Texas Research Team is Using the One Health Approach to Mitigate Complex Human, Animal, and Environmental Threats
University of Texas Medical Branch One Health Laboratory Team February 27, 2025 (L to R): Maralmaa Enkhbat, MPH; Ismaila Shittu, MSc, PhD; Ulziikhutag Batzorig; Nyamaakhuu Dashdondog; Olufemi S. Ogunyemi, MD, MS; Lyudmyla Marushchak, DVM, PhD; Claudia M. Trujillo-Vargas, MSc, PhD; Francisco M. Guerra, Jr. PhD, MD (kneeling); Jessica Rodriguez, MPH; Audrey Schulze; Emily Edgar; and Gregory C. Gray, MD, MPH, FIDSA.
The One Health Research and Training Team at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) addresses complex health problems through the One Health approach, using microbiological and epidemiological methods. The premise of the One Health approach is that the health of humans, animals, and the environment are inextricably intertwined; the health of each is critical to the health of the other two. Microbiology is the study of the structure and function of microorganisms – viruses, bacteria, and fungi. Epidemiology is the study of how diseases and health conditions spread, focusing on what causes them (lifestyle choices, pathogens, environmental toxins, etc.), who is affected, and how to control them.
The express mission of the One Health Research and Training Team at UTMB is to “improve the health of humans, animals and the environment globally through One Health research, capacity building, and policy.”
The team works on a variety of health issues. One is the emergence and spread of diseases that cross over from animals to humans and between animal species.
The team’s research approach often involves conducting One Health studies in geographical areas recognized to be at high risk for pathogen spillover between human and animal species. In recent years their research work has involved studying livestock farms in Malaysia, Mexico, Pakistan, and the United States, as well as live animal markets in China, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
They have also recently worked with international collaborators in studying hospitalized patients for novel respiratory viruses in Malaysia, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. They often employ special virus diagnostic assays that have led to a number of important virus spillover discoveries:
• 1st evidence that metapneumoviruses are jumping species between humans & turkeys 1,2
• 1st evidence of equine influenza infections among camels 3
• 1st report of influenza D virus detections in chickens 4
• 1st report of a canine-like coronavirus among humans hospitalized with pneumonia 5
• 1st evidence of a vampire-bat-like adenovirus infecting human hospitalized with pneumonia 6
• Detections of human enterovirus in pig slurry 7
• Early evidence that Texas dairy workers had subclinical infections with HPAI H5N1 8
• 1st evidence of a rodent coronavirus in beef cattle with respiratory disease 9
• 1st evidence of a bovine adenovirus infection among humans with respiratory disease 9
• 1st evidence that a boosepivirus B1 may be the cause of respiratory disease among cattle 10
An estimated 60-75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate in animals. Investigations into these species-hopping diseases and subsequent discoveries about them help ensure that vaccines are developed for emerging diseases before there is an outbreak, that policies are adopted to help decrease the incidence of cross-over viruses, and that potential epidemics are averted.
To ensure research is able to stay ahead of threats, training others in the laboratory methods necessary to identify and understand cross-over viruses is vital.
The UTMB One Health team also manages two US federal grants to train others in the specialized laboratory methods they use. One year-round USDA grant supports the training of Galveston College undergraduate students in virology techniques.
In addition to working on viruses, the UTMB One Health team also works on other global health concerns.
The team has received a second NIH grant that enables young scholars training at UTMB in virology and environmental sciences to work for three months of the year to help mitigate the health effects of high air pollution levels in Mongolia in partnership with the GEOHealth Center in Mongolia.
Air pollution in Mongolia’s capital city is among the highest in the world and is responsible for hundreds of deaths each year. Image from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/mongolia-air-pollution
In addition, UTMB is partnering with researchers in agricultural industries, academia, and government to tackle challenging and complex food security problems by hosting a 200-scientist “Second International Workshop on One Health Research: Improving Food Security and Resilience.” The workshop will be held in Galveston, Texas April 15-17, 2026. The workshop organizers welcome researchers, especially trainees, to submit their scientific abstracts for travel and poster awards: https://www.utmb.edu/one-health/news-events/OH-symposium/welcome
References
1. Kayali G, Ortiz EJ, Chorazy ML, et al. Serologic evidence of avian metapneumovirus infection among adults occupationally exposed to Turkeys. Vector borne and zoonotic diseases 2011;11(11):1453–8. (Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov’t) (In eng). DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2011.0637.
2. Velayudhan BT, Nagaraja KV, Thachil AJ, Shaw DP, Gray GC, Halvorson DA. Human metapneumovirus in turkey poults. Emerging Infectious Diseases 2006;12(12):1853–9. (In eng) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17235379).
3. Yondon M, Zayat B, Nelson MI, et al. Equine influenza A(H3N8) virus isolated from Bactrian camel, Mongolia. Emerg Infect Dis 2014;20(12):2144–7. DOI: 10.3201/eid2012.140435.
4. Bailey ES, Fieldhouse JK, Alarja NA, et al. First sequence of influenza D virus identified in poultry farm bioaerosols in Sarawak, Malaysia. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2020;6:5. DOI: 10.1186/s40794-020-0105-9.
5. Vlasova AN, Diaz A, Damtie D, et al. Novel Canine Coronavirus Isolated from a Hospitalized Patient With Pneumonia in East Malaysia. Clin Infect Dis 2022;74(3):446–454. DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab456.
6. Fieldhouse JK, Bailey ES, Toh TH, et al. Panspecies molecular assays detect viral pathogens missed by real-time PCR/reverse-transcriptase PCR among pneumonia patients, Sarawak, Malaysia. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 2020;6:13. DOI: 10.1186/s40794-020-00114-2.
7. Bailey ES, Borkenhagen LK, Choi JY, Greer AE, Culhane MR, Gray GC. A feasibility study of conducting surveillance for swine pathogens in slurry from North Carolina swine farms. Sci Rep 2020;10(1):10059. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67313-x.
8. Shittu I, Silva D, Oguzie JU, et al. A One Health Investigation into H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Epizootics on Two Dairy Farms. Clin Infect Dis 2025;80(2):331–338. DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae576.
9. Shittu I, Oguzie JU, Hernandez-Vidal G, et al. Novel Rodent Coronavirus-like Virus Detected Among Beef Cattle with Respiratory Disease in Mexico. Viruses 2025;17(3). DOI: 10.3390/v17030433.
10. Oguzie JU, Hernandez-Vidal G, Moreno-Degollado G, Gray GC. First Detection of Boosepivirus B1 in a Sick Yearling’s Nasal Swab, Mexico. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 2025;19(10):e70165. DOI: 10.1111/irv.70165.