One Health
Bats, often seen hanging in dark caves or swarming at dusk, are one of the most iconic Halloween symbols. These creatures of the night are vital to ecosystems as they control insect populations and pollinate plants. However, they can harbor viruses without falling ill; this cannot be said of those they infect. Nearly two decades ago, Raina Plowright, now a disease ecologist at Cornell University, traveled to a remote part of Australia’s Northern Territory to study the Hendra virus in bats, which is carried by flying foxes. The virus first emerged in 1994 and killed 20 horses at a racing stable. Their trainer died and a stable assistant became ill but recovered. This motivated Plowright to further explore…
An analysis of commercial raw cat foods detected disease-causing microbes, including some that are resistant to antibiotics, creating risks for both pets and their owners, according to a new study. The paper, published Sept. 24 in Communications Biology, found Salmonella, Cronobacter and E. coli in such foods as raw or partially cooked meat sold frozen, refrigerated and freeze-dried in stores and online…
Why are eastern rockhopper penguin populations plummeting in New Zealand? What’s a reliable, rapid test for detecting rodenticide poisoning in live birds of prey? How can we use technology to help diagnose wildlife diseases in Nepal while training local scientists? These pressing questions are driving the three projects receiving inaugural awards from the Catalyzing Conservation Fund (CCF), a newly launched grants program from the Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health (CYCWH). The CCF provides catalytic seed funding to faculty and other researchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) to spur innovation and leadership, generate on-the-ground results, and ultimately deliver…
Bird flu is on the move—spreading among wild birds, poultry, dairy cows and, occasionally, humans. As cases in cats rise, the Cornell Feline Health Center (FHC) has mobilized its Rapid Response Fund (RRF), awarding nearly $400,000 to establish the Cornell Feline Health Center Feline H5N1 Consortium, a team of Cornell researchers focused on investigating the virus’ spread and impact on the species. The grant is the latest of over a dozen supporting urgent, high-impact research on emerging threats to feline health that cannot await submission through the annual Cornell Feline Health Center grants program, which has provided over $7,000,000 in funding to feline -focused Cornell researchers in the past 25 years…
Juvenile and subadult bats may be the most likely to spread new coronaviruses to other species, according to a Cornell study published July 17 in Nature Communications. Dr. Raina Plowright, the Rudolf J. and Katharine L. Steffen Professor of Veterinary Medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine, and colleagues unveiled new insights into the natural dynamics of coronaviruses circulating in wild bats, which are their reservoir hosts. When young bats are weaned, they’re more prone to viral infections, and more likely to shed those viruses into the environment…
If there was one thing we learned from COVID, it was the need for rapid, accurate, point-of-care testing to help contain the virus before it had spread silently to many others. It was years before we had these effective tools and could properly apply them in real time to real patients. Today, the same problem exists in animals for H5N1 bird flu, where the virus spreads through flocks before we know that even a single bird is infected…
During my internship at the Italian National Institute of Health, I contributed to a One Health study in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The primary objective of this study was to assess the integration of One Health approaches into the country’s preparedness, surveillance, and control strategies for identified pathogens. My role involved generating a country profile through an extensive literature review, identifying pathogens of One Health significance (e.g. zoonotic and vector-borne diseases), and preparing a prioritization exercise plan for stakeholders. I also identified the indictors necessary for…
My Applied Practice Experience (APEx) deliverable was a policy case study on the integration of climate change, planetary health, and One Health into the medical curriculum at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College (KCMUCo) in Tanzania. Prior to travel, I studied Swahili and worked with medical students from KCMUCo to perform a literature review. In Tanzania, we conducted stakeholder interviews before presenting our case study to the KCMUCo community. We were invited to present our work at the annual meeting of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health. My second…
The World Health Organization (WHO) is on the verge of adopting the world’s first binding international agreement focused on pandemic prevention. This landmark development, schedule for potential ratification at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025, adopts a crucial One Health approach, emphasizing the global need to curb pandemic risks at the human-animal-environment interface. Dr. Raina Plowright, Rudolf J. and Katharine L. Steffen Professor of Veterinary Medicine, along with colleagues on the Lancet Commission on Prevention of Viral Spillover, published their comment piece on the agreement in the Lancet on April 3. “Pandemics are collective action problems that can only be addressed through…
My colleagues at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Dr. Kathryn Fiorella and her PhD student, veterinarian Eric Teplitz, have been working to examine interactions among environmental change, livelihoods, food systems, and nutritional security. They focus on fisheries and the households that rely on the environment to access food and income. In Lake Victoria, Kenya, they maintain a close connection with both Kenyan fish farmers and scientists at the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). In November 2024, I traveled with them to assist with training fish farmers on the shores of Lake Victoria in Kisumu, Kenya…
Avian influenza – which has devastated poultry flocks, wildlife populations and increasingly poses a public health risk – has now been confirmed in wild bobcats in New York state. In a new study, published March 25 in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, researchers tracked live bobcats in the state and found widespread exposure to avian flu, with evidence of bobcats surviving but also succumbing to the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain. The research further documents increasing avian influenza cases in mammals and underscores the importance of proactive wildlife disease monitoring…
Dr. Craig Stephen and Dr. Marcela Uhart, leading experts in wildlife health and the One Health paradigm – the interconnectedness of human, animal and ecosystem health and well-being – have been selected as the inaugural Cornell K. Lisa Yang Center for Wildlife Health Distinguished Speakers. The event will be held March 28, noon to 2 p.m., at the College of Veterinary Medicine’s CVM Center, Yarnell Lecture Hall (LH4). Stephen, an internationally recognized leader in the field of One Health, will present “Lessons from the Field for Future Readiness in an Era of Polycrisis.” Uhart, a world-renowned wildlife veterinarian, will discuss “Why H5N1 Avian Influenza is a Daring Experiment in Global Health.”