May 15, 2018
For Immediate Release
Canadians to Attend U.S. Program on Health Surveillance in the Arctic
OTTAWA – Canadian professionals in the fields of public health and veterinary medicine will visit Minneapolis, MN, and Anchorage and Fairbanks, AK, from May 15 to 25 as participants in an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The participants will explore emerging methods and programs for surveilling human, animal, and environment health in the Arctic. The Canadian participants will join nine counterparts from other Arctic nations.
Participants will learn about innovative education programs for training veterinary medicine students, including the One Health strategy for expanding interdisciplinary collaborations and improving communication among stakeholders in human, animal, and environmental health. Participants will examine techniques for detecting biological pathogens and chemical contaminants in wild animals and will learn how researchers analyze and communicate those observations.
Participants in the program are:
- Michele LeBlanc-Havard, Territorial Environmental Health Specialist, Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Department of Health, Government of Nunavut
- Dr. Emily Jenkins, Associate Professor, Veterinary Public Health and Food Safety, Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan
The IVLP enables Canadians who are emerging leaders in their professional field to observe U.S. institutions, practices, and culture first-hand, and to meet with professional counterparts to explore issues of common interest. Founded in 1940, the IVLP has given hundreds of thousands of emerging leaders — including more than 1,200 Canadians — the opportunity to observe and interact with American culture and society on a personal level. For more information, visit http://eca.state.gov/ivlp.
Participants are available for interviews after the program upon request.
About One Health
One Health recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. The goal of One Health is to encourage the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines-working locally, nationally, and globally-to achieve the best health for people, animals, and our environment (https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/index.html).
