Blood on the Ice: the need for culturally inclusive One Health surveillance of anthropozoonoses in the Arctic

INTRODUCTION:  A zoonotic disease research focus on tropical and temperate climates often overlooks the arctic regions that also host diverse animal-borne pathogens.  Indigenous populations in the arctic have close connections with both the land and animals which can put them at risk. Inherent in spiritual, cultural, social, and subsistence activities, time on the land is essential to definitions of health and wellness, a connectedness so elemental that it has been recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples(2008). 

Subsistence hunting, fishing, herding, and butchering of animals takes place in conditions that are suboptimal for the prevention of zoonotic infection.  Given the arctic’s small, remote populations and often substandard medical care, cases of infection can be overlooked as a consequence (Indigenous One Health in the Arctic:  A systematic Literature Review of Circumpolar Zoonoses, Nelson et al., 2014). 

METHODS:  The One Health Initiative seeks to build multidisciplinary collaborations for the purposes of controlling zoonotic diseases that include veterinary and medical professionals. By first examining the Initiative through a medical anthropology framework, then subsequently discussing and considering traditional indigenous knowledge sources on animal behavior and human health, an inclusive model that would respect and incorporate elements of both models is developed.

RESULTS:  The analysis of the One Health Initiative model shows areas for improvement in cultural sensitivity. By utilizing both the One Health Initiative and the traditional indigenous methods, a more successful model can be implemented.

CONCLUSIONS:  The One Health model of integrated care encompassing both human and animal health has real value in these unusual circumstances and would best be implemented in arctic communities with the inclusion of indigenous knowledge sources. New studies would merit consideration to address these disparities in indigenous health care surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment in the arctic.