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Associated projects

Investigations into interactions of zoonotic pathogens in humans and animals (SHIP-NEXT Module One Health)

As part of the population-based project Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP), a third cohort (NEXT) was established in mid-2021. Within the NEXT module “One Health”, animal contacts (dog, cat, poultry, pigeons) of the 4000 randomly selected participants (20-79 years) are examined and risk factors for zoonotic disease transmission as well as husbandry and environmental conditions are recorded in a standardized manner. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the complex interactions between humans, pets, farm animals and the environment as well as factors influencing zoonotic disease transmission in private households in order to raise awareness of the private handling of pets and farm animals.

Biomaterials (blood; rectal/cloacal, throat and nasal swabs; fecal samples) are examined for parasitic (Echinococcus spp., cestodes: dog, cat; Toxoplasma gondii: cat), bacterial (Campylobacter spp.: dog, cat, poultry, human; Borrelia burgdorferi: dog) and viral pathogens (Hepatitis E virus: dog, cat, human; TBE virus: dog, cat, poultry, human). Metagenome sequencing of the gut microbiome will be performed on 450 samples (50 non-animal owners with food-associated exposure; 100 animal owners and 300 animal contacts) to compare bacterial strains and resistance genes. Biomaterials and extracted DNA will be stored in the biobank and will be available for future studies.

The questionnaire will be offered as an online survey to livestock farmers throughout Germany in order to capture regional heterogeneity. Risk assessments and recommendations for livestock farmers will be derived from all the results generated, taking into account literature and expert knowledge. Due to the comprehensive investigation protocol in humans, this One Health approach not only allows risks of zoonotic disease transmission in animal households to be investigated, but also the effects of animal husbandry and investigated zoonotic infections on human health.

Partners

The project is carried out in cooperation between the University Medical Center Greifswald and the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute.

Participating institutes of the University Medicine Greifswald:

  • Institute for Community Medicine
  • Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute for Medical Microbiology
  • Clinic for Internal Medicine A
  • Institute for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine
  • Institute of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine

Participating institutes at the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Riems site):

  • Institute of Epidemiology
  • Institute for New and Novel Animal Pathogens

Funding

Funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag. Project Management Agency: Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE), funding reference 28N203201

Further information:

Website: https://www2.medizin.uni-greifswald.de/cm/fv/ship/ship-next-one-health/

Opportunities to get involved: https://platform.joinus4health.eu/ju4htopic/one-health-in-the-study-of-health-in-pomerania/