Pathog Dis. 2017 Mar 1;75(2). doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftx012.
The emergence and evolution of pathogenic Escherichia coli strains associated with animal and human infections continues being a topic of active investigation in recent years. Latin America has responded to this thread establishing the Latin American Coalition for Escherichia coli Research (LACER), a multidisciplinary group of scientists applying principles of the One Health initiative. LACER is integrating animal, human and environmental health for the mutual benefit of all, while reducing the impact of human disease. Here, I depict the usefulness of this approach by providing three examples from several priority areas in E. coli research and comparing them to the activities performed by LACER, which are enhancing collaborative efforts in biomedical research and providing a translational platform to connect with epidemiological studies and public health policy makers. The manuscript concludes with a brief historical description regarding the establishment of LACER, emphasizing the importance of collaboration between health professionals of different international organizations and not only across one specific country, to effectively combat current and future E. coli infections. The benefits of utilizing 'One Health' concepts in the establishment of LACER should encourage other professionals studying zoonotic or environmentally acquired human infections to implement effective international collaborations to combat common problems.
近年来，与动物和人类感染相关的致病性大肠杆菌菌株的出现和进化一直是一个活跃的研究课题。拉丁美洲对此做出了回应，成立了拉丁美洲大肠杆菌研究联盟（LACER），这是一个多学科的科学家团队，他们应用了“同一健康”倡议的原则。LACER 将动物、人类和环境卫生整合在一起，使所有人受益，同时减少人类疾病的影响。在这里，我通过提供大肠杆菌研究几个优先领域的三个例子来说明这种方法的有用性，并将其与 LACER 开展的活动进行比较，这些活动增强了生物医学研究的合作，并提供了一个转化平台，以与流行病学研究和公共卫生决策者联系起来。本文最后简要描述了 LACER 的成立历史，强调了不同国际组织的卫生专业人员之间合作的重要性，而不仅仅是一个特定国家内部的合作，以有效应对当前和未来的大肠杆菌感染。在 LACER 的建立中利用“同一健康”概念的好处应该鼓励其他研究人畜共患或环境获得的人类感染的专业人员实施有效的国际合作，以共同应对共同的问题。
