One health day celebration - collaborative efforts to prevent a pandemic in Indonesia
Over the past 30 years, the world has been facing the emergence of new emerging infectious diseases (EID) including zoonoses. Zoonoses are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans and vice versa, such as Avian Influenza / Bird Flu, Ebola, MERS-CoV, Zika Virus and SARS. EIDs and zoonoses usually occur over a wide geographical area, threaten humans and can cause large economic losses.
EIDs and zoonoses control has evolved to incorporate the 'One Health' concept. This is a collaborative effort by various professionals in health sciences, together with related disciplines and institutions who work at the local, national and global levels to achieve an optimal level of health for humans, animals and the environment. One Health is celebrated worldwide every year on November 3rd.
In the recent celebration of One Health Day in Udayana University, Bali organized by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and FAO Indonesia, the Director of Animal Health, Fadjar Sumping Tjatur Rasa explained that efforts to control EIDs and zoonoses are inseparable from three important sectors namely wildlife, animal health and public health . It is known that the emergence of EIDs and zoonoses is closely related to increases in human and animal populations / livestock; rapid urbanization; changes in the agricultural system and land conversion (deforestation); and the globalization of animal trade.
"Wildlife diseases can be transmitted to domestic animals or even directly to humans (spill over). Management of this emergence requires risk mitigation efforts. An important component of this mitigation effort is the ability to detect, report and respond so that disease control can be carried out at the source before infecting or transmitting it to other animals or even to humans, " explained Tjatur Rasa.
In line with Tjatur Rasa, the Director of Prevention and Control of Vector-borne diseases and Zoonoses (P2TVZ), Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, said that controlling zoonoses is very difficult. As an example, avian influenza (bird flu), currently can only be treated with antiviral medicine such as TamiFlu. "Therefore, the 3Es which are the priority of One Health, namely Early Detection, Early Reporting and Early Response must be greatly improved in all sectors," she explained.
FAO ECTAD Indonesia Team Leader, James McGrane admitted, that One Health is easy to say but difficult to implement. He hoped the implementation of the One Health approach in Indonesia can be done more flexibly, but still maintaining high standards and quality implementation. "Taking an example of what has been done by the MoA and FAO together with other stakeholders in controlling rabies in Bali, we have succeeded in developing 'Takgit' Tata Laksana Gigitan or Integrated Bite Management, which has made controlling rabies more effective," McGrane said.
The One Health Day celebration at Udayana University was complemented by discussions with resource persons from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Final semester students from various faculties participated. During the discussion, each involved sector explained how coordination, collaboration and communication within the framework of 'One Health' could keep Indonesia away free from pandemic threats. "Since Indonesia is known as a hotspot for the emergence of new diseases in Asia, working together with all sectors is an absolute necessity," explained Lu'lu Agustina, Head of the Biodiversity Conservation Sub-Directorate, Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University, I Nengah Kerta Besung hoped that students who attended the One Health celebration would become agents of change who could collaborate, coordinate and communicate better in overcoming the threat of pandemic diseases.