Ethiopia relies on livestock. They are crucial to the livelihoods of the majority of the country’s population and to the country’s economy. However, infectious diseases impact the health of livestock in Ethiopia, making antimicrobials vital in combating these diseases. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognised as a significant threat to global health. Estimates have highlighted that drug resistant infections will cause 10 million extra deaths a year and cost the global economy up to $100 trillion by 2050. The highest mortality due to AMR will be found on the African continent.
PPRV research update – Camilla Benfield reports
The exotic location of RVC Potters Bar has been the setting for my PPRV research since my first blog. My research trips to Tanzania and Glasgow, generously supported by The Soulsby Foundation, are scheduled for Spring 2019.
Soulsby Foundation names recipients of inaugural One Health travelling fellowships
From left: Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health & Social Care;
The Hon Mrs Katrina Bulloch (daughter of Lord Soulsby); Dr Camilla Benfield, Soulsby Fellow;
Dr Andrew Stringer, Soulsby Fellow;
Dr Judy MacArthur Clark, Chair, Board of Trustees – The Soulsby Foundation.
The Soulsby Foundation has awarded the inaugural Soulsby Travelling Fellowships to Dr Camilla Benfield and Dr Andrew Stringer to support their work in the international field of One Health which focuses on the essential links between human and animal health.
Tanzania and the Peste des petits ruminants virus, or ‘PPRV’
I’m a Lecturer in Virology at the Royal Veterinary College. I’ve been there for 5 years now and it’s a role in which I balance research and teaching. I always had a strong zoological interest and my realisation that vets could make broad impacts on global health was what drove me back from the Bedfordshire fields into a lab at Cambridge Vet School to do my PhD in molecular virology. There’s more on my career path in a Veterinary Record article ‘From herpetology to virology: how did that happen?’.
Ethiopia and a Global One Health Challenge
Welcome to this first blog post! I graduated with a veterinary degree from the University of Liverpool in 2005 and immediately spent time volunteering for a veterinary charity in Morocco. This experience provided me with an appreciation of the important role animals have in the livelihoods of communities in Africa. This was my first exposure to One Health – the recognition that the health of animals and the health of humans are intrinsically linked.
Listen to Lord Soulsby obituary on BBC R4 Last Word
Among many obituaries profiling the life and work of Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, who died on 8 May 2017, was a recent episode of BBC Radio 4’s Last Word. Listen to presenter Mathew Bannister talking to Lord Soulsby’s daughter Kate Bulloch and colleague Dr Judy MacArthur Clark. (Start listening at 7.19 minutes).
Welcome to The Soulsby Foundation website
Applications will be invited for Soulsby Travelling Fellowships once registration with the Charity Commission is completed.
We look forward to reading contributions to this blog from Soulsby Travelling Fellows in due course.