Gioia Bongiorno of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS) recently met with key Italian public health authorities for the conference, “One Health: una salute unica e una sola scienza” (One Health: One Unique Health and Only One Science). The event, which took place in Lombardy, focused on the urgent public health issue of vector-borne diseases, specifically those transmitted by sandflies, ticks, and mosquitoes.
The conference underscored the critical relationship between human, animal, and environmental health, a cornerstone of the “One Health” approach. The need for robust monitoring and prevention systems was a central theme, with a strong emphasis on fostering inter-professional collaboration between human and veterinary medicine.
The gathering brought together a wide array of stakeholders, including representatives from public institutions, human and veterinary doctors, climatologists, and various associations and media outlets. The event’s primary goal was to explore the current status of common arthropod-borne diseases in the Lombardy region, with a particular focus on leishmaniasis and tick-borne illnesses. Discussions covered the epidemiological, environmental, and climatic aspects of these diseases, as well as current surveillance and containment strategies.
This meeting was the third in a series of events dedicated to the One Health topic, following successful conferences in Rome and Palermo in 2023. Further regional discussions are planned across Italy in the coming months.
A Diverse Audience and Expert Discussion
The event was aimed at a broad range of professionals, including:
Public Health, Hygiene, and Animal Health Departments (Veterinarians)
Zooprophylactic Institutes, universities, and research centres
Infectious disease specialists, general practitioners, epidemiologists, and dermatologists
Veterinary doctors
Pharmacists
Scientific societies
Professional associations
Specialised and general media
Dr. Gioia Bongiorno, an entomologist researcher at the ISS, played a pivotal role in the session titled, “What’s happening on the ground? Measures and collaborations for the prevention, containment and control of zoonoses.” She participated in a roundtable discussion alongside other notable experts, including:
Maurizio Barberis, Head of the Veterinary Urban Hygiene Complex Structure at ATS Milano Città Metropolitana
Carla Bernasconi, President of the Order of Veterinary Doctors of Milan
Francesco Orifici, President of ANMVI Lombardia
Alessandro Politi, Northern Italy Coordinator for SIMG
Antonio Sorice, Director of the Veterinary Department at ATS Bergamo and President of SIMeVeP
This expert panel provided a comprehensive overview of the challenges and collaborative strategies needed to combat zoonotic diseases effectively in the region.