30/05/2018

The European Joint Programme (EJP) on One Health

This programme, coordinated by ANSES, aims to acquire new knowledge in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging risks.

The international One Health concept recognises that human health is highly dependent on animal health and the environment, and that the foodborne contaminants, in particular that affect human health, animal health and the environment, are closely intertwined. The One Health European Joint Programme (EJP) was launched in this context.

A unique, integrated consortium...

The One Health EJP helps strengthen cooperation between its 44 partners (including the Med-Vet-Net Association) from 22 different European countries, 20 of which are members of the European Union, with representatives from the human and veterinary public health sectors in each country. These partners, most of which hold reference mandates on foodborne zoonoses, form an organised network and represent an integrated research community. They aim to achieve significant advances in the areas of foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging zoonotic threats.

... that interacts with the scientific community

While ensuring effective interaction with the other major projects funded by the European Commission, the One Health EJP is generating scientific data to be used as input for the analysis and assessment of health risks by national and European agencies. To this end, two internal calls for proposals were launched in 2016 and 2019, resulting in the funding of 29 projects. A last internal call for projects on the detection and characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 took place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This led to implementation of the thirtieth, final project.In addition, as part of its scientific training activities, the One Health EJP funds thesis programmes (2 internal calls, which led to the funding of 16 doctoral studies on themes developed by the One Health EJP), short-term scientific exchanges, summer universities, seminars, etc.

ANSES: a strategic player and research partner

In France, the partners of the One Health EJP are INRAE, the Institut Pasteur and Santé Publique France (the latter as ANSES’s linked party). ANSES coordinates the project in close collaboration with the Belgian partner Sciensano, namely regarding the One Health EJP's scientific activities. The Agency also participates in the project's governance bodies, in particular the Scientific Steering Board.

Various ANSES laboratories are also involved in the scientific activities carried out by the One Health EJP. Research teams at the ANSES Laboratories (Lyon, Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort, Maisons-Alfort and Dozulé Laboratories for Animal Health, Fougères, Nancy Laboratory for Hydrology and Nancy Laboratory for Rabies and Wildlife) are taking part in 24 projects.

The One Health EJP annual scientific meetings

The annual scientific meetings are an important part of the project's life. With their European and international scope, they serve to promote the "One Health" concept as applied to food safety, and disseminate the scientific results obtained through the project, along with any breakthroughs in scientific knowledge on food safety, thereby advancing the state of the art. These meetings are open via registration to all scientists, whether participants in the project or not.

Four yearly sessions have been held so far: Dublin, Ireland in 2019, remotely in 2020, and in a hybrid (remote/in-person) format in both Copenhagen, Denmark (2021) and Orvieto, Italy (2022).  The next meeting will be held in Brussels, Belgium from 19 to 21 June 2023.

Projects funded by the "One Health" EJP with the participation of one or more ANSES laboratories

Collaborative projects with an integrative focus

Collaborative research projects on foodborne zoonoses

Collaborative research projects on antimicrobial resistance

Collaborative projects on emerging zoonotic diseases

A brief history

ANSES played a founding role by coordinating, from 2004 to 2009, the Med-Vet-Net network of excellence, funded by the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme for Research and Development (FP6). The Agency then made a major contribution to the creation of the Med-Vet-Net Association of public health and veterinary public health institutes, whose objective is to reinforce prevention and control of zoonoses, including foodborne zoonoses. Today, the Med-Vet-Net Association is a member of the One Health EJP network.

Follow the activities of the One Health EJP via the website and Twitter.

Partners

This project received funding from the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement number 773830.