About
About
The Need for One Health in Kentucky
Kentucky is a strong agricultural state with almost 14 million acres of farmland covering over 50% of the state. The Kentucky poultry industry is No. 7 in the country and growing, and the sheep industry has grown 21% since 2021. Kentucky is the No. 1 cattle production state east of the Mississippi River, is No. 5 in the nation in raising goats and boasts a $23.4 billion world-class equine industry.
Health threats caused by infectious diseases are a challenge that requires cross-disciplinary approaches involving human, animal and environmental health experts. Human, animal and plant diseases caused by pathogens transmitted by arthropod vectors (e.g., mosquitoes and ticks) are on the rise and have recently emerged as funding priorities by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other federal agencies.
Ticks that carry Lyme disease were found in 32 counties in Kentucky, and the Borrelia burgdorferi pathogen was detected in ticks collected from 14 counties. Kentucky experiences some of the highest incidence rates for ehrlichiosis nationwide. Ehrlichiosis is caused primarily by the pathogen Ehrlichia chaffeensis and can be transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks, including Amblyomma americanum. A recent survey found A. americanum in 77 Kentucky counties, and the pathogen Ehrlichia chaffeensis was detected in ticks collected from 32 counties. Alpha-gal syndrome or red meat allergy is associated with A. americanum tick bites. A. americanum is the most abundant tick found in Kentucky. Therefore, there is a potential threat of increasing alpha-gal syndrome in the population of Kentucky exposed to these ticks. Recently, the invasive Asian longhorned tick was found in Floyd, Martin, Metcalfe, Madison, Breathitt, Perry, Boone, Garrard, Barren and Laurel counties. This tick can vector the pathogen Theileria that causes extreme blood loss in wildlife and farm animals.
Assembling UK and Kentucky government personnel working on human, animal and environmental health could lead to the development of cross-disciplinary approaches to finding solutions for early detection and managing emerging infectious diseases in the interface of human-animal-environment. The main goal of UK One Health (UKOH) is to bring together faculty, staff and trainees from various UK colleges and state agencies to increase awareness of One Health and identify and solve health threats to humans, animals and the environment through multidisciplinary collaborations.
Funding
UKOH is part of The Bill Gatton Foundation Grand Challenges, selected projects that will significantly impact communities in Kentucky and beyond from the $100 million gift through The Bill Gatton Foundation in 2023.
