One health (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
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Recent international epidemics of coronavirus-associated illnesses underscore the urgent medical and public health need for vaccine development and regulatory body approved therapies. In particular, the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has quickly intensified interest in developing treatment options to mitigate impact on human life. Remdesivir (GS-5734™) is a broad-spectrum antiviral drug that is now being tested as a potential treatment for COVID-19 in international, multi-site clinical trials. ⋯ As the pandemic progresses, information from human compassionate use cases will continue to accumulate before the clinical trials are concluded. It is imperative for public health practitioners and the One Health community to stay up to date on the most promising potential therapeutic options that are under investigation. Thus, the purpose of this review is to synthesize the knowledge to date about remdesivir as a therapeutic option for coronaviruses, with a special focus on information relevant to the One Health community.
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The pandemic of new coronavirus disease COVID-19 is threatening our health, economy and life style. Collaborations across countries and sectors as a One Health World could be a milestone. ⋯ Strengths and limitations are discussed. If considered applicable by public health, the protocol could evaluate the status of COVID-19 epidemics consistently and objectively.
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Human coronaviruses continue to pose a threat to human health. The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in December 2019 which causes coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory disease marked the third introduction of a highly pathogenic coronavirus into the human population in the twenty-first century. ⋯ Covid-19 is a challenge to global public health. Here, we discuss the COVID-19 outbreak in a one health context, highlighting the need for the implementation of one health measures and practices to improve human health and reduce the emergence of pandemic viruses.
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During the first few months of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic reached Europe and spread around the world. Health systems all over the world are trying to control the outbreak in the shortest possible time. Exotic disease outbreaks are not uncommon in animal health and randomised surveillance is frequently used as support for decision-making. This editorial discusses the possibilities of practicing One Health, by using methods from animal health to enhance surveillance for COVID-19 to provide an evidence base fort decision-making in communities and countries.
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There is no doubt that antibiotics have reduced the burden of bacterial infectious diseases. Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effectiveness of successful treatment of infections and constitutes a public health concern with national and global dimensions. This problem is worrisome in war-torn areas like the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. ⋯ The challenges encountered in this region include the shortage of competent laboratories, poor infrastructure and data management, lack of standard protocols, low coverage of surveillance, lack of intersectoral cooperation, and inadequate national, regional and international collaboration. Regarding this situation, the core actions to be undertaken include the establishment of ABR surveillance and monitoring systems, building laboratory capacity for rapid and reliable diagnostic testing, and engagement in national, regional and global surveillance networks. Therefore, this study showed an urgent need for establishing and implementing sentinel site surveillance laboratories and elaborating and implementing national action plans for combating antimicrobial resistance.