Conservation medicine
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]
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
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
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,
Likewise, the broad topic of
See also
References
- ^ a b "Conservation Medicine Overview". Dr. Sharon Deem. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ PMID 12896870.
- ^ PMC 7122636.
- ISSN 0049-4747.
- PMC 7122636.
- ^ "CDC Newsroom". CDC. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ "One Health news, resources and funding for global health researchers - Fogarty International Center @ NIH". Fogarty International Center. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Working Together for One Health | One Health | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-03-14.
- ^ PMC 7122636.
- ^ a b "One Health Basics | One Health | CDC". www.cdc.gov. 2022-11-08. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "One Health news, resources and funding for global health researchers - Fogarty International Center @ NIH". Fogarty International Center. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "What we do". WOAH - World Organisation for Animal Health. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ US EPA, ORD (2022-10-27). "One Health". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- ^ "Conservation Medicine - Local conservation, global health". Conservation Medicine. Retrieved 2023-03-22.
- Aguirre, A. Alonso; Ostfeld, Richard S.; Tabor, Gary M.; House, Carol; Pearl, Mary C., eds. (2002). Conservation Medicine : ecological health in practice. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-515093-3.
- Aguirre, A. Alonso; Ostfeld, Richard; Daszak, Peter, eds. (2012). New directions in conservation medicine : applied cases of ecological health. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199731473.
- Motavalli, Jim (November 2004). "Connecting the Dots - The Emerging Science of Conservation Medicine Links Human and Animal Health with the Environment". Emagazine.com. Archived from the original on 2005-02-08.
- Motavalli, Jim. "Too Darn Hot Global Warming Accelerates the Spread of Disease", E—The Environmental Magazine, November/December 2004.
- Moss, Doug. "E WORD: Conservation Health", E—The Environmental Magazine, November/December 2004.
- Pokras MA, Kneeland MK (2009) Lead uptake and effects across species lines: a conservation medicine approach. In Ingestion of lead from spent ammunition: implications for wildlife and humans (eds RT Watson, M Fuller, M Pokras, WG Hunt), pp. 7–22. Boise, ID: The Peregrine Fund.