eHealth technology to prevent and control zoonotic outbreaks: the One Health Hub

Background: According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, zoonotic diseases encompass a large part (75%) of all new or (re-)emerging infectious diseases in people [1]. To deal with these infections, cross-sectoral cooperation between human, animal and public health sectors is essential [2]. For this reason, the OneHealth approach must be applied, wherein these sectors strongly collaborate in order to achieve better public health outcomes [3]. However, as of yet this cross-sectional cooperation is suboptimal and should be improved [2]. One Health Hub: In this study, funded by ZonMW and Interreg (DE-NL), a web-based eHealth technology is developed, the OneHealth Hub (OHH). The OHH aims to support cross-sectoral cooperation by providing (1) information, (2) education and (3) communication, and by including not only professionals (working in human, animal or public health) but also general public as target group. It consists of an interactive tailored Q&A system for professionals and general public, and a serious game for professionals to support cross-sectoral cooperation through skills training for multidisciplinary decision-making during zoonotic outbreaks. The OOH demo will be introduced, participants can experience how a health technology can offer support in the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases. For example, the visitor can look up specific information by using the chatbot (part of the Q&A system) or the visitor can play the serious game in order to understand the complexity of decision making during zoonotic outbreaks. Demo presenters provide background information about the development process of the OHH.