JANUARY IS ONE HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH; NJ ONE HEALTH TASK FORCE MEETING SET FOR FEBRUARY

(TRENTON) – In conjunction with January being National One Health Awareness Month, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Wengryn announced the inaugural meeting of the New Jersey One Health Task Force (OHTF) will take place at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 21, in the first floor boardroom at 200 Riverview Plaza, in Trenton.

New Jersey was the first state in the nation to legislate a One Health initiative by establishing the OHTF (P.L. 2021, Chapter 117). The OHTF will develop a strategic plan to promote inter-disciplinary communication and collaboration between physicians, veterinarians, and other scientific professionals and State agencies, and to promote the health and well-being of the State’s residents, animals, and the environment.

“With diseases and viruses, such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, having the capability to travel between humans, domestic animals, livestock, and wildlife, the One Health Task Force will emphasize the connectedness of our world,” Secretary Wengryn said. “That New Jersey is at the forefront of this initiative shows the high level of importance the Murphy Administration places on the overall health and well-being of our State’s residents, protecting our animals, plants and the environment. It is all one health.”

One Health is a concept that recognizes the strong connections and interdependencies between human, animal, and environmental health and calls for a collaborative, multi-sector, and transdisciplinary approach. One Health issues include, but are not limited to, zoonotic diseases, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), food safety and security, environmental contamination, climate change, and other collective health threats faced by people, animals, and the environment.

“Safeguarding public health requires an integrated approach to better understand how diseases and health risks move through our interconnected world,” said New Jersey Health Commissioner Kaitlan Baston, MD, MSc, DFASAM. “New Jersey's One Health Task Force brings together experts across human health, animal health, and environmental science to better map, monitor, and protect our shared environment and New Jersey communities."

“The One Health Task Force provides us with a unique and important opportunity to better understand the complex relationships between public health, our environment, and plant and animal health,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “We look forward to collaborating with our state partners and the Task Force to advance scientific knowledge about these relationships. Through this work, we will aim to develop solutions to threats such as diseases that affect wildlife and agricultural commodities, as well as harmful algal blooms that impact drinking water quality.”

New Jersey residents are encouraged to spread the word about One Health and the need for an interdisciplinary approach to address many of New Jersey’s most pressing issues by sharing social media posts with the hashtags #OneHealth and #OneHealthAwarenessMonth. More information about One Health Awareness Month can be found on the One Health Commission website.

Read more about the New Jersey OHTF at www.nj.gov/agriculture/one-health.

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Learn more about the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NJDeptofAgriculture and www.facebook.com/JerseyFreshOfficial or Twitter @NJDA1 and @JerseyFreshNJDA.

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