Comparative biopathology

Claude BOURGELAT, Riding Master of the King of France Louis the Fifteenth, had noticedabnormalities in the descriptions of the time of the biomechanics of the horse. He attributes them to errors in the anatomical knowledge. So he wished to set up researches in this domain. Then, he decides to work with the College of surgeons of Lyon, who were, of course, human doctors. With them, he proceeds to many dissections of horses and had many discussions during five years. Thanks to this collaboration, he has three revelations:

  • the difference between the empirical approach and the scientific reasoning,
  • thesimilaritybetween the " human machine" and the "animal machine",
  • the opportunity to create the profession of "animals doctor".

From this moment, a cape was going to be rounded. Since the Middle Ages, all those who treated animals worked with empirical methods. Very soon, the animal health will at last be managed with scientific and rational principles!

For the first time in 1755, in the “Encyclopédie”, BOURGELAT claims :“ Medicine of man is useful to medicine of horse…”and immediately adds:“…but reciprocally."One year later, in the same work, he declares:“The analogy of mechanism between the human body and that of the animal [...] is truly constant,…, and to stray from the path that leads to the healing of one and look for new paths to heal the other is to run the risk of committing criminal errors.In 1761, in a booklet describing the School of Lyon called: “Art vétérinaire ou médecine des animaux”, he names precisely the activity of comparative medicine and proposes the animal experiments:"We should be pleased if those persons entrusted with saving human lives, convinced of the advances that their art may further expect from comparative medicine, deigned to put us in a position to test [...] on animals that which prudence does not permit them to attempt on humans".

So, the founder of the modern veterinary profession is also the inventor of the concept of Comparative biopathology thanks to which both human and animal medicine made so great progress during the two last centuries.

In this way, «One health»is not a recent concept…It is one of the basic element of our profession since its birth, more than 250 years ago!

Animal health

Improving animal health is everyone's business and is intrinsically linked to improvements in public health, food security, food safety the environment and biodiversity, as well as trade and the economy, at national, regional and world levels.

Socio-economic research has shown that the cost of systems to prevent emerging and re-emerging animal diseases is negligible compared to the costs brought about by sanitary crises.

This underscores the need for all to provide themselves with "comprehensive insurance" by enhancing the public and private components of national Veterinary Services and fighting animal diseases at their source.

Economical concern

The Veterinary profession, through its interventions in the trade of animals and animal products that are an important part of the economy of the countries, have a crucial economic role.

In all countries of the World, animal diseases are the cause of very important, generally unquantified, economic losses due to direct and indirect effects of the impact. The measures required to prevent the introduction of exotic diseases are responsible for additional costs.

Infectious diseases, especially epidemics or diseases that affect public health are of increasing economic importance because they affect farming and marketing systems in industrialized countries as in developing countries.

In this both aspects, the care and technical support breeding and marketing provided by the veterinarians can limit economic losses.

We recallthatKing Louis XV created the modern veterinary profession in France with the aim to fight against rinderpest in order to improve the performance of the rural economy.

Except when they care pets, veterinarians, by training and culture, always respond to the concern of economic returns for his actions.

Professional Ethics

Since its birth, the veterinary profession respects ethics of its own and it has inherited from its founder .

Indeed, in his latest book published two years before his death in 1777, real philosophical testament entitled " Regulations studies in the Royal Veterinary Schools ,"Claude BOURGELATwrote : "Always imbued with the principles of honor and they have drawnthey have seen examples in the Schools , students will never deviate ... " Then , inspired by Hippocrates, he continued: " ... They distinguish the poor from the rich , they do not put too high pricestalent they need at the benevolence of Roy and the generosity of their homeland , and finally they prove by their conduct that they are also convinced that the fortune is in the least although it has in thethat we can do . "

These noble principles are perpetuated by Compagnonnique tradition.

From the 19th century , the profession began to benefit from regulations in each country where it was developed.Regulators have started to emerge as the " College ", " College ", " House " or even "Council" .Benefiting most often a delegation of public service, these agencies are the authorization to practice the profession.Each State promulgates a code of ethics , including giving them a disciplinary authority is binding on all existing practitioners .Guarantee the competence of their members , they are , in some countries , responsible for the evaluation and accreditation of veterinary schools.

Thus , professional ethics thus proves to be one of the fundamental components of veterinary heritage.

Veterinary public health

For man, animals are a source of noble proteins in food, but also provide work, clothing, natural fertilisers, and complicity and companionship as pets, guards or sports partners. In that context, and since 60% of animal pathogens can be transmitted to man, animal disease detection, prevention and control mechanisms must be improved in order to bring, to the extent possible, the interactions between public and animal health under control.
The concept of veterinary public health covers all aspects of veterinary science, including food production, that are related to animals and animal products and that aim at improving human health.

Our world is undergoing unprecedented changes, which contribute to heightened sanitary risks and their globalisation. In view of the considerable disparities between national veterinary legislations, it is of crucial importance to create opportunities for cooperation and to improve world sanitary governance.

Thus, veterinary public health can be considered to be tantamount to a world public good.

Food security

Food securityis a condition that "exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life", according to the Food and Agriculture Organization

Household food security exists when all members, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life.Individuals who are food secure do not live in hunger or fear of starvation

Food insecurity, on the other hand, is a situation of "limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways", according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Food security incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars.

Worldwide, around 925 million people are chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while up to 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying degrees of poverty (source:FAO, 2010).

The FAO identified the four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization, and stability.The United Nations(UN) recognized the Right to food in the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, and has since noted that it is vital for the enjoyment of all other rights.

Animal Welfare

An animal is in a good state of welfare if it is healthy, well nourished, and if it is not experiencing pain.

It is a complex subject with scientific, ethical, economic, cultural and political dimensions.
Today, animal producers have come to see it as a standard of quality of their products.

The interest shown in animal welfare and the growing attention that consumers around the world are focusing on the subject, make it an important political and economic issue for the world market in animals and animal products.

It is therefore a priority to integrate animal welfare as a core subject in veterinary education and to promote applied research in this field.

Biodiversity

Changes in the way farmland is used, its extension to new geographical areas, as well as the intensification of agricultural production to meet a growing demand for animal protein have brought about a gradual shift in the balance between domestic animals, wild animals and ecosystems.

These changes constitute an increasing threat: they may be responsible for the spread of emerging and re-emerging pathogens. They must be studied and better apprehended in order to safeguard "diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems" (definition contained in the Convention on Biological Diversity).

The coordination of risk management at the interface between ecosystems, wild and domestic animals and man requires enhanced intersectoral cooperation between all stakeholders, in particular Veterinary Services, public health and other authorities, non-governmental organisations that defend nature and biodiversity, managers of protected areas and users of nature, such as associations of hunters and fishermen, often in the front line when it comes to detecting adverse biological events.