One Health is a collective approach/concept that strives to achieve optimal health outcomes by recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and the environment.

What is One Health?

<ol><li>Increase in human populations & our dependancy on animals causes more people to live in close contact with wild/domestic animals.</li><li>Disruptions in environmental conditions & habitats .</li><li>The increase in movement of people, animals, and animal products from international travel & trade.</li></ol>

The concept of One health in real life

One Health issues include:<ul><li><a href="https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html">Zoonotic diseases</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/xZbcwi7SfZE">Antimicrobial resistance</a></li><li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.00001/full">Food safety & security</a></li><li><a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases">Vector-borne diseases</a></li><li><a href="https://www.scientificworldinfo.com/2019/10/effects-of-environmental-pollution-on-human-health.html?m=1">Environmental contamination/pollution</a></li></ul>Medical, psychological, economic and occupational fields can also benefit from a One Health approach involving collaboration across disciplines and sectors.

One Health issues.

Successful public health interventions require communication, cooperation and a coordination of activities between human, animal, & environmental health professionals, as well as policy makers, law enforcement & the general public. Collaboration between sectors is crucial in tackling problems at a human-animal-environment interface.

The One Health approach

health

Health

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One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach — working at the local, regional, national, and global levels — with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment.

One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. One Health is not new, but it has become more important in recent years. This is because many factors have changed interactions between people, animals, plants, and our environment.

<ul><li>Human populations are growing and expanding into new geographic areas. As a result, more people live in close contact with wild and domestic animals, both livestock and pets. Animals play an important role in our lives, whether for food, fiber, livelihoods, travel, sport, education, or companionship. Close contact with animals and their environments provides more opportunities for diseases to pass between animals and people. </li><li>The earth has experienced changes in climate and land use, such as deforestation and intensive farming practices. Disruptions in environmental conditions and habitats can provide new opportunities for diseases to pass to animals. </li><li>The movement of people, animals, and animal products has increased from international travel and trade. As a result, diseases can spread quickly across borders and around the globe. </li> </ul>

These changes have led to the spread of existing or known (endemic) and new or emerging <a href="/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html">zoonotic diseases </a>, which are diseases that can spread between animals and people. Examples of zoonotic diseases include:

Learn about zoonotic diseases, how they spread, and how to prevent them

<ul><li>Rabies </li><li>Salmonella infection </li><li>West Nile virus infection </li><li>Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) </li><li>Anthrax </li><li>Brucellosis </li><li>Lyme disease </li><li>Ringworm </li><li>Ebola </li> </ul>

Animals also share our susceptibility to some diseases and environmental hazards. Because of this, they can sometimes serve as early warning signs of potential human illness. For example, birds often die of West Nile virus before people in the same area get sick with West Nile virus infection.

One Health issues include zoonotic diseases, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/">antimicrobial resistance </a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/">food safety </a>and food security, vector-borne diseases, environmental contamination, and other health threats shared by people, animals, and the environment. Even the fields of chronic disease, mental health, injury, occupational health, and noncommunicable diseases can benefit from a One Health approach involving collaboration across disciplines and sectors.

check solid icon Communication check solid icon Coordination check solid icon Collaboration

Among human, animal, environmental health, and other relevant partners.

One Health is gaining recognition in the United States and globally as an effective way to fight health issues at the human-animal-environment interface, including zoonotic diseases. CDC uses a One Health approach by involving experts in human, animal, environmental health, and other relevant disciplines and sectors in monitoring and controlling public health threats and to learn about how diseases spread among people, animals, plants, and the environment.

Successful public health interventions require the cooperation of human, animal, and environmental health partners. Professionals in human health (doctors, nurses, public health practitioners, epidemiologists), animal health (veterinarians, paraprofessionals, agricultural workers), environment (ecologists, wildlife experts), and other areas of expertise need to communicate, collaborate on, and coordinate activities. Other relevant players in a One Health approach could include law enforcement, policymakers, agriculture, communities, and even pet owners. No one person, organization, or sector can address issues at the animal-human-environment interface alone.

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

Learn about CDC’s One Health Office, its history, and its mission.

Read stories about how One Health is being used to fight diseases across the globe.

See One Health resources, including free downloadable graphics, publications, partners, and more.

<ul><li><a href="/onehealth/basics/index.html">One Health Basics </a><a href="#nav-group-27ed0">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html">Zoonotic Diseases </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/basics/history/index.html">History </a><a href="#nav-group-1f199">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/basics/history/stone-mountain.html">Stone Mountain Meeting </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/basics/history/meetings.html">Meetings </a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/who-we-are/index.html">Who We Are </a><a href="#nav-group-ca3b2">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/who-we-are/one-health-office-fact-sheet.html">One Health Office Fact Sheet </a> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/what-we-do/index.html">What We Do </a><a href="#nav-group-cdc23">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/what-we-do/zoonotic-disease-prioritization/index.html">Zoonotic Disease Prioritization </a><a href="#nav-group-fc0ba">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/what-we-do/zoonotic-disease-prioritization/fact-sheet.html">Prioritization Overview </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/what-we-do/zoonotic-disease-prioritization/completed-workshops.html">Completed Workshops </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/what-we-do/zoonotic-disease-prioritization/us-workshops.html">US Workshop </a> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/index.html">One Health in Action </a><a href="#nav-group-cc277">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/china-holds-first-stepwise.html">China Holds First Stepwise Approach to Rabies Elimination (SARE) Workshop </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/working-together-for-one-health.html">Working Together for One Health </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/influenza-and-zoonoses-education.html">Educating Youth in Agriculture </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/cchf.html">Understanding Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever in Kazakhstan </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/crowdsourcing.html">Crowdsourcing for Zoonotic Diseases </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/poisoned-sea-otters.html">Poisoned Sea Otters in California </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/rvf-vaccine.html">The Story of the Rift Valley Fever Virus Vaccine </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/in-action/lead-poisoning.html">Lead Poisoning Investigation in Northern Nigeria </a> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/index.html">ZOHU Calls/Webinars </a><a href="#nav-group-88ba6">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/continuingeducation.html">Continuing Education for ZOHU Calls/Webinars </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2021/index.html">2021 ZOHU Calls </a><a href="#nav-group-2591f">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2021/april.html">April </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2021/march.html">March </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2021/february.html">February </a> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/index.html">2020 ZOHU Calls </a><a href="#nav-group-4ad8e">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/december.html">December </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/november.html">November </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/october.html">October </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/september.html">September </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/august.html">August </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/june.html">June </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/may.html">May </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/march.html">March </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2020/february.html">February </a> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/index.html">2019 ZOHU Calls </a><a href="#nav-group-842d6">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/december.html">December </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/november.html">November </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/october.html">October </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/september.html">September </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/august.html">August </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/june.html">June </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/may.html">May </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/april.html">April </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/march.html">March </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2019/february.html">February </a> </li> </ul> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/index.html">2018 ZOHU Calls </a><a href="#nav-group-6c1a1">plus icon </a><ul><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/december.html">December </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/november.html">November </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/october.html">October </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/september.html">September </a> </li><li><a href="/onehealth/zohu/2018/august.html">August </a> </li><li><a 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One Health Basics | One Health | CDC

What is One Health?

The concept of One health in real life

One Health issues.

The One Health approach

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