Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
From 'two medicines' to 'One Health' and beyond.
- Journal:
- The Onderstepoort journal of veterinary research
- Year:
- 2012
- Authors:
- Zinsstag, Jakob et al.
- Affiliation:
- Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
Plain-English summary
This paper discusses the idea of "One Health," which emphasizes the importance of collaboration between human and animal health sectors to improve overall health and save money. It suggests that instead of treating this as a new field, it should be a normal practice for health professionals to work together. The authors provide examples from Africa and Asia where this approach has led to better health outcomes and control of diseases that can spread between animals and humans. They also highlight the need to rethink health services in light of challenges like food security and environmental issues. Overall, the paper argues for making "One Health" a standard practice to enhance health for both people and animals.
Abstract
We first review historic and conceptual background to integrative thinking in medicine. Lacking a general theory of 'One Health', we provide an operational definition of 'One Health' and its leverage as: any added value in terms of human and animal health, financial savings or environmental benefit from closer cooperation of human and animal health sectors at all levels of organisation. Examples of such added value of 'One Health' are given from the fields of health systems, nutrition and zoonoses control in Africa and Asia. 'One Health' must become main-stream rather than a new discipline or new association; it should just become normal that practitioners and professionals in the health, animal and environment sectors work together as closely as possible. Current and future challenges in financing clean energy, migration flows, food security and global trade further warrant rethinking of human and animal health services. A conceptual outlook relates health as an outcome of human-environment systems called 'health in social-ecological systems'. The paper ends with an outlook on the operationalisation of 'One Health' and its future potential, specifically also in industrialised countries.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23327380/