One Health


One Health is an approach calling for "the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment", as defined by the One Health Initiative Task Force. It developed in response to evidence of the spreading of zoonotic diseases between species and increasing awareness of "the interdependence of human and animal health and ecological change". In this viewpoint, public health is no longer seen in purely human terms. Due to a shared environment and highly conserved physiology, animals and humans not only suffer from the same zoonotic diseases but can also be treated by either structurally related or identical drugs. For this reason, special care must be taken to avoid unnecessary or over-treatment of zoonotic diseases, particularly in the context of drug resistance in infectious microbes.
A number of organizations throughout the world support the objectives of "One Health" including the One Health Commission, One Health Initiative, One Health Platform, CDC One Health Office, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists, and the Quadripartite Organizations. The Quadripartite Organizations are:
In particular, the One Health High Level Expert Panel, an independent advisory group to the Quadripartite Organizations, provided a comprehensive definition of One Health, whereby:
"One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of humans, animals, plants and ecosystems. It recognizes the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment are closely linked and interdependent. The approach mobilizes multiple sectors, disciplines and communities at varying levels of society to work together to foster well-being and tackle threats to health and ecosystems, while addressing the collective need for clean water, energy and air, safe and nutritious food, taking action on climate change, and contributing to sustainable development."

History

In the 19th century, two leading physicians first noticed and discussed the relationship between human health and animal health: Rudolf Virchow and William Osler. Osler has been credited through word of mouth in the medical community with coining the term "One Medicine", though no direct evidence has been found for this.
In its contemporary form, the concept of "One Health" is generally credited to the work of Calvin Schwabe at the University of California, Davis in the 1960s and 1970s. Schwabe, a veterinarian trained in public health, coined the term "One Medicine" in a veterinary medical textbook in 1964 to reflect the similarities between animal and human medicine and stress the importance of collaboration between veterinarians and physicians to help solve global health problems. He established a department at UC Davis to jointly address issues in the animal and human health sciences. Schwabe went on to fully rethink and develop the concept of One Medicine in 1976. Since 2009, UC Davis has continued to support the One Health movement through its One Health Institute.
In 2004, The Wildlife Conservation Society held a conference called "One World, One Health" at Rockefeller University in New York. Out of that conference the twelve Manhattan Principles were created to describe a unified approach to preventing epidemic diseases. These principles emphasized links between humans, animals, and the environment, their importance in understanding disease dynamics, and the need for interdisciplinary approaches to prevention, education, investment, and policy development.
Due to global scares surrounding the H5N1 influenza outbreaks of the early-mid 2000s, the American Veterinary Medical Association established a One Health Initiative Task Force in 2006, the American Medical Association passed a One Health resolution to promote partnering between veterinary and human medical organizations in 2007, and a One Health approach was recommended for responses to global disease outbreaks in 2007. Building on these initiatives, the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health, and World Health Organization came together with the United Nations Children's Fund, United Nations System Influenza Coordination, and the World Bank to develop a framework entitled Contributing to One World, One Health-A Strategic Framework for Reducing Risks of Infectious Diseases at the Animal-Human-Ecosystems Interface in 2008, reiterating recommendations for a One Health approach to global health. This framework was expanded and implementable policies were developed at Stone Mountain, Georgia in May 2010. International meetings on One Health were held in 2011 in Africa and Australia.
In 2012, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, a physician, and Kathryn Bowers, a science journalist, published the book Zoobiquity, coining the term as they drew parallels between animal and human health through vivid case studies. They called for the biomedical scientific and clinical communities to rediscover comparative medicine and reexamine human and animal health in terms of evolution and the environment. A New York Times bestseller, the book has been described as "easy to read and entertaining" in its presentation of ideas similar to the "One Health" concept, but also criticized as lacking depth and failing to recognize the extent to which animals and humans have differently evolved as complex systems.
In 2016, The One Health Commission, One Health Platform, and One Health Initiative Team deemed International One Health Day to be November 3.
In 2019, Senator Tina Smith and Representative Kurt Schrader introduced the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act into the United States Senate and House of Representatives, respectively. This bi-partisan piece of legislation would require that the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture, and other federal agencies develop a coordinated plan to create a One Health Framework to help prepare responses to zoonotic disease and prevent disease outbreaks.
The bill was re-introduced by Tina Smith and Todd Young on March 18, 2021.

Leading and supporting organizations

One Health Commission (OHC)

In 2007, Roger K. Mahr from the American Veterinary Medical Association, Jay H. Glasser from the American Public Health Association, and Ronald M. Davis from the American Medical Association came together as liaisons with other health science professionals, academics, students, government workers, and industry scientists to create a task force and have teleconferences to discuss One Health. This One Health Initiative Task Force created a report in 2008 which outlined recommendations to:
  • Create a joint steering committee,
  • Implement improved communications efforts,
  • Plan national One Health studies,
  • Develop a One Health Commission,
  • Create advisory teams,
  • Establish national meetings,
  • and engage medical, veterinary, and public health students.
The One Health Commission was chartered in Washington, D.C. in 2009 as a 5013 non-profit organization. Its mission is to connect individuals and create relationships across human, animal, and environmental health sectors, as well as to educate the public about these issues with the intent to improve global health. Roger Mahr was the founding CEO. A request for proposal for an institutional partner was put forth in 2010, and Iowa State University was selected to be the main site for operations. In 2013, Roger Mahr retired from the commission and the operations site moved to the Research Triangle of North Carolina, where it currently resides. The current executive director is Cheryl Stroud, a veterinarian, who has held the position since 2013.
The One Health Commission began in 2014 compiling a Who's Who in One Health, a Directory of organizations around the world that are actively working to further the One Health paradigm shift. The OHC also oversees a Global One Health Community listserv. In addition the commission has a webpage known as the One Health Library with many types of resources available on the topic of or connected to One Health.

One Health Initiative

The One Health Initiative is an interdisciplinary movement to create collaborations between animal, human, and environmental health organizations including the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Medical Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United States Department of Agriculture, Vétérinaires sans Frontières/ Tierärzte ohne Grenzen and the United States National Environmental Health Association, among others. Such collaboration, which often remains very limited, could lead to more quick and profound exchange of knowledge and insights between disciplines and professionals, which is important to better and more rapidly respond to outbreaks and newly emerging zoonoses and diseases.

One Health Platform

The One Health Platform is a scientific reference network to unite researchers and experts to better understand and prepare for zoonotic disease outbreaks from animals to humans, and antimicrobial resistance, including a better understanding of environmental factors that impact disease dynamics.
The management board is made up of Ab Osterhaus, John Mackenzie, and Chris Vanlangendonck.
The organization has nine objectives, which include:
  • Disseminating research results at biennial meetings,
  • Identifying knowledge gaps in the field,
  • Engaging policy makers,
  • Establishing a Bio Threats Scanning Group to connect One Health and global health security,
  • Share data,
  • Serve as a reference network to the government,
  • Foster collaborations,
  • Implement policies,
  • and increase awareness during One Health Day.
The One Health Platform was responsible for organizing the World One Health Congress meeting each year 2015 - 2020.
The next World One Health Congress scheduled for 2022 continued in Singapore hosted by SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute.