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Georgia’s One Health approach to combat vector-borne diseases

With vector-borne diseases accounting for over 17% of infections worldwide, linking human, animal, and environmental health is essential. Discover how Georgia’s One Health approach is effectively combating vector-borne diseases like Q-fever.

In 2023, Georgia embraced a One Health approach by adopting a One Health National Action Plan, aimed at addressing the spread of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases.

Collaboration between primary agencies  in charge of protecting human, animal, and environmental health  in  Georgia—the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), National Food Agency (NFA), State Laboratory of Agriculture (SLA)—and international organisations, including the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) has already led to progress in controlling vector-borne diseases. One such vector-borne disease is Q-fever, an illness spread by ticks which affects mammals, birds, reptiles, arthropods and humans.  

Vector-borne diseases, which are infections spread through organisms like mosquitoes, midges and ticks, account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases worldwide. And, due to climate change, vectors are more likely to survive in places where they had previously been absent, paving the way for outbreaks in those areas. This interaction between environment and vectors makes controlling the spread of vector-borne diseases especially dependent on multi-sectorial collaboration. “As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Vasili Basiladze, Deputy Head of NFA and WOAH Delegate for Georgia, “Addressing animal health is crucial to preventing outbreaks in humans. A One Health approach facilitates the early detection and control of such diseases.”  

One Earth, One Health

The One Health approach recognises that humans, animals, plants and ecosystems are interdependent, and so is their health. It encourages collaboration between sectors and disciplines to prevent, detect, and respond to emerging diseases effectively.

Collaboration to combat vector-borne diseases

No stranger to multi-sectoral partnership, Georgia’s NFA has worked collaboratively with SLA and NCDC since 2012 to facilitate data-sharing and support information flow between agencies. However, its adoption of a One Health National Plan has increased the scope and impact of disease control and prevention measures. “Vector-borne diseases have become a significant public health issue in Georgia,” says Basiladze, “The country has made significant progress in controlling them, but ongoing efforts were needed to monitor and manage the risk of disease.”  

Georgia hosted several multi-sector roundtables focused on assessing risk and the potential impacts of emerging and re-emerging vector-borne diseases. These were attended by WOAH, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

These multi-discipline meetings focused on enhancing prevention and control measures—including public awareness campaigns, vector control initiatives, and risk assessments which, with respect to Q-fever, is welcome in the region. “Georgia currently lacks a formal legal framework for managing Q-fever,” explains Basiladze, “While it has not reached the epidemic levels seen in some countries, it causes risks—particularly in rural farming communities. WOAH’s role is crucial as it develops international standards and supporting frameworks.” 

Setting up for success 

Georgia’s efforts align with the One Health Joint Plan of Action initiative. This plan seeks to integrate systems and build capacity to collectively tackle health threats at the animal-human-environment interface with specific attention given to controlling and eliminating endemic zoonoses, neglected tropical diseases, and vector-borne diseases. 

Basiladze encourages other countries looking to implement a One Health approach to engage in active coordination and joint health workshops. “It is also crucial to elaborate a unified health action plan,” he advises, “Create a list of priority disease in the country, and conduct a joint risk assessment.” From there, countries can begin to implement basic One Health measures like vaccination, active and passive surveillance, treatment and awareness campaigns to educate farmers and the broader public about animal diseases.  

His emphasis on collaboration and joint health efforts perfectly reflects the core principle of One Health: diseases cannot be contained in silos; their treatment requires multi-sectoral cooperation. One Health ensures that all sectors and disciplines contribute to protecting the health of animals, humans and the environment. One Health initiatives, like Georgia’s, enable Veterinary Services, communities, international organisations and public health sectors to work together to prevent the spread of disease. Because animal health is our health. It’s everyone’s health.