What is the MSc in One Health: ecosystems, humans and animals?

Changing environmental, social and agricultural conditions are a threat to animal and human health and welfare.

Many infectious diseases can pass between animals and humans, while food production, human diet and community stability are harmed by diseases that infect livestock and wildlife. Emerging veterinary infectious diseases and human diseases, such as highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses, emphasise the threat posed by these issues.

The One Health approach recognises the relationship between health and disease at the human, animal and environment interfaces and has become an important focus in both medical and veterinary science. It promotes a “whole of society” treatment of health hazards and a systemic change of perspective in the management of risk.

If you are interested in One Health and the control of infectious disease (particularly in the developing world), then this unique course could be for you. We welcome applications from individuals with a background in public health, veterinary sciences, animal or biological sciences, social and environmental sciences, ecology and wildlife health. If you are interested in this field, but do not have the relevant background, please speak with the course directors who can consider such cases on an individual basis.

The course is delivered jointly by the RVC, University of London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). 

What will I learn?

The course will provide you with:

• A comprehensive foundation on the principles of diseases in the context of socio-ecological systems, global health and food safety
• Knowledge and skills in relation to One Health methodologies, transdisciplinary interactions and in using a systems approach. 

At the end of the course you will be able to:

• Understand the One Health concept and approach problem solving using a trans-disciplinary methodology
• Understand the origin, context and drivers of infectious disease at the human, animal and environment interface
• Evaluate impacts of multi-host infections on human, animal and ecosystem health and economics directly, or indirectly, via food, disease vectors or the environment.
• Develop a One Health systems approach to complex disease issues in monitoring, surveillance, diagnosis, prevention and control
• Critically review published literature
• Design a research project

Programme delivery

The MSc may be completed full-time in one year or part time over two years, and consists of eight taught modules and a research project.

The course starts in September each year and you will split your time between the RVC and LSHTM. Students then undertake a four-month research project on a topic of their choice.

Full Time

Term 1

There is a two-week orientation period that includes an introduction to studying at the Royal Veterinary College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, followed by four compulsory modules: 

• Foundations of One Health (RVC) (Tuesdays)
• Infectious Disease Emergence and Control (RVC/LSHTM) (Wednesdays & Fridays)
• Principles of Epidemiology and Surveillance (RVC) (Mondays) 
• Research Skills and Statistical Analysis (RVC) (Thursdays)

Terms 2 and 3

All students take three compulsory modules:

• Economics of One Health (RVC) (Monday-Wednesday lunchtime for first half of term)
• One Health: Situation Analysis and Systems Thinking (RVC) (Wednesday afternoon to Friday for first half of the term)
• Medical Anthropology and Public Health (LSHTM) (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime for second half of the term)

In addition, students choose a fourth module from the following which will run from Weds afternoon to Friday for the second half of the term:

• Environmental Epidemiology (LSHTM)
• Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases (LSHTM)
• Globalisation and Health (LSHTM)
• Spatial Analysis in Epidemiology (RVC)
• Vector Biology and Vector-Parasite Interactions (LSHTM)

Part Time

For part-time students, there are two available options. Each option requires the completion of 4 modules in Year 1 and 4 modules in Year 2, followed by the Research Project. 

Option 1:

There is a two-week orientation period that includes an introduction to studying at the Royal Veterinary College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, followed by completion of the following four compulsory modules in Year 1: 

• Foundations of One Health (RVC) - Term 1 (Tuesdays)
• Infectious Disease Emergence & Control (RVC/LSHTM) - Term 1 (Wednesdays & Fridays)
• Economics of One Health (RVC) - Term 2 (Monday-Wednesday lunchtime for first half of term)
• Medical Anthropology and Public Health (LSHTM) - Term 2 (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime for second half of the term)

Requires completion of the following 4 Modules in Year 2:

• Principles of Epidemiology and Surveillance (RVC) - Term 1 (Mondays)
• Research Skills & Statistical Analysis (RVC) - Term 1 (Thursdays)
• One Health: Situation Analysis and Systems Thinking (RVC) - Term 2 (Wednesday afternoon to Friday for first half of the term)
• Plus 1 x choice module - Term 2 (Wednesday afternoon to Friday for second half of the term)
  
  

Option 2:

There is a two-week orientation period that includes an introduction to studying at the Royal Veterinary College and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, followed by completion of the following four compulsory modules in Year 1: 

• Principles of Epidemiology and Surveillance (RVC) - Term 1 (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime for first half of term)
• Foundations of One Health (RVC) - Term 1 (Tuesdays)
• Infectious Disease Emergency and Control (RVC) - Term 1 (Wednesdays and Fridays)
• Research Skills & Statistical Analysis (RVC) - Term 1 (Thursdays)

Requires completion of the following 4 Modules in Year 2:

• Economics of One Health (RVC) - Term 2 (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime for first half of the term)
• One Health: Situation Analysis and Systems Thinking (RVC) - Term 2 (Wednesday afternoon to Friday for first half of the term)
• Medical Anthropology and Public Health (LSHTM) - Term 2 (Monday to Wednesday lunchtime for second half of the term)
• Plus 1 x choice module - Term 2 (Wednesday afternoon to Friday for second half of the term)
  
  

Research Project

The Research Project runs in Term 3 from April through to the end of July. Here are some examples of the research projects undertaken by previous MSc One Health students:

• The effects of environmental risk factors on seasonal bionomics of malaria vectors in Burkina Faso.
• Climate change, child marriage and HIV: is it possible to infer a likely increase in HIV incidence for girls >18 in climate vulnerable, traditionalist, sub-Saharan African communities? A One Health case study.
• Financial analysis and potential implications of financing with the livestock feed sector.
• Living on the edges: Understanding WaSH behaviour at the human-gorilla interface, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.
• An investigation into the economic cost of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in regions with outbreaks and endemic disease, and identification of key differences across geographical regions and species.
• Factors affecting the incursion and establishment of Usutu virus in the UK.
• Comparative analysis of stocked antibiotic availability in human and veterinary antibiotic providers across Uganda Tanzania and India.
• Sequencing and analysis of a partial Paramyxoviridae genome obtained from formalin-fixed-paraffin-embedded avian tissue originating in 1940.
• Antibiotic usage and environmental contamination as drivers for antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella Typhi.
• Dromedary camel spatial ecology in Northern Kenya and implications for zoonotic disease transmission.
• Are "all donations good donations?": discrepancies between donated antimicrobial supply and demand as a potential driver of AMR: a case study in Uganda.
• R&D funding: The need for a needs-driven model.
• Are Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) surveys an accurate measure of the cultural perceptions towards rabies prevention and canines.
• Review of methods of evaluations of oversight infrastructure (i.e. OIE PVS, IPPC, FAO, Health Systems, etc.) through a One Health (OH) and Reproducibility perspective.
• A mixed methods study on vaccine uptake among camel-owning households in Southern Jordan.
• Chronic wasting disease (CWD) in cervids: A prion disease with zoonotic potential?
• Dog Activity Contributions to Veterinary Pesticides in Aquatic Ecosystems: Human Perceptions and Pesticide Levels at Hampstead Heath.
• Identifying the multidimensional poverty index indicators driving human rabies incidence, and how they may impact the probability of receiving post-exposure prophylaxis.
• Dietary intake, Land-use and Zoonotic disease risk in Rural communities of The Gambia.
• Sustainable Diets in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs): A systematic Review.
• Understanding sustainability for health security capacity building using a One Health approach.
• Investigating the links between the egg value chain and childhood stunting in Hyderabad, India.
• The Nexus Between Fish Farming and Food Insecurity: Insights from Rural Bangladesh.
• Prioritizing Interventions for Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Nigeria: A Data Analysis and Evidence Evaluation Study.
• Determining the prognostic value of a novel semi-quantitative cryptococcal antigen assay in assigning clinical risk in HIV-associated meningeal cryptococcus.
• Economic impact of selected key diseases in broiler and Sonali farms in Bangladesh.
• Analysis of the Avian Influenza Outbreak in Alaska: The Role of Citizen Science and Lessons Learned.

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