One Health Challenge Logo Contest

Win $150 from SAVMA! The new theme for the 2011 and 2012 One Health Challenge is Vector-borne disease which refers to viral, bacterial or parasitic diseases that are transmitted from one individual to another through animal vectors. Arthropods, such as mosquitoes and ticks are classic examples of vectors that transmit disease through their feeding habits. Many pathogens have evolved to incorporate these vectors into their lifecycle. Vectors subsequently infect multiple vertebrate species and can create reservoir hosts that maintain the disease prevalence.

The environment, including climate and the population density of the reservoir hosts, heavily influences the prevalence of VBD. With the emerging concerns about global warming, as well as rapid population growth in many countries in the world, it is expected that the prevalence of VBD will increase substantially in the future. Other challenges in controlling VBD include:

• the development of resistance to insecticides and therapeutic drugs by the vectors and pathogens
• decreased resources for surveillance, prevention and control
• ill-prepared or lack of health care infrastructure, especially in developing countries
• changes in agriculture, habitat loss/deforestation
• increased global travel

For these reasons, effective control of VBD requires a multidisciplinary approach. Understanding the vector ecology is the first step. By understanding what conditions the vector requires for reproduction and development, we can develop methods to eliminate or dramatically reduce their numbers which in-turn will decrease disease prevalence.

We believe that the Vector-borne disease theme will enable the One Health Challenge to grab the attention of a new and large audience.

We are hosting a logo design competition and will award $150 to the artist whose design is selected. In addition, each individual who submits a logo design will be entered into a random drawing for $50. Submissions should be emailed to Chris Koivisto at cskoivis@ncsu.edu. All entries must be received by March 15, 2011. Each submission will be reviewed and voted upon by SAVMA Delegates serving on the One Health Challenge working group. The winning logo and random drawing winner will be determined at SAVMA Symposium at UC Davis. Check out http://www.avma.org/savma/onehealth/default.asp for past One Health Challenge event materials.

Best of luck and thanks for helping support the One Health Challenge! We look forward to your submissions.