| Summary: | Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2024 Rabies is a significant public health concern and is often described as the quintessential One Health problem, linking especially animal health to human health. I examine how rabies is managed in the circumpolar North with three cases: Alaska, Northwest Territories, and Svalbard. In this thesis, I describe rabies management in the North using a systems theory framework and explore challenges in this limited application of the One Health paradigm, focusing on animal and human health agencies and their interaction in rabies management in a northern environment. I conducted semi-structured interviews with fifteen key informants. My results indicate that most respondents characterize the working relationships between agencies as positive and that the approach to rabies management is highly collaborative. While rabies is managed at the territorial or state level in the Northwest Territories and Alaska, respectively, the perception of where authority lies in rabies management is less evident in Norway concerning Svalbard, owing to the unusual administrative structure of the archipelago. Some uncertainty also existed among Canadian rabies managers. Respondents generally describe working relationships between agencies as positive; however, coordination remains one of the main challenges to rabies management, along with harsh environmental conditions and the remoteness of the small communities. Rabies managers in Svalbard also face risks associated with hunting, whereas dogs present challenges to rabies management in Alaska and the Northwest Territories, owing to limited veterinary services in dispersed small and remote communities in these two regions. My research shows that poor collaboration between agencies can hinder effective disease management, even for a disease such as rabies, with a long history of control measures in animals (vaccination) to reduce human exposure to this zoonotic virus. These findings could guide the implementation of the full One Health ...
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