Collegiate Times

Lonnie J. King, director of the newly formed National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases, gave the keynote address for the Deans' Forum on Infectious Diseases Sunday evening in Burruss Hall Auditorium.

King's presence drew an impressive crowd as he discussed the current risk factors for infectious disease and the concept of "One Health," or the connection of human, animal and environmental health, as the new approach to confronting microbial threats at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

King argued that in terms of infectious disease, our society is currently facing "the perfect microbial storm," the coming together of many variables that allow microbes to increase in numbers and thrive in ways they haven't been able to in the past.

"Microbes continue to adapt to change like they have done for thousands of years, except today they have remarkable opportunities," King said.

He explained these opportunities as a "triple threat" -- the mixing of vulnerable people, exposure to carrier animals and a changing environment.

"There are worlds coming together in terms of convergence -- humans, animals and an environment that's ever-changing and ever-dynamic," King said. "And we need to start addressing these in terms of One Health."

King stressed how improvements in technology have created a beneficial and detrimental amount of access around the world. King said 1.6 billion people travel internationally every year.

"We don't know what is going to happen when we have 90 million people that might have immuno-compromised conditions," King said. "In the world of food-borne illness and water-borne illness, infection opportunities will absolutely be accelerated."

In pointing out that there have been 335 emerging infectious diseases discovered since 1940, and nearly three-quarters of them transmitted from or through animals, King said that "the key risk factor for these diseases is proximity to animal populations and products."

"We are currently living in the Club Med of microbiology," King said with a laugh.

King presented a list of recommendations to curb these increasing threats, designed by various studies and organizations.

They included suggestions such as improving infrastructure and surveillance strategies, increasing research and development investments, focusing on prevention, and building and integrating a new infectious disease workforce.

King suggested solutions would come in the incorporation of many fields, including "ecological sciences, conservation biology, systems engineering and medicine."

"Work toward a resolution comes in this One Health idea -- people moving together and working across disciplines and research lines to get a better understanding of what is happening," King said.

Students who attended the address were impressed by the connections made in King's plan and vision.

"We've always been taught the three separate health aspects and it was nice for him to link them all together and explain what we need to do in terms of One Health," said Stephanie Ripley, a senior biology major.

"It was definitely eye-opening and a new perspective," said fellow senior biology major Kelly Field.

The idea of One Health, as well as the threats and recommendations posited by King, were discussed during Monday's daylong Dean's Forum on Infectious Diseases, particularly in regard to research Virginia Tech professors and faculty are conducting in the field.

This was the fourth Deans' Forum, with the previous three also focusing on topical scientific interests, such as sustainability and nutrition.

The purpose of these forums, as described by Gerhardt Schurig, dean of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, is to "discuss problems confronting society, create growing public awareness of the challenges, and bolster and synergize research at Virginia Tech."