14 July 2018
The 130th anniversary issue explores the concept of One Health
The
British Veterinary Association (BVA) is celebrating the 130th
anniversary of its official journal Veterinary Record (Vet Record) today.
BVA's
association with Vet Record goes back almost 100 years. The weekly journal was
founded by William Hunting in 1888 and is regarded as one of the foremost
scientific journals within the veterinary profession globally. Writing in the
first edition of Vet Record published under BVA's (then National Veterinary
Medical Association, or NVMA) ownership in 1920, NVMA president Orlando
Charnock Bradley highlighted the key aims of this association as helping vets
to learn from each other's views and, most importantly, to speak for the
profession as a whole.
The
very first issue of Vet Record in 1888 carried a report about bovine TB and
risk of zoonotic transfer to children. For its 130th anniversary
edition, the theme of One Health once again takes centre stage, with The BMJ
editor Fiona Godlee taking over as guest editor. The special issue explores why
and how the veterinary and medical professions can work collaboratively under
the One Health umbrella to seek interdisciplinary approaches to tackle human,
animal and environmental health issues.
Vet
Record editor Adele Waters said:
“Vet
Record has a proud history of driving the concept of One Health - the
understanding that the health of our species is inextricably interwoven with
that of animals and the environment. In its first issue, the journal carried a
report about bovine TB amid heightened concern that the disease was being
transmitted to children via cows' milk. It has since tracked the risk,
spread, and management of zoonotic disease - from anthrax, rabies, glanders and
TB in the 19th century to the more recent health scares of severe acute
respiratory syndrome (SARS), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPA1 H5N1).
“In
November 2005, we published a joint issue with our sister title The BMJ and in
2014 we followed up with a series of articles exploring the meaning of One
Health and how a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach could help solve
emerging global problems. Today - on the journal's 130th birthday - we are
proud to publish a special issue with The BMJ editor Fiona Godlee as our guest
editor.”
Congratulating
Vet Record on this special occasion, British Veterinary Association President
John Fishwick said:
“I
would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the team at Vet Record on
reaching this exceptional milestone.
“BVA
is proud of its strong association with Vet Record spanning almost a century,
in which time the journal has documented some of the most important events in
veterinary medicine as well as the fundamental changes the profession has
undergone. I wish the journal all the very best as it continues to be an
invaluable resource for vets in the UK and indeed around the world each week.”
