Francesca Vellere

Emerging Zoonoses: the "One Health Approach"

Zoonoses represent a public health risk recently pointed out by the spreading of previously unknown human infectious diseases emerging from animal reservoirs such as severe acute respiratory syndrome and avian influenza caused by H5N1-virus. These outbreaks have shown that animal breeding activities can pose a significant public health risk. Until now, the risk of zoonoses has probably been underestimated, particularly in occupational settings. The emergence or re-emergence of bacterial (Mycobacterium bovis and Brucella spp) or viral (hepatitis E virus) infections shows that zoonoses should be considered as emerging risks in agricultural and animal breeding and should be addressed by specific preventive interventions. Close cooperation and interaction between veterinarians, occupational health physicians and public health operators is necessary, for a worldwide strategy to expand interdisciplinary collaborations and communications in all aspects of health care for humans, animals and the environment. This is what the One Health Approach was intended to be.

A QUICK AND EASY RETRIEVAL OF INFORMATION ON PESTICIDE TOXICITY TO HUMANS AND ENVIRONMENT: PESTIDOC

The extensive use of pesticides in agriculture entails risks for human health and the environment, hence risk assessment and management of pesticide exposure is a key activity in any country, particularly in the developing world. Easy real-time access and retrieval of pesticide related information is essential in any preventive activity, and in any emergency situations. A documentation center on pesticides, “PESTIDOC”, has been created and developed by ICPS, aimed at collecting and recording selected technical and scientific documentation on all the different fields of interest related to pesticides: human health, environmental health, and regulatory issues.