Ti trovi qui: Home » Notizie

"One Health Drug Discovery in Parasitic Diseases" - Virtual meeting 21 and 22 July 2021

Department of Life Sciences, Unimore
One Health Drug Discovery in Parasitic Diseases Virtual Meeting
21-22 July 2021- Modena, Italy

 

Drug Discovery in Parasitic Diseases
Viewed globally, parasitic diseases pose an increasing threat to human health and welfare. Leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis continue as a cause of suffering for many millions of people in both
tropical and subtropical zones of the world, and in the last 25 years, malaria has made a comeback and
remains one of the greatest threats to the health and economic prosperity of mankind. However, the available therapeutic tools for the treatment of most parasitic diseases are extremely limited. Many of them were developed in the first part of this century and are not without risk.
The development of parasites resistant to many of the available drugs is also responsible for the depressing picture of disease persistence and death. Drug resistance is spreading faster than ever, new drugs are not being developed quickly enough and potential vaccines have so far not fulfilled expectations in field trials. Although alternative antiparasitic drugs are urgently needed, the response to this crisis is inadequate. The field suffers not so much from a lack of promising scientific approaches, but a severe lack of funding and commitment from both public sector agencies and the pharmaceutical industry to convert these approaches into new drugs. (www.who.int)

What is “One Health approach”?
'One Health' is an approach to designing and implementing programs, policies, legislation, and research in which multiple sectors communicate and work together to achieve better public health outcomes.
The areas of work in which a One Health approach is particularly relevant include food safety, the control of zoonoses (diseases that can spread between animals and humans, such as flu, rabies, and Rift Valley Fever), and fighting antibiotic resistance (for instance, by decreasing intensive farming). Many of the same microbes infect animals and humans, as they share the ecosystems they live in. Efforts by just one sector cannot prevent or eliminate the problem. For instance, rabies in humans is effectively prevented only by also targeting the animal source of the virus (for example, by vaccinating dogs).
Information on influenza viruses circulating in animals is crucial to the selection of viruses for human vaccines for potential influenza pandemics. Drug-resistant microbes can be transmitted between animals and humans through direct contact between animals and humans or through contaminated food, so to effectively contain it, a well-coordinated approach in humans and in animals is required. (www.who.int)

Zoonoses
A zoonosis is an infectious disease that has jumped from a non-human animal to humans. Zoonotic pathogens may be bacterial, viral, or parasitic, or may involve unconventional agents and can spread to humans through direct contact or through food, water, or the environment. They represent a major public health problem around the world due to our close relationship with animals in agriculture, as companions and in the natural environment. Zoonoses can also cause disruptions in the production and trade of animal products for food and other uses.
Zoonoses comprise a large percentage of all newly identified infectious diseases as well as many existing ones. Some diseases, such as HIV, begin as a zoonosis but later mutate into human-only strains. Other zoonoses can cause recurring disease outbreaks, such as Ebola virus disease and salmonellosis. Still others, such as the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, have the potential to cause other global pandemics. Zoonotic pathogens can spread to humans through any contact point with domestic, agricultural, or wild animals. Markets selling the meat or by-products of wild animals are particularly high risk due to the large number of new or undocumented pathogens known to exist in some wild animal populations.
Agricultural workers in areas with a high use of antibiotics for farm animals may be at increased risk of pathogens resistant to current antimicrobial drugs. People living adjacent to wilderness areas or in semi-urban areas with higher numbers of wild animals are at risk of disease from animals such as rats, foxes, or raccoons. Intensive urbanization, and the destruction of natural habitats, increase the risk of zoonotic diseases by increasing contact between humans and wild animals. (www.who.int)

Anthroponoses
Anthroponoses refer infectious diseases of humans that can be transmitted naturally to other animals. It is a reverse of the zoonosis wherein a pathogen or a parasite infects primarily an animal but can also infect and cause disease (usually with more symptoms) in humans. The disease transferred by a human host to an animal host may cause the same disease or a different disease in the animal host. Examples of an anthroponosis are leishmaniasis and tuberculosis, although both may also serve as a zoonotic disease. The mode of transmission of anthroponotic diseases is usually through skin contact. Primates are also usually the type of animals that become prone to acquiring infectious diseases of humans. That is because humans and other primates due to their extensive biological similarities. Primates in enclosures such as zoos and research facilities are usually at risk to anthroponosis. One of the preventive measures of transmitting diseases between humans and these animals is by administering vaccines to them that are similarly given to humans.

Environmental Medicine
Environmental medicine (EM) is a relatively new branch of medicine that explores how the environment interacts with the human body – especially the physical, mental, and emotional responses to environmental factors. Environmental medicine dovetails with other branches of medicine including toxicology, industrial medicine, and public health. EM uses a holistic, systems-wide based model to evaluate how various toxins, pollutants, chemicals, and microbes may be compromising the body.
Those working in environmental medicine leverage the concept of cumulative toxic load – low-level exposure and interaction with various substances in food, water, air, homes, and communities – over time that may compromise fundamental systems which maintain overall wellness and support healthy aging. This field explores the link between the environment and the documented rise in chronic illnesses like cancer, metabolic, neurological, and endocrine disorders. (www.who.int)

The Sustainable Agenda Program: 2030 World Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. The 17 Goals were adopted by all UN Member States in 2015, as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which set out a 15-year plan to achieve the Goals.
Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the Goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. 2020 needs to usher in a decade of ambitious action to deliver the Goals by 2030.
Numerous civil society leaders and organizations have also called for a “super year of activism” to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, urging world leaders to redouble efforts to reach the people furthest behind, support local action and innovation, strengthen data systems and institutions, rebalance the relationship between people and nature, and unlock more financing for sustainable development.
More people around the world are living better lives compared to just a decade ago. More people have access to better healthcare, decent work, and education than ever before. But salary inequalities and climate change are severely threatening to undo the gains. Investment in inclusive and sustainable economies can unleash significant opportunities for shared prosperity. And the political, technological, and financial solutions are within reach. But much greater leadership and rapid, unprecedented changes are needed to align these levers of change with sustainable development objectives. (www.un.org)

Organization (Drug Discovery & Biotechnology Laboratory)
Maria Paola Costi (mariapaola.costi@unimore.it)
Lorenzo Tagliazucchi (lorenzo.tagliazucchi@unimore.it)
Giulia Malpezzi (giulia.malpezzi01@universitadipavia.it)
Greta Fiorini (g.fiorini@hotmail.it)
Chiara Ronuncoli (c.ronuncoli@gmail.com)

Flipbook link

 

[Ultimo aggiornamento: 18/07/2021 20:32:46]

Documento: One_Heslth_Flyer