One Health and Zoonoses: The Evolution of One Health and Incorporation of Zoonoses

One health: a structured review and commentary on trends and themes

BACKGROUND

One Health (OH) is defined as a unifying approach aiming to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals and the ecosystem. It recognises that the health of humans, animals (both domestic and wild), plants and the wider ecosystem are both interdependent and linked. As a concept, it aims to address complex problems requiring input from multiple disciplines. Suitable issues for OH approaches typically include global issues which can widely impact not only the health of humans and animals, but also have a significant environmental impact. Examples include emerging zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Interpretations and use of the term OH differ in the literature and have the potential to dilute its impact. The meaning of OH among the research community has evolved over time. Here, we collate the OH relevant literature from the last two decades, identifying major themes and trends and considering how OH has been embraced differently across various geographical regions.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Bibliographic databases were searched using the term "One Health" AND ("Veterinary" OR "Animal") AND ("Medicine" OR "Human") AND ("Environment" OR "Ecosystem") during the period between 1980 and 2022. Data analysis and narrative synthesis identified themes, similarities, and differences within literature. Web of Science and PubMed returned 948 and 1250 results for the period mentioned above. The predominant literature focused on human health, with veterinary health second, although often to benefit human health. It was found that OH is often utilised as a public health approach, generally towards the end of disease surveillance and control. Interestingly, while authors from low- and middle-income countries were well-represented within studies using the term OH, they were less well-represented as corresponding authors.

CONCLUSIONS

The predominant focus of the literature was on human and veterinary health, implying OH approach is human-orientated, despite its suggestion that all domains share a common 'health'. Potential improvement to OH could be achieved through greater incorporation of the environmental and social sciences for a more encompassing approach.

Understanding eco-immunology of bacterial zoonoses and alternative therapeutics toward "One Health"

The current review identifies key bacterial zoonoses, the understanding of comparative immunology, evolutionary trade-offs between emerging bacterial pathogens and their dynamics on both arms of immunity. The several gaps in the literature limit our understanding of spread of prominent bacterial zoonotic diseases and the host-pathogen interactions that may change in response to environmental and social factors. Gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how anthropogenic activities affects the spread of emerging zoonotic diseases, is essential for predicting and mitigating future disease emergence through fine-tuning of surveillance and control measures with respect to different pathogens. This review highlights the urgent need to increase understanding of the comparative immunity of animal reservoirs, design of vaccines according to the homology in host-pathogen interactions, and the alternative strategies to counter the risk of bacterial pathogenic spillover to humans with eventual spread of zoonotic diseases.

One health approach to tackle brucellosis: a systematic review

Background

Brucellosis is the most significant and common bacterial zoonosis and is recognized as a re-emerging and neglected disease. Tackling zoonosis is very important for the health and the economy. One Health is an approach characterized by the integration of human and animal health, plants, and ecosystems and encourages joining local, national, and global multidisciplinary efforts to achieve optimal levels of health and collaboration among different disciplines to address complex health problems.

Objectives

The present study aimed to review published scientific literature related to the use of the One Health approach to tackle human brucellosis.

Methods

Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, and Embase databases were searched from inception until 30 January 2020. The reference lists of all relevant papers were hand-searched. Two authors extracted data from published studies independently. The Joanna Briggs Institute tool was used to assess the quality of studies.

Results

Of 2297 studies, 10 studies were deemed eligible, which were conducted between 2013 and 2019. Studies were performed in Uganda, Malta, Serbia, Greece, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, Israel, India, Ethiopia, and the USA. All studies suggested that brucellosis is still a major public health problem and that the most important aspect of the One Health approach is the interdependence of humans, ecosystems, and animals .Some studies have focused on livestock vaccination as the most effective way to prevent disease, and others have focused on the biology of Brucella infection and its transmission patterns. Some studies have pointed to the effectiveness of the One Health approach in all the phases of disease management as well as to its role in reducing health costs.

Conclusion

The success of the approach depends on the willingness of the decision-makers to implement the necessary policies. Due to the heterogeneity of current practices, and organizations involved in One Health approach-based programs, it will be incomplete without proper planning. To better implement the approach, strategies should be appraised and disseminated by experts and relevant stakeholders.