The 2024 bathing season has begun, but the greatest influx of people to the beaches is also the time of greatest risk of contamination. The people and animals that circulate in the seawater and on the sand release chemicals, such as UV filters, and waste that contribute to the proliferation of microorganisms. The Biosfera program spoke to ICBAS lecturers and researchers Adriano Bordalo e Sá, Paulo Martins da Costa, and Inês Rodrigues to learn more about the precautions bathers should take this summer.
The aim was to "make children aware that what we understand as health also includes the health of animals, plants, and the environment". To this end, the One Health Office of the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) at the University of Porto launched the challenge with EB1 do Marco, from the António Sérgio School Group in Vila Nova de Gaia, and EB1 da Caramila, from the Fontes Pereira de Melo School Group in Porto, and gave birth to One Health in Schools, an initiative which, over the last few months, has publicized the One Health concept to primary school children.
The initiative initially included visits to schools to enlighten the little ones about the definition and applicability of the One Health approach. In a second phase, which took place on 21 and 26 June, the schools were received at ICBAS to present their vision of the issue.
Text adapted from UP News. Read the full story here.
The 2nd year class from Escola do Marco (Agrupamento António Sérgio, Vila Nova de Gaia) visited ICBAS to present the benefits and potential risks of having a pet.Third-graders at Escola da Caramila (Agrupamento Fontes Pereira de Melo, Porto) worked on the theme of water scarcity on the planet.
On June 13, more than 80 students from all the PhD programs of the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), covering the areas of Human Health, Animal Health, and Environmental Health, took part in the One Health PhD Forum, organized by the ICBAS Office for One Health.
The aim of this meeting was to encourage scientific sharing, promote potential partnerships, publicise the transdisciplinary nature of the One Health concept, and challenge students to integrate the approach into their research.
The programme included two invited Keynotes , four oral presentation sessions involving 18 students, an 18-poster presentation session and the dissemination of 24 virtual posters. The best presentations were awarded scholarships to attend a scientific congress, one for the best oral presentation (Mariana Oliveira - 4th year student of the Doctoral Programme in Aquatic Environmental Sciences, Biology and Ecology) and another for the best poster presentation (Carla Sousa - 1st year student of the Doctoral Programme in Animal Science). An honourable mention was also awarded for the best virtual poster (Vera Constâncio - 4th year student of the Biomedical Sciences Doctoral Programme).
Most participants identified with the concept and shared the same opinion - initiatives like this are fundamental for sharing knowledge and contacting colleagues from different areas. An event to repeat!
Raquel Duarte, Professor at ICBAS and Director of INSA-Porto, was responsible for one of the Keynotes.
“Transdisciplinary conversations, where knowledge and scientific areas as different as architecture and psychology, medicine and biology or engineering and veterinary medicine intersect” was the motto for the first series of One Health talks, organized by the One Health Office of the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto.
The One Health talks began in October 2023, based on the interest in deepening the concept among the ICBAS community: “In conversation with workers, we realized that there was some need to clarify the applicability of the concept, and this led us to think of a proximity proposal, which would communicate the importance of the One Health approach,” explainsAdriano Bordalo e Sá, coordinator of the ICBAS One Health Office.
Making children, teenagers, and young people aware that what we understand as Health also includes the health of animals, plants and the environment is the focus of the initiative "One Health in Schools". In April and May, the concept was presented in a simple and participatory way in two primary schools in the Greater Porto region. Two different challenges, chosen by each of them, were also launched, accompanied by a practical activity alluding to the topic."
The Escola do Marco, from Agrupamento de Escolas António Sérgio in Vila Nova de Gaia, chose the topic 'Pets - benefits and care'. The students were visited by Lola the dog and heard from her guardian, the veterinarian Luísa Guardão from ICBAS, about the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with our animals. The Escola da Caramila, from Agrupamento Fontes Pereira de Melo in Porto, chose to work on the theme 'Water, a good for everyone? After an initial talk, and thanks to the participation of marine biologist Lúcia Gomes from the ICBAS Hydrobiology laboratory, they learned how to manually make a homemade filter from recycled materials to purify water and to identify various characteristics of this precious liquid.
But the activities won't stop there. In June, these children will come to ICBAS to present the solutions to the challenges. Families will also be able to watch and learn from the research carried out by the little ones at home.
From September, the 'One Health in Schools' will reach other levels of education, with a similar format, but adapted to the motivations and expectations of each stage.
At Escola do Marco, the dog Lola was the protagonist of the activity 'Pets - benefits and care'. Image credits: Sofia A. Costa Lima.The importance of access to drinking water was reinforced with the construction of a 'homemade' filter at the Escola da Caramila. Image credits: Sofia A. Costa Lima.
The Biosfera TV program (RTP) was at ICBAS and wanted to know how we can promote family health with companion animals, prevent the transmission of diseases, and guarantee the well-being of our animals. Paulo Martins da Costa, Liliana Martins, Inês Rodrigues, Maria Leonor Lemos, and Jorge Ribeiro, are highlighted, in an edition dedicated to our four-legged companions.
The One Health Master results from the combination of knowledge from the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) and the Faculty of Economics (FEP) of the University of Porto and aims to be part of the answer to a sustainable future for the planet, through a curricular program that crosses Life and Social sciences. The new master’s degree will be part of the University of Porto’s training offer from the 2024/2025 academic year onwards.
Designed to prepare human resources capable of approaching environmental, human, and animal health problems in a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary way, this new course aims to provide tools for a more comprehensive understanding of these problems, as a path to lasting solutions.
The researcher Bordalo e Sá considered today that the authorities must monitor the coast and “implement a tailor-made contingency plan” for the “plastic tide” on the beaches of Northern Spain that could affect Portugal.
“Right now the dominant currents are to the north. It is likely that these particles will reach Portugal in the spring, when the direction of the currents changes, and if the entire contents [of the containers that transported the plastic] have not washed up on the coast, which fell into the sea, although with a smaller impact. The first step will be to activate beach surveillance, also using civil society, and the second step will be to implement a tailor-made and supervised contingency plan”, explained the hydrobiologist from the University of Porto, speaking to Lusa.
The USAM SULEI project will invest more than 850 thousand euros in promoting the safe use of antimicrobials in the production of pigs and bovine milk.
Monitoring, raising awareness, and providing information on good practices associated with the safe use of antimicrobials in the production of pigs and bovine milk is the aim of the USAM SULEI project, led by the Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS) of the University of Porto, and co-financed by the European Union through the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR).
For the project's main researcher and ICBAS professor, João Niza Ribeiro, "the funding received –more than 850 thousand euros – will allow the development and implementation of an integrated online system (web platform) to support decision-making in the use of antimicrobials, aimed at veterinarians and producers, with the objective of sustainably reducing the consumption of antibiotics on pig farms and in dairy farming”.
There are boats on the Douro River that are making illegal discharges and there is no one controlling them. They are identified as one of the causes of river pollution.
But for environmentalists and researchers, this is just one of many problems. There are 22 thousand houses or commercial spaces with direct or indirect sewage to the Douro estuary.
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