One Health Critical Review Essay PDF

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One Health Critical Review Essay: Why is Hendra Virus So Dangerous? Hendra Virus (or Henipavirus) is a prevalent RNA virus within Queensland. Henipavirus is naturally harboured by pteropid fruit bats or flying foxes, acting as a vector of the virus. Henipavirus is characterised by its wide host range, including most commonly, horses and humans. The virus has recently been classified as a zoonotic disease, as the pathogen has the ability to interact between animals and humans. The article titled “Why is Hendra Virus So Dangerous?” (Daniels, 2017), published in “The Conversation” (an online magazine), was written in light of a recent outbreak of Hendra Virus in a horse in Queensland. The article includes information about the event and a brief explanation of the history behind Hendra Virus. This essay will identify the key components within the media article and identify the overlaying theme of the piece, as well as critically evaluating the factual content and writing style of the author in comparison to various respected scientific articles. Firstly, the article as a whole includes information about the recent outbreak, what Hendra virus is, as well as the history behind the disease. To begin with, the article includes an explanation of the outbreak in South Brisbane and introduces the author, Dr Peter Daniels, Assistant Director of the CSIRO’s Australian Health Laboratory. This introductory paragraph leads to the first component of the article, an explanation of what Hendra Virus is. This component includes factual statements about the history of Hendra Virus, the date of discovery (1994) and where it was discovered (Australian Animal Health Laboratory). The paragraph then ends with the statement “Hendra is now recognised as one of the most dangerous virus infections for people”. This particular statement was not referenced to any scientific articles or quotes, so it can be assumed this is the authors opinion. The article then moves onto what Hendra “does” to those infected. The author states that the virus is systemic, as “…it’s effects are felt throughout the whole body…in particular pneumonia symptoms…”. This is the most extensive information the article presents in regards to how the virus can affect an animal or human. Next, the author explains the primary source of infection, the fruit bat. It roughly states the bat’s role as a vector of the disease by stating “in these animals… [Hendra Virus] doesn’t cause a problem [to the bat]”. The author then states that he cannot be “absolutely scientifically certain how the infection gets from bats to horses”. This statement implies that the author is unsure of how Hendra virus is passed from bat to horses (and possibly humans) and has not used outside scientific references to provide a possible explanation. The article then briefly mentions the development Hendra Virus vaccine, however limits to a simple statement acknowledging its existence. Through identifying the components within the article, it is evident that the author is attempting to communicate simple information about Hendra Virus, in light of the recent outbreak. It is clear that this article was not written for those who are studying the virus or are aware of the scientific facts and information behind Hendra, but for those who were in need of background information about Hendra Virus. The central theme of this article is to highlight the importance of being educated about Hendra Virus and assist those who are unaware of the effects on Hendra Virus and steps taken to prevent an outbreak.

While critically analysing this article, it was important to factually compare Dr Daniel’s findings to scientifically respected sources to ensure the validity of the points made in the article. The scholarly articles used to compare were a paper titled, “Hendra Virus Vaccine, a One Health Approach to Protecting Horse, Human, and Environmental Health” (Middleton and Pallister, 2014), a government fact sheet titled “Hendra Virus Infection” (Hendra Virus Infection, 2014) and a research article titled “Hendra Virus Infection Dynamics in Australian Fruit Bats” (Field & de Jong, 2011). Corroborating statements through all four papers included the classification of Hendra as an emerging zoonotic virus, with at least seven human cases. In addition to this, all articles refer to Hendra Virus as a systemic disease, where symptoms are evident throughout the entire body. As well as this, all articles state that the flying fox acts as a vector of the virus and is asystematically infected, thus is not physically affected. All articles also indicate that the disease may lead to pneumonia, which may have been the reason for the three human fatalities. Dr Daniels’ article also insinuates that the disease is Sporadic, as it occurs in irregular intervals, mentioned in the One Health approach article. However, when comparing the factual content of the articles, there were various inconsistences. For example, Dr Daniels referred to Hendra Virus as “one of the most dangerous virus infections for people.” This statement has not been corroborated throughout any of the academic texts. Therefore, it can be assumed that this statement was only the authors opinion and not an actual scientific fact. In addition to this, Dr Daniels mentions briefly the possibility of passing the virus from person to person in the future, however this possibility is not included within the academic articles. Lastly, Dr Daniels states that there is no scientific certainty of how the infection is transferred from bats to horses, however a clear outline of the transmission is outlined in all scientific texts. Overall, the inconsistencies between Dr Daniel’s text and the scientific sources are mostly lack of detailed information or simplified explanations of certain events. The overall message of this text is to communicate to the reader that there is nothing to particularly fear about Hendra Virus as it has not become an epidemic. However, the article does state that Hendra Virus is one of the most dangerous viruses in the world, highlighting the possibly disastrous outcome if this virus was to become an epidemic. The article also mentions the research on a Hendra Virus vaccine (which has now available to the public) and pushes the reader to consider the positives behind using this method to reduce the chance of an epidemic. This article does not seem to include any bias; however, the content is poorly presented with a lack of scientific facts, data or quotes from reliable sources to back up statements made. Therefore, in order to improve this article, scientific facts, data and quotes should be used as evidence to support the overall message. Although this article has been created for the general public, it would be useful to include experimental data to further push the importance of using the vaccine, as well as consolidate the validity of the articles points. Most scientific articles use other reliable sources for further information, which would have increased the quality of Dr Daniel’s article, as well as further direct the reader to more information. In addition, throughout the article, statements such as “…maybe, but we’re not sure…” decreases the value of Dr Daniel’s information, as it does not provide a clear-cut answer to possible questions posed within the article. As well as this, it would be beneficial to include lengthy explanations about the science behind the disease, in simple language. This will ensure the reader understands exactly how Hendra Virus is transmitted, what it can

do and what a zoonotic disease is. Overall, this article was very simple within its explanations, well-suited for the general public, however could have included more scientific elements to further support the authors points.

Bibliography 1. Daniels, P. (2017). Explainer: Why is Hendra virus so dangerous? The Conversation. Retrieved 9 October 2017, from https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-ishendra-virus-so-dangerous-2083 2. Field, H., & de Jong, C. (2017). Hendra Virus Infection Dynamics in Australian Fruit Bats. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article? id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028678 3. Hendra Virus Infection. (2017). Conditions.health.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 8 October 2017, from http://conditions.health.qld.gov.au/HealthCondition/condition/14/217/363/HendraVirus-Infection 4. Middleton, D., & Pallister, J. (2017). Hendra Virus Vaccine, a One Health Approach to Protecting Horse, Human, and Environmental Health. Centres of Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 7 October 2017, from https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/20/3/13-1159_article...