Looking beyond human health

An NUS-led multidisciplinary team suggested that an effective and ethical global approach to dealing with infectious diseases such as SARS, bird flu and H5N1 influenza, while placing human health as the central focus, needed to take into account animal and environmental health as well. The paper, the first of its kind worldwide, was published in the journal PLOS One in January.

Led by Assistant Professor Tamra Maree Lysaght from NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine), the researchers consisted of NUS Medicine Professor Paul Anantharajah Tambyah and Dr Michele Marie Bailey, Director of Lab Animals Centre, as well as collaborators from other agencies. The team studied the conceptual and ethical priorities of One Health — an interdisciplinary collaborative approach to human and animal health that aims to dissect conventional research and policy silos.

A panel of 32 opinion leaders, with areas of expertise ranging from infectious diseases and veterinary medicine to environment and wildlife conservation, were recruited for the study.

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