One Health is a growing field within public health that embraces the connection between animals, humans and the environment and solve complex health problems such as emerging infectious diseases, food safety and antibiotic resistance.
Deeper dive
The medical community observed that human and animal health were closely linked back in the late 1800s, but the concept of One Health has risen in prominence as the world’s population has exploded. By 2025, there are expected to be more than 8 billion people living on the planet, up from about 7.4 billion at the end of 2017.
Scientists estimate most emerging infections are a zoonotic, meaning they come from animals. Commonly known zoonotic diseases include avian influenza, Ebola, rabies, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Lyme Disease and likely COVID-19. Worldwide, the number of infectious disease outbreaks has tripled. More than a dozen new infectious diseases have emerged over the past 25 years in the U.S. alone.
As One Health is relatively new in the public health field, the definition of the term is imprecise. One Health has been defined as an initiative, a movement, a strategy, a framework, an agenda, an approach, and a collaborative effort. In general, One Health involves the intersection of biology, comparative medicine, earth sciences, ecology, engineering, human medicine, social sciences, humanities, and veterinary medicine. One Health programs link physicians, nurses, public health professionals, veterinarians, agricultural scientists, ecologists, social scientists, engineers, biologists, and other professionals, to develop holistic solutions for keeping humans, animals, and the environment healthy.
The CDC created the first One Health office in 2009, to foster collaboration between international, federal, state and local governments, as well as the academic, health and private sectors.