Campus News

Mini-symposium will explore climate change, infectious diseases

The concept “One World, One Health” describes an awareness that human, animal and environmental health are all interconnected.  

On April 3, experts from UGA, Emory University and the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom will spend the afternoon sharing their perspectives on how a changing climate might impact the incidence of infectious diseases in both people and animals around the globe.

The mini-symposium, “Climate Change and Environmental Health: Shifting Tides in Disease Emergence?,” will take place from 1-5 p.m. at the Paul D. Coverdell Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences.

Speakers at the One Health mini-symposium are Karen Levy, assistant professor of environment health and epidemiology, Emory University; Erin Lipp, associate professor of environmental health sciences, UGA;  and Matthew Baylis,  professor of epidemiology and population health, University of Liverpool, UK.

 One Health has gained new momentum among medical professionals, veterinarians and scientists in the last decade—particularly in the face of emerging infectious diseases such as Dengue Fever, West Nile and enteric pathogens, according to Susan Sanchez a professor of infectious diseases in the College of Veterinary Medicine and an assistant director in the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute. Sanchez co-organized the event with Duncan Krause, director of UGA’s Faculty of Infectious Disease, as part of her leadership project for the Administrative Fellows Program.

An international One Health symposium will be held at UGA in 2013.