The One Health Approach With the Animal Health Laboratory

The “One health” movement started appearing at the beginning of the 21st century. It promotes an integrated, systemic and unified approach to the public, animal, and environmental health throughout the world. This movement began because of the recent numbers on diseases, mainly that 60% of known infections human diseases have their source in animals, as do 75% of emerging human diseases, and 80% of pathogens that could potentially be used in bioterrorism. Which is why veterinary research labs are important. We interviewed Xhelil KOLECI who is the head of the Animal health laboratory at the University of Tirana.

Tell us more about you?

My name is Xhelil KOLECI and I am a professor of Veterinary epidemiology and infectious disease.

About your lab, what is its history, its mission?

The animal health laboratory was established 10 years ago, and it moved into a new facility, which belongs to the university vocational, and training center building.

We are focusing on:

1. Serology methods for detecting antibody to a specific antigen, particularly Fluorescence Polarization Assay (FPA) and ELISA
2. PCR methods (conventional and mini PCR) for detecting the nucleic acids of pathogens with importance for animal and or both animal and human (zoonotic diseases).

What services does your lab offer?

We offer fast and high quality services in performing laboratory diagnosis for different animal and zoonotic diseases such as Bovine Viral Diarrhea, Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis, John’s disease, (Paratuberculosis), Bovine Tuberculosis, bovine brucellosis, sheep and goat brucellosis, clostridiosis, contagious agalactia of sheep and goats, sheep and goat caseous lymphadenitis, bluetongue, mastitis, a range of vector-borne disease, including tick-borne disease.

Our team aims to develop new diagnostic methods and transferring the most advanced methods. We aim to establish a mouse model in research work.

What sets your expertise apart from others?

We perform different methods in diagnostic and research activities. Quality, speed, applying most updating methods and tests, confidentiality and friendship are some of our fundamental pillars.

What challenges are you willing to address in the near future?

We would like to establish some of the current diagnostic research method: mouse model, flow cytometry and microarray methods.

What do you expect from Scientist?

We hope to get recognized.

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