One health initiative and approach

 All you need to know about one health initiative

One Health initiative is a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach - operating at local, regional, national, and international levels - with the aim of achieving appropriate health outcomes for people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

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What Is One health initiative ?

One health initiative is a way of recognizing that human life is closely linked to animal health and the environment in which we live. One health is not new, but it is very important in recent years. This is because many things have changed the communication between humans, animals, plants, and our environment.

The population is growing and growing in new areas. As a result, many people live very close to wild and domestic animals, livestock and pets. Animals play a vital role in our lives, be it food, fiber, livelihood, travel, sports, education, or friendship. Close contact with animals and their habitats provides an important opportunity for disease to spread between animals and humans.

The world is experiencing changes in climate and land use, such as deforestation and intensive farming practices. Disruption to the environment and human habitats can provide new opportunities for diseases to spread to animals.

The movement of people, animals, and animal products has increased from travel and trade. As a result, diseases can spread rapidly across borders and around the world.

These changes have led to the spread of existing or known (existing) diseases as well as new or emerging zoonotic diseases, which are diseases that can spread between animals and humans. Examples of zoonotic diseases include:

Rabies

Salmonella infection

West Nile virus infection

Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii)

Anthrax

Brucellosis

Lyme disease

The caterpillar

Ebola

Animals also share our vulnerability to other diseases and natural disasters. Because of this, they can sometimes serve as early warning signs of possible human illness. For example, birds are often killed by the West Nile virus before people in the area get sick with the West Nile virus.

What are the most common issues with One Health initiative ?

Some of the health problems include zoonotic diseases, bacterial resistance, food safety and food security, vector-borne diseases, environmental pollution, and other health threats shared by humans, animals and the environment. Even the sectors of chronic diseases, mental health, injuries, occupational health, and non-communicable diseases can benefit from the One Health initiative which involves collaboration across all sectors.

How does the One Health initiative work?

Between humans, animals, environmental health, and other relevant partners.

One Health is gaining recognition in the India and around the world as an effective way to combat health problems in a virtual animal-ecological network, including zoonotic diseases. The CDC uses the One Health initiative by engaging experts in the field of human, animal, environmental, and other relevant fields and sectors in addressing and managing public health threats and learning how diseases spread to humans, animals, plants and the environment.

Effective public health interventions require the cooperation of veterinary partners, veterinarians and environmental health partners. Human health professionals (doctors, nurses, community health workers, pathologists), animal health (veterinarians, health workers, agricultural workers), the environment (naturalists, wildlife specialists), and other areas of expertise require communication, collaboration, and coordination. Other players eligible for the One Health initiative could include law enforcement, policy makers, agriculture, communities, and pet owners. No one person, organization, or sector can deal with problems on only the animal-human visual interface.

By promoting collaboration across all sectors, the One Health initiative can achieve the best health outcomes for people, animals and plants in a shared environment.