids
(animals like otters, mink, ferrets, and badgers) are so susceptible to SARS-CoV-2,
whether they can be re infected, and whether mutations and potential spill over into
other animals or people are possible.

Department of Public Health and their laboratories), and federal level (CDC and
USDA-APHIS), all working together to protect the health of the otters and other
aquarium animals, as well as the health of staff, volunteers, and aquarium visitors.”

No one sector alone can address issues that affect people, animals, and the
environment. By promoting collaboration, communication, and coordination using
a One Health approach across all areas, diseases that cross species boundaries like
COVID-19 can be more effectively and quickly addressed, resulting in better
health outcomes for all.