Office of International Development at Michigan State University

Public Health

The University: Experience and Qualifications

Since its founding in 1855 as the first land grant university in the U.S., Michigan State University has adhered to its original mission: to “strive to discover practical uses for theoretical knowledge, and to speed the diffusion of information to residents of the state, the nation, and the world.” In operational terms, MSU has concentrated on building its strengths in educating and training succeeding generations of researchers both from the U.S. and the world at large. It has sought to establish collaborative links with people and institutions worldwide, broadening its research, academic and service outreach.

MSU is recognized as a center of excellence in international development. The academic and professional community at Michigan State is highly diverse and responsive and augments the University’s international goals with a broad array of globally relevant skills and expertise. People from every county in Michigan, every state in the U.S. and 134 countries around the world contribute to the University’s success. Annually, more than 3500 international students and scholars enroll in MSU’s graduate and undergraduate and certificate programs. MSU plays host to hundreds of international visitors every year who come to view campus research facilities, participate in campus life as visiting scholars and specialists, or to meet with MSU colleagues. Hundreds of MSU faculty members are engaged in critical outreach programs in many countries throughout the world, teaching, conducting research or providing technical assistance.

For more than 50 years, Michigan State University has been a leader among U.S. universities in international development programs. MSU has had a broad and deepening involvement in conducting technical assistance and research in developing countries, assisting the development of new institutions, and providing training for development tasks. MSU, through its Departments and Institutes and Centers, has also managed projects throughout the world, providing short- and long-term in-country technical assistance, degree and non-degree training programs, and extensive backstopping support from the main campus. The Office of the Dean of International Studies and Programs has overall responsibility for the university’s international initiatives. While historically a majority of MSU’s international development and technical assistance projects have been conducted by faculty in various departments of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, international expertise is increasingly incorporated into all aspects of university life marking MSU as a global university.

The Office of Contract and Grant Administration (CGA) holds fiscal audit authority and responsibility for the MSU contractual portfolio with both domestic and international external donors. In fiscal 2006-2007 awards for sponsored projects reached $308 million. To ensure that MSU is aware of, and can comply with the various agency regulations, CGA is organized by funding agency. CGA has a separate group dedicated to administration of international projects.

Public Health at MSU

Public health issues are of manifold concern and are far more expansive than previously thought. Human health impacted by animal health; surprisingly calling for multidisciplinary approaches whether the health issue be HIV/AIDS or malaria or emerging and infectious diseases.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Veterinarians are uniquely qualified to address important public health issues. They work in all areas of public health, including epidemiology, environmental health, global health, infectious disease investigation and control, and homeland security. Veterinarians are uniquely qualified to respond to the myriad of new and emerging zoonotic diseases, and to prevent and control future disease threats. Veterinarians are experts in the increasingly complex global food system and leaders in public health policy. (http://cvm.msu.edu/)

Emerging Disease – Animals and Public Health Implications

Approximately 70 percent of all emerging and resurgent diseases of humans also occur in domestic and/or wild animals. Diseases or disease-producing agents that occur in humans and animals are termed “zoonotic”. Recent examples of emerging and resurgent zoonotic diseases in Michigan include West Nile virus (WNV), bovine tuberculosis, multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Newport infections, Lyme disease and human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.

Birds, horses and humans can be infected with West Nile virus. Deer, elk, cattle and humans can be infected with bovine tuberculosis. Salmonella Newport infects many species of animals as well as humans. Deer, rodents, dogs, horses and humans may be infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, and deer, dogs, horses and humans may be infected with Ehrlichia, a group of bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis.

Mosquitoes spread West Nile virus; mosquitoes spread malaria, ticks spread Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis. Bovine tuberculosis is spread by direct contact with an infected animal, contact with feed or bedding contaminated with the causal bacterium, or contact with tuberculous lesions in an animal’s carcass. Contact with sick dairy cattle and eating undercooked ground beef are linked with multi-drug-resistant Salmonella Newport infections in humans. All of these diseases may lead to hospitalization and lengthy recoveries or even death in humans.

Other zoonotic diseases of recent concern include rabies in wildlife, Giardia from wildlife and pets contaminating rivers and lakes, leptospirosis in dogs and E. coli O157: H7 from livestock contaminating food.

Major Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

The global population densities of humans, domestic animals and wildlife are more than sufficient to foster the emergence, resurgence and establishment of zoonotic diseases.

Emerging Disease –Animals and Public Health Implications

Surveillance, timely diagnosis, effective disease control measures and public education are necessary components of an effective statewide and global programs for detection and prevention of zoonotic disease in all species. MSU is fortunate to have nationally recognized expertise in zoonotic diseases in the new Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health. Equally important is the expertise in animal science, microbiology, wildlife biology, and human and animal health at MSU.

MSU recently created a Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases to focus research and outreach activities on emerging zoonotic diseases. This new center will foster an interdisciplinary approach toward understanding the processes involved in disease emergence. To gain a broad perspective on disease emergence, the center will encourage study of genetic changes in microbes that enhance disease severity and/or spread. Other areas of study will involve the initial response of the host to an infectious process. To complete these studies, researchers at MSU must develop sophisticated tools based on molecular biology. Those tools should lead to better diagnostic tests and possible interventions such as drugs and vaccines. The center also intends to develop programs aimed at understanding the process of emergence in an ecological (environmental) context and how this process relates to risk of disease to humans and domestic animals.

Programmatic and Public Policy Implications

Preparedness to respond to emerging diseases due to natural events or human acts is of high national priority. Michigan State University can ill afford to abdicate its leadership role strengthening the infrastructure and finding the resources needed to address the challenges posed by disease outbreaks.

MSU Centers of Excellence for Public Health

Center for Advanced Microscopy

Web site: www.ceo.msu.edu/

Center for Animal Functional Genomics

Web site: cafg.msu.edu/

Center for Biological Modeling

Web site: www.biomodel.msu.edu/

Center for Microbial Ecology

Web site: www.cme.msu.edu/

Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health

Web site: www.animalhealth.msu.edu/

Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station