Re-Launch of One Health Certificate

Interim Chair Dr. Sabo-Attwood has officially announced the re-launch of the College of Environmental and Global Health’s One Health Certificate Program for the Summer of 2015.

Requirements for the certificate will remain  the same as previous years and to complete the program, students will have to apply and successfully pass a total of 4 courses (9 credits) before they graduate

The courses are:

  • PHC 6313 – Environmental Health Concepts
  • PHC 6515 – An introduction to Entomology Zoonotic Diseases & Food Safety
  • PHC 6006 – Introduction to OH problem solving
  • PHC 6561 – Laboratory Methods for One Health

Dr. Sabo-AttwoIMG_9274od writes: “The super exciting news is that we have made a few changes to the PHC 6006 and 6561 courses. To complete these courses students will have a unique opportunity to address these issues in a field course in western Kenya

The setting spans rural and urban environments, where animals are an integral part of household survival strategies, providing food and income. At the same time, animals that are kept in close contact with the family create transmission risks for important enteric pathogens.  In addition to causing diarrhea in children, these infections can also contribute to under-nutrition which has acute and chronic consequences. This is exactly the kind of interdependent problem that requires the interdisciplinary perspective embodied in One Health.

The program will be an intensive, hands-on 2 week experience. Students will take Laboratory Methods for One Health (1 credit) and Problem Solving in One Health (2 credits). The laboratory course will give student knowledge and hands on experiencing using microbiology, molecular methods, and other methods to assess environmental contaminants (e.g. food, water, soil), animals (stool), and humans (stool). Hands on experiences will focus on zoonotic enteric pathogens, along with others. The problem solving course will expose students to various quantitative and qualitative methods for understanding human-animal-environment interactions and developing appropriate solutions. This includes surveys, focus group discussions, and mapping. Students will use these skills to assess different aspects of human-animal interactions in enteric transmission in this peri-urban setting. Data collected and analyzed in the laboratory course will be used within the problem solving course. Students will develop a group project that will be presented to community members, leaders, and health officials.

Students will work with students and staff from the Great Lakes University of Kisumu, as well as the Kenya Medical Research Institute. These interactions will provide students with a unique perspective and insight into these and other global health challenges.

In order to maintain small group size, the size of the course will be limited to 6-9 students. Students will be secured a spot based on a first come basis. For this year, we are waiving the fees associated with travel to Kenya and lab supplies for EGH students.  EGH students that apply for the certificate program will be given priority but we may open up the field courses to EGH students that are interested in only the lab portion (Kenya courses) and non EGH students if we have remaining spots.  I am requesting that those students interested email me (sabo@phhp.ufl.edu) ASAP to let me know you are interested. The dates of travel to Kenya will be from June 20 – July 4 so time is short to get this organized.”

The other 2 courses (6313, 6515) are both offered online this summer.