Editorial: Veterinary Public Health: Veterinary Medicine’s Current Challenges in a Globalised World

Reinhard Fries ^1* Diana Meemken ¹ Ivan Nastasijevic ² Suporn Thongyuan ³

• ¹ Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
• ² Institute of Meat Hygiene and Technology, Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
• ³ Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

Domestic animals serve as working animals (including the sports sector) and companion or pet animals; many are kept as food animals. The global existence of stray animals is a challenge considering their well-being and their role in transmitting zoonoses.Transfer of zoonotic agents is a normal and well-known biological phenomenon. Every substance is a possible carrier, a favourable environment increases the risk of transfer. So, capacity and competence for intervention is crucial to keep a situation at risk under control. In practicing Veterinary Medicine (VM), we have at least two main branches: Clinical resp. curative VM and preventive Veterinary Public Health (VPH). Animal keeping is globally not uniform, the (local) society with its culture and customs plays a major role. In VM, local circumstances determine the profile of the profession, too. Lifestyle in industrialised countries is different from the situation in developing countries: In industrialised countries, the focus of VM is frequently directed towards companion animals, tools and equipment of sometimes almost human medicine level are used, the sector has a high standing in the public. VPH is population and preventive medicine, it is food safety and cares for animal well-being. VPH cares for the complete local animal population and should adapt to the regional circumstances, it stands for a horizontal and interdisciplinary approach: The scope of interventions/ solutions depends on the individual case. Because of the global importance of VPH, Information Technology (IT) is an important medium and might serve as an easy to do alternative in communication and for training purposes. With new IT- technologies, information travels faster than the agent/disease, the first time in history. Regarding the very different local challenges, IT- based communication, also Open Access Journals could be useful, local information can be communicated on a geographically broader level. Health and disease situations are not so stabile at all, legislation must adapt to the situation in case of need. It is not enough to describe VPH as a domain of legislation and of administration; students must understand the background and sense of a legislative intervention. Contributions to this Topic came from the global south and the global north. The personal issue was apparently considered as major point. Two papers discussed the ethical sector, raising the question, how we deal with laboratory animals, stray dogs and stray cats. It appears, that contributions indicate a lack of practical realisation of (new) ideas (e.g., “One-Health”, “Animal Agency”, “Antibiotic Stewardship”). In consequence, (university) curricula are a central means for future development of VPH and for better understanding what VPH means. Depending on geography and history, our attitude against animals is different, call it the ethical line of a society against animals. For laboratory animals, Ameli & Krämer raise specific questions regarding the “Culture of Care” for them. The term generally means a positive attitude towards the animals. The authors asked experts from institutions throughout Germany for their position. To keep stray dogs and cats under control, an Ethical Population Management Program (EPMP) has been established on a university campus in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Bicalho et al. studied its efficacy and campus users' perception of the program. The measures taken in the program were widely endorsed. Diseases do not know borderlines, so, contact between neighbours is a basic condition for successful veterinary measures. Auplish et al. analysed the capacity of field veterinary staff in Vietnam for disease prevention, preparedness and intervention. Vertically, training and competence were more limited at the district and commune as compared to the national level. On the local level (horizontally), the authors found inequities, too. As a special sort of intervention, the One-Health-One-Medicine”- concept has been discussed for years, for a smooth acceptance and performance in practice, the idea must be distributed already during study in both professions. In the study of Nyokabi et al. I, vet students from Ethiopia were aware of the public health risks posed by zoonoses and of the important role of cooperation between human and veterinary medicine. However, they showed poor knowledge regarding infection control measures/ biosecurity or measures to reduce occupational risks. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has compiled a list of competencies, which veterinarians need to support national veterinary services. Respecting this list, Ethiopia has implemented a new national curriculum. Bessler et al. identified barriers for the practical implementation in Ethiopia: the organisation of veterinary services, inspection and certification procedures, practical application of the regulatory framework for disease prevention and control, furthermore, shortage of teaching & training material and financial constrains. A major point of VPH is antimicrobial resistance. Lekagul et al. describe the Voluntary Optimization of Antimicrobial Consumption (VOAC) programme, it’s background and the participants in Thailand.Antimicrobial resistance does not only concern food animals, resistance might also start on the sector of companion animals. Sandell et al. studied the knowledge on antimicrobial drug use and resistance among support staff of veterinary clinics. The authors introduce an “Antibiotic Stewardship Program”, i.e. protocols, programs or other materials that promote appropriate use of antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance was well known, while antimicrobial stewardship was underestimated and not frequently established. For cattle, Nyokabi et al. II investigated the competence of practising vets in Ethiopia. Vets were able to identify diseases, however, they did not find it so important to draw consequences on the field of public disease surveillance. In addition to traditional “meat inspection” prior to and immediately after slaughter, the “food chain” approach was established, triggered by the BSE- disaster in the 90`s and the first years of this millennium. Inspection procedures for food animals may depend on the local situation, information about the history of an animal or a herd may not be available. Bekele Atoma et al. conducted a study in Ethiopia, sheep and goats came from the Ethiopian Highlands. Food chain information was not available, the traditional inspection at the abattoir was applied. Gross lesions were observed in livers and lungs, the authors summarize, that reduction of parasitic burden and improved handling could increase the profitability of the small ruminant meat sector in Ethiopia. Nyokabi et al. addressed the VPH sectors of infection/ zoonoses control and biosecurity measures in Ethiopia. The authors found gaps in the respective knowledge of students. It follows, that students should be able to keep up with the challenges of “Day 1” of their professional life. In that sense, Hoet et al. presented a procedure guiding veterinary educational institutions in improving their curriculum for VPH and population medicine. Blueprint was a standard curriculum composed by WOAH (see also Bessler et al.). Failures in treatment of single animals may contribute to local or regional health problems, e.g. the appearance of resistance. Nyokabi et al. I stress the importance of students’ access to information about zoonoses risks, infection control and biosecurity measures, which might affect also the handling persons themselves in case of a zoonotic disease.Finally, we should be aware of the personal pressure during occupational life. Neubauer et al. interrogated all registered vets and VM- students in Austria. Administration, animal suffering and communication of different sort with animal owners were most burdensome for veterinarians. Students were already aware of the coming occupational stress; however, they anticipated as coming stress other factors than the graduated colleagues had expressed.