One Health is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and optimise the health of people, animals and ecosystems. It is seen as a transformative approach to improving global health.1
60%
of emerging infectious diseases that are reported globally come from animals, both wild and domestic.
World Health Organization. 2023. One Health factsheet.2
The health of humans, animals and ecosystems are closely interlinked. Changes in these relationships can increase the risk of new human and animal diseases developing and spreading, and endanger our ecosystems.
Animal trade, agriculture and livestock farming practices have created new opportunities for diseases to spread between animals and humans (disease ‘spillover’ and ‘spillback’).
Urbanisation, habitat change and climate change also heighten this risk. For example, the way land is used can have an impact on the number of malaria cases. Weather patterns and human-built water controls can affect diseases such as dengue.
As a result, the One Health approach calls for human, animal and environmental health sectors to collaborate closely to help address health challenges. It mobilises multiple fields, disciplines and communities to work together. This way, new and better ideas are developed that address root causes and create long-term, sustainable solution.3,4
30
More than 30 new human pathogens have been detected in the last 3 decades. 75% of them originated in animals.
World Health Organization. 2023. One Health factsheet.5
One Health and the veterinary professions
The veterinary sector is a vital element of effective One Health. The One Health approach applies to several challenges that are directly relevant to veterinary professionals, including:
- antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
- infectious diseases that spread between animals and people (zoonotic diseases), such as avian flu and rabies
- food safety and foodborne diseases caused by contamination of food, such as norovirus, salmonella and listeria
- vector-borne diseases caused by bites from mosquitoes, ticks, lice and fleas, such as dengue fever, Lyme disease and malaria
- environmental health issues, such as the extent to which parasiticides and pharmaceuticals contaminate waterways and pastures, and harm wildlife.
This means your day-to-day work to prevent, identify and treat animal diseases not only affects your patient, but can also affect the health of us all, now and in the long term.
There are many important ways your whole team can contribute to One Health. For example, how you audit and prescribe antimicrobials, store and dispose of medicines, apply cleaning and infection control protocols, and work with animal owners on treatment and husbandry can all make a difference.
A One Health approach is critical. We must understand how human, animal and environmental health are connected if we want to prevent the next pandemic at its source.”
Dr Matthew Stone 6
References
- World Health Organization. 2025. One Health.
- World Health Organization. 2023. One Health factsheet.
- World Health Organization. 2017. One Health questions and answers
- World Health Organization. 2023. One Health factsheet.
- World Health Organization. 2023. One Health factsheet.
- The Changing Face of Pandemic Risk: 2024 Report