SPRINGFIELD — A bill creating an interdisciplinary commission to study the interplay between animals, the environment and infectious disease within the Illinois Department of Public Health passed the House unanimously Wednesday.
Senate Bill 291 aims to establish the One Health Commission to aid in communication and collaboration between the state’s physicians, veterinarians, scientific professionals and state agencies on the topics of public health and safety, particularly when it comes to diseases that originate or mutate in animals.
“I think it gives us an advantage so that we have a little bit to be prepared, hopefully there will never be another COVID or another avian flu, but it does give us kind of a leg up in how to plan and how to prepare for that,” bill sponsor Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Lake Forest, told Capitol News Illinois after the bill passed.
The bill’s passage comes after federal action in 2021 and 2023 instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create One Health framework in collaboration with other federal agencies. In February, the CDC launched the National One Health Framework in an effort to protect the people, animals and environment across America from zoonotic diseases, which are viruses or bacteria passed from animals to humans.
Although the term “one health” has been used by scientists since the 1800s, the CDC says it only gained public traction in the 20th century and even more so after the COVID-19 pandemic. Current attention on the issue comes amid concerns about the avian flu, which the IDPH director deemed not an “active risk” in February.
“A One Health approach is important because approximately 60% of known infectious diseases in humans and 75% of emerging infectious diseases originate from animals,” the bill language reads. “Animals can serve as early warning indicators of potential public health threats, and robust agricultural and environmental health systems are integral to public health preparedness and response efforts.”
Two other states have enacted One Health frameworks. After a 2021 Congressional report, New Jersey created a One Health Task Force, and after a 2023 Congressional act, the state of Washington started a One Health Needs Assessment Report.
Some of the issues these One Health frameworks deal with include “zoonotic diseases, neglected tropical diseases, vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and food security, environmental contamination,” according to the CDC.
SB291 tasks the One Health Commission with providing feedback and support to state agencies and local governments on zoonotic disease outbreaks in both humans and animals. Also, the bill directs the commission to develop and integrate new reductions of hazards to humans, animals and the environment into current public health strategies.
It will also improve health surveillance tools used by multiple agencies and organizations, as well as provide further education to public health and agricultural health professionals who prescribe antibiotics, including recommending the use of antibiotic alternatives.
Currently, Morrison said agencies and organizations lack the proper communication between their fields that is needed to tackle public health threats. SB291 aims to increase those communications by bringing public health experts together.
One Health Commission members will include the IDPH director, the president of the University of Illinois, the directors of six other state agencies, and the director of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, who will be an advisory, non-voting member. Others on the commission will include two licensed veterinarians, two licensed physicians – one of which must have expertise in infectious diseases surveillance – and four academic experts appointed by the director of IDPH.
Commission members would be unpaid.
Why veterinarians?
“Veterinarians are not just people who take care of dogs,” Morrison said. “We purchase the beef that veterinarians treat and care for. I mean, it’s even things like hormones, its antibiotics, it’s things that go into the animal population that we then end up consuming one way or the other.”
The commission will provide the General Assembly and governor with a report by Jan. 1, 2028. Among other things, the report will include an assessment of One Health surveillance and response systems as well as policy recommendations to increase public health and safety in the state.
And although the original bill language labeled the congregation of state officials and experts as a “task force,” the bill sponsor changed the language to a “commission” after the House committee hearing in March.
“You know, a task force is usually really short, and it has a report to the General Assembly and then it goes away,” Morrison said. “I think this speaks to a more permanent organization that’s going to be put in place.”
SB291 now awaits the governor’s approval to become law after passing both chambers without opposition.
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