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We are excited to celebrate the seventh annual One Health Day. In the last seven years, the number of One Health programs has increased around the globe. Here in the US, One Health training is available in university programs from forestry to veterinary school. We have even seen One Health programs at local universities like NC State University and Duke University.
More education and awareness around One Health help international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to eliminate diseases like rabies. Understanding One Health gives us a better understanding of how we interact with our environment on a day-to-day basis. It also informs how we interact with other people, animals, and the world around us.
As a biotechnology company planted squarely in the middle of the One Health space, we’ve been involved in educating all our stakeholders about One Health topics. We take time to speak with all stakeholders—researchers, clinicians, patients, advocates, and investors—while forming strong relationships with other organizations doing the same kind of educational outreach.
Community Engagement
Community engagement provides us the opportunity to hear from and connect with you. We’re pleased to sponsor Louisiana One Health in Action’s Walk & Wag for One Health as well as Invisible International’s One Health Medical Education Hackathon. In 2022, our CEO Dr. Amanda Elam contributed for the first time to the HHS Tick-Borne Disease Working Group, which was mandated by Congress as part of the 21st Century Cures Act.
Educational Activities
Our scientists continue to publish scientific papers and case studies. Dr. Breitschwerdt regularly provides research presentations, podcast interviews, and CME modules.
We are very excited about a new article called Swamp Boy, a graphic novel presentation of a cat scratch disease (Bartonella henselae) case study that we have been working with for almost two years. The Swamp Boy story was written by Kris Newby and co-published by Vox Media’s Now This and Epic Magazine. This case study follows a 14-year-old boy who suddenly became psychotic and heard his cat telling him to kill his sibling. The parents felt helpless and desperate, and the whole family was frightened.
Seemingly rare zoonotic diseases like bartonellosis are not usually on the differential for psychosis and are rarely considered in cases of neuropsychiatric disease. In this case, correct diagnosis using diagnostic technology available at Galaxy Diagnostics opened the door to an effective treatment for the boy and allowed the family to return to normal life.
Upon reviewing this graphic story of the case, Galaxy Diagnostics CEO Amanda Elam said, “Honestly, these are the stories that keep me and my team going. Innovation is brutally hard work in medicine. We do it for the patients.”
Looking Toward the Future
Our mission at Galaxy is to develop and commercialize more reliable (sensitive and specific) diagnostic tests for vector-borne disease. At the same time, we are very aware that the more the general public understands the One Health perspective, the more awareness there will be for preventing, diagnosing and treating vector-borne disease.
Although progress has been painfully and frustratingly slow, we are seeing real changes in clinical understanding and progress made to the direct benefit of disease prevention and better patient care. On this One Health Day, we look forward to what comes next in our small but critically important corner of emerging infectious disease.