280 national and international delegates were welcomed to the Teagasc Conference Centre this morning, Wednesday, May 22, where the launch of the first Annual Scientific Meeting of the One Health European Joint Programme (EJP) took place.
The programme was launched by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed, who said the conference – which takes place from May 22-24 – will provide a platform to discuss key issues related to foodborne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in a One Health context.
Meanwhile, the One Health concept recognises that human health is closely connected to the health of animals and the environment.
The subsequent focus of the new One Health EJP, therefore, is to reinforce collaboration between institutes by enhancing transdisciplinary, cooperation and integration of activities, the minister added.
This will be achieved through dedicated joint research projects, the joint integrative project and with education and training in the fields of foodborne zoonoses (FBZ), antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and emerging threats (ET).
‘Improving and enhancing’
During this morning’s launch the minister said that proceedings arose out of participation from the department, Teagasc and NUI Galway in the European Joint Programme on One Health, Zoonoses and Emerging Threats.
All of this, he added, “was coordinated” by ANSES and funded under the EU research and innovation programme in Horizon 2020″.
The One Health European Joint Programme is helping to strengthen cooperation between its 40 partners – including the Med-Vet-Net Association – from 19 EU member states.
Minister Creed continued: “It is aimed at improving and enhancing approaches to detect, monitor and prevent zoonotic micro-organisms and anti-microbial resistance in animals, the environment, the food chain and humans.
“These research centres, most of which have national reference laboratory mandates on foodborne zoonoses, will form an organised network with the aim of promoting scientific progress in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks.”
“We warmly welcome all our European partners to Dublin for this high-level meeting,” he continued.
“I strongly support the work of my department, Teagasc and NUI Galway in collaborating nationally and internationally through the One Health EJP to generate scientific data and knowledge to be used for the analysis of health risks.”
In conclusion, Minister Creed added: “This project will provide a structure for effective interaction with the other EU member states, major EU funded One Health related projects, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the EU Commission.”