OUR SCIENTIFIC STRATEGY
To better include environmental health and social sciences in future collaborations, the Consortium has updated its 2018 Strategic Research Agenda, which outlined the focus and scope of the EJP’s science strategy, and published a Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) in 2022.
TRAINING THE NEXT GENERATION OF ONE HEALTH SCIENTISTS
The extensive training and education programme aimed to develop the future leaders of One Health, drawing on the expertise held within the Consortium and providing PhD students and early career researchers (ECRs) with access to networking and learning from experts in their respective fields. The One Health EJP co-funded 17 PhD projects that collectively produced 35 peer-reviewed publications and disseminated project results at ~104 national and international conferences. Educational activities brought together students, ECRs, and leading experts in One Health through Summer Schools, Continuing Professional Development modules, Short-term Missions, Webinars, and Workshops, many of which were fully funded by the One Health EJP.
FROM SCIENCE TO POLICY
Stakeholder engagement was a fundamental aspect of the One Health EJP project. ECDC, EFSA, EEA, FAO, WHO, WOAH, and EMA have been involved in the Stakeholder Committee to ensure that the outputs were contributing to address the challenges of the One Health initiative in the EU, as highlighted in the bi-annual meetings. The Consortium has ensured that all scientific outputs of the EJP reach the most appropriate audiences through its targeted dissemination activities (workshops, thematic reports, conference...) to strengthen the application of science to policy. As a result, the EJP’s stakeholders have developed strong collaborative relationships with many of the EJP’s projects.
RESULTS OF INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITIES
Six joint integrative projects funded by the One Health EJP have served as a basis for increasing cooperation by promoting harmonised approaches to strengthen scientific capacity. For instance, MATRIX developed the OH-EpiCap tool to assess the One Health capacities and skills of existing surveillance systems. OH-HARMONY CAP worked on harmonised protocols for detecting foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, while CARE focused on the collection of reference strains with a strain selection tool to ensure quality resources. COVRIN, initiated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, worked on the harmonisation of SARS-CoV-2 risk assessment and surveillance. ORION created a One Health glossary with harmonised surveillance terminology and its work was integrated in the WHO/FAO/OIE SISOT. Finally, COHESIVE has set up a joint risk analysis system for zoonoses and a review of the economic analysis of foodborne zoonoses.
The One Health EJP simulation exercise (SimEx) was an additional activity aimed at testing the capacity, capability, and interoperability of public health, animal health, and food safety actors to work together when dealing with a simulated foodborne disease outbreak scenario.
RESULTS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
The 23 JRPs worked on numerous One Health issues in the following areas: free extracellular DNA, food purchase data, plasmids, toxins, antibiotic resistances (carbapenem, colistin, etc.), detection and surveillance technologies (modelling, Hi-C sequencing, etc.), super-shedders, syndromic surveillance, etc.
A wide range of pathogens has been studied by the JRPs, such as bacteria (Acinetobacter, Brucella, Campylobacter, E. coli, Klebsiella, Ochrobactrum, Salmonella, VTEC), viruses (Hepatitis E) and parasites (Cryptosporidium, Echinococcus, Giardia, Toxoplasma).
The JRPs outcomes concern the following areas:
- Surveillance: Sampling techniques, surveillance assessment, syndromic surveillance, and recommendations
- Laboratory techniques: metagenomics, bioinformatics, microarray, on-site/point-of-Incidence diagnostic methods (Loop-mediated isothermal amplification, Oxford Nanopore Technology, etc.), ELISA and serological tests, mass-spectrophotometry
- Databases, data analysis, data interpretation and reference material: Samples and strains, genome sequences, MALDI-ToF
- Intersectoral communication: source attribution, education and training resources on biosecurity
- Pathogen-specific detection methods: Toxoplasma Gondii, Klebsiella pneumonia, Cryptosporidium and Giardia, Echinococcus multilocularis/granulosus, Brucella
- Action (prevention, treatment, response): Pre- & probiotics, biosecurity measures
SUSTAINABILITY AT ITS CORE
The One Health EJP has worked on its sustainability by advancing state-of-the-art outputs and creating long-term approaches to address microbiological threats to public health. The SRIA highlights the One Health EJP outcomes and provides a sustainability plan with recommended actions to maintain its key results. To ensure the scientific outputs sustainability, the One Health EJP has generated a large inventory of open-access knowledge, available on its website. Dissemination of results has involved effective communication with national and international authorities to share results and outputs for future use. The Med-Vet-Net Association, which includes 18 partners of the One Health EJP, will ensure the long-term sustainability of the outcomes and will continue to train researchers in One Health.
