Ending the Pandemic Era: Science at the Animal-Human-Environmental Interface

Emerging Diseases in a Changing Environment

Tuesday, February 7, 2017, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. Central Time

Mississippi Room, Coffman Union

Event Description

The frequency of epidemics arising from viruses spilling over from animal hosts to people is increasing, driven by surging human populations, environmental change, and globalized trade and travel. Recent catastrophic viral disease outbreaks and the dramatic responses to the pandemic threat illustrate that we are ill-prepared to mitigate the impact of viral threats. In an effort to establish a model to move from the current reactive disease response paradigm to one of prevention and preparedness, the USAID’s PREDICT Consortium, led by Prof. Mazet, has designed and implemented a targeted, risk-based strategy, based on detecting viruses early, at their source. Prof. Mazet described PREDICT's work and its results, including the establishment of advanced One Health capacity in more than 30 countries and identification of more than 800 previously undetected viruses, and described additional work that needs to be done in the wake of the PREDICT Consortium's conclusion that only a small proportion of viral threats (estimated to be much less than 1%) have been identified to-date.

Co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment & the Life Sciences, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Prevention (CIDRAP), the Institute on the Environment (IonE), and the Food Protection and Defense Institute.

Commentator

Michael T. Osterholm, PhD, MPH
Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP)
Regents Professor
McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health
Distinguished Teaching Professor, Environmental Health Sciences
Professor, Technological Leadership Institute
Adjunct Professor, Medical School
University of Minnesota

Moderator

Lewis Gilbert, PhD, MS
Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, Institute on the Environment (IonE)
Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Minnesota

Continuing Education Information

Accreditation Statement: In support of improving patient care, University of Minnesota, Interprofessional Continuing Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

American Medical Association (AMA): The University of Minnesota, Interprofessional Continuing Education designates this live activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Other Healthcare Professionals: Nurses, pharmacists and other health care professionals who participate in this CE activity may submit this statement of participation to their appropriate accrediting organizations or state boards for consideration of credit. The participant is responsible for determining whether this activity meets the requirements for acceptable continuing education.

Attorneys: 1.5 standard Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are approved; Event Code is #231143.

Speaker Biography

Jonna Mazet, DVM, MPVM, PhD, is Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology at University of California, Davis, where she is Director of the Wildlife Health Center (WHC), Executive Director of the One Health Institute, and serves on the faculty of the University of California Global Health Institute (UCGHI). Dr. Mazet specializes in wildlife epidemiology and, as Director of the WHC, focuses on balancing the needs of people, wildlife and the environment. As a Professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, she assists government agencies and the public with emerging infectious diseases of wildlife and manages One Health research programs on such subjects as tuberculosis in Africa, disease conflict in Yellowstone National Park and pathogen pollution of California coastal waters. Prof. Mazet is the Principal Investigator and Director on a global early warning system for pathogens of pandemic potential, named PREDICT, which is funded by USAID. Prof. Mazet founded California’s Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN), the premier model wildlife emergency management system worldwide, and remains a consulting expert on wildlife emergency preparedness and response, serving on multiple government and NGO advisory panels.