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One health: finding out what’s happening on ‘the other side’ Alexander Stoll, a final-year student at the Royal Veterinary College, was awarded a bursary by the RCVS Charitable Trust to attend the first Veterinary, Biomedical and Pharma Sciences congress, which was held in Birmingham in the autumn. Here, he describes his experiences at the congress, which brought together delegates from a wide range of backgrounds under the theme of ‘Two worlds, one health’ ALMOST 200 delegates, as well as many speakers and exhibitors, attended the inaugural Veterinary, Biomedical and Pharma Sciences (VBMPS) congress, held at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham on October 15 and 16, 2012. Examination of the delegate list provided a hint that this congress was going to be special: among the delegates were representatives from veterinary schools, veterinary pathologists, veterinary industries, zoos, a number of universities, professional societies, pharmaceutical companies, accreditation services, the NHS, biomedical scientists, public health establishments, government laboratories, the Health Protection Agency, agribusinesses, government departments, the veterinary press, forensic entomology and last, but by no means least, basic scientists. The congress included a diverse scientific programme. There were 72 lectures to choose from over two days, split under the headings of ‘Cellular Pathology,’ ‘Haematology and Clinical Chemistry,’ ‘Pharma Science,’ and ‘Microbiology and Infection.’ I managed to attend 21 of the sessions and some messages appeared many times, in different guises, over the course of the congress. ‘Emperipolesis’ is the presence of an intact cell inside the cytoplasm of another cell. This word and concept were new to me, emerging during a lecture on comparative haematology. It derives from the Greek: ‘em’ – inside; ‘peri’ – around; ‘polemai’ – to wander about. Somewhat akin to this, the delegates at the conference immersed themselves in an environment different from the congresses and conferences that they would normally attend. There was certainly an atmosphere of something new and exciting at the VBMPS congress. I spoke to some of the delegates and exhibitors from the field of human medicine. When I asked them why they chose to attend the conference, I discovered they were curious to see what was happening on ‘the other side.’ Some exhibitors were testing the water, to see if they could interest veterinary clinicians and scientists in their 60 | Veterinary Record | January 19, 2013
Alexander Stoll at the Veterinary, Biomedical and Pharma Sciences conference in Birmingham’s International Convention Centre
products, which were initially designed with the intention of entering human healthcare and research. Some of the representatives of veterinary and medical companies told me how they had no idea about some of the technologies and services available in the parallel field. It was apparent that many were talking to each other and realising the potential for collaboration and, in some cases, competition.
Collaboration
Jane Dobson, reader in veterinary oncology at the University of Cambridge, gave two examples of collaboration and the veterinary adoption of research from human medicine in a lecture on canine and feline skin tumours. She explained that squamous cell carcinomas are the most common skin tumour of cats. Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge had developed a treatment called photodynamic therapy, whereby a light-activated drug is applied to a tumour, exposed to light and, in the presence of oxygen, oxidative damage occurs leading to cell death. The drug and the light do not do any harm alone, providing the possibility for targeted therapy. A colleague from Addenbrooke’s Hospital helped to develop a light source suitable to allow the drug to be used in cats, and the resultant response rate was 96 per cent, with almost 50 per cent of cats in the study alive and disease free when assessed a number of years later. In the second example, Dr Dobson described the use of tyrosine kinase
inhibitors in the treatment of mast cell tumours in dogs, allowing a more targeted treatment than conventional chemotherapy. The One Health application is obvious here. These treatments would have been tested on animals before being used in human beings and then returned to the veterinary field.
Working both ways
It must be remembered that, by definition, the One Health concept works both ways. An example can be seen in diagnostics. Most of the equipment and machinery used in veterinary diagnostics has been developed from, or is still the same as, that used in the human field. This was often referred to during the haematology and clinical chemistry lectures. For example, the tubes that blood is collected into are often those used in paediatric medicine. This presents a problem when faced with the task of sampling exotic species where only fractions of a millilitre of blood can be taken. It is also necessary to understand the techniques and technologies being used to ensure they are used appropriately and their limitations acknowledged. In this sense, it is important to have good communication between medical and veterinary practitioners and the services they use, especially when there has been an introduction of technology from one field to another. During some of the cellular pathology lectures, immunohistochemistry (IHC) – using the specificity of antibodies to identify
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News & Reports characteristics of cells – was promoted for tumour classification, prognostic grading, and detection of genetic, metabolic and infectious diseases. The importance of truly understanding the method, reagents and optimising the protocol in question was highlighted by Michal Neta of IDEXX Laboratories. This presentation was followed by an informative overview of the use of IHC in another field, that of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) by Yvonne Spencer of the AHVLA. Here, we heard of the importance of the concept in practical terms. A few delegates expressed their surprise at the spectrum of research utilising IHC, and were keen to discuss the issue further, thereby benefitting from the experiences of a colleague from another field that they would have been unlikely to encounter, had they not attended this congress. Dr Spencer also explained the use of animals for experimentally induced infections and controls. Some of the data from these experiments could be used, along
with archived human tissue material, to extrapolate to the understanding of human TSEs. On a number of occasions during the conference, I heard delegates express surprise that animals can undergo many of the same disease processes as people. The veterinary profession often takes this fact for granted, but the congress was an opportunity for other professionals to see the true value of One Health.
First-person accounts
The One Health concept has become central in public health thinking. Animals not only undergo similar disease processes but also get the same diseases. Rachel Chalmers, head of the National Cryptosporidium Reference Unit (Public Health Wales) gave a lecture discussing new approaches to tackle zoonotic cryptosporidiosis. Her lecture opened with an account from someone who suffered an infection with Cryptosporidium. This was delivered with great empathy. As a vet student, I am not
used to first-person accounts of disease progression. Understanding both the animal and human biology of the disease is critical in the control of Cryptosporidium. Schmallenberg virus is an example of a new virus to emerge in Europe. Richard Elliott, professor of virology at St Andrews university, provided an overview of the virus, demonstrating the approach to emerging diseases. We heard how both veterinary and human biomedical scientists are involved in the investigation of new diseases. The VBMPS congress delivered the One Health message very effectively. It provided an environment for the delegates to network across fields and for the exhibitors to consider branching out to other areas. I am very grateful to the RCVS Charitable Trust for giving me the opportunity to attend this unique congress. A congress of this nature has been long overdue and I hope the 2012 VBMPS congress was the first of many. doi: 10.1136/vr.f287
January 19, 2013 | Veterinary Record | 61
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One health: finding out what's happening on 'the other side' Veterinary Record 2013 172: 60-61
doi: 10.1136/vr.f287 Updated information and services can be found at: http://veterinaryrecord.bmj.com/content/172/3/60
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