Human and animal sentinels for shared health risks

Area of Science:

• Environmental health
• Epidemiology
• One Health

Background:

• Sentinel health event tracking is established for human and animal populations individually.
• Historical use of sentinel species (e.g., canaries in mines) demonstrates potential for shared risk detection.
• Current limitations include professional and data segregation between human and animal health sectors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the unrealized potential of linking human and animal health information for shared environmental risk detection.
• To identify barriers and opportunities for integrating surveillance data across species.
• To highlight the role of emerging initiatives and technologies in enhancing sentinel event monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing practices in human and animal health surveillance.
• Analysis of barriers to data sharing and interdisciplinary collaboration.
• Examination of the potential impact of the One Health initiative, informatics, and genomics.

Main Results:

• The full potential of linking animal and human health information for shared environmental risk warning remains largely untapped.
• Professional and data silos hinder the integration of surveillance systems.
• Evidence gaps exist regarding the interconnected responses of humans and animals to environmental hazards.

Conclusions:

• Integrating human and animal health surveillance offers a powerful approach to detecting and managing shared environmental health threats.
• The One Health initiative, advancements in informatics, and genomics are crucial for overcoming current limitations.
• Improved knowledge sharing about sentinel events is essential for reducing trans-species health risks.