One Health

The health of humans, animals, and ecosystems are closely interlinked. Changes in these relationships can increase the risk of new human and animal diseases developing and spreading. One Health is at the intersection of human health, animal health, and environmental health. The most commonly used definition shared by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the One Health Commission is: One Health is defined as 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.

The term One Health first came into usage after the SARS pandemic in 2003 and the spread of avian influenza, H5N1. The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has further demonstrated the close connection between humans, animals, and the shared environment. Through the One Health lens, public health initiatives will focus on surveillance and upstream interventions that provide benefits for the health of animal, human and ecosystems.

Source: One Health University of Calgary

One Health Resources

IPAC Canada Resources

• Antimicrobial Resistance Related to Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Position Statement (September 2018)
• 2019 IPAC-Canada Conference Presentation: One Health – The Risks and Rewards of Loving Animals

WHO

• One Health
• Fact sheets

CDC

• One Health
• Zoonotic Diseases
• US Outbreaks of Zoonotic Diseases Spread between Animals & People
• CDC Current Outbreak List
• Healthy Pets, Healthy People
• National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
• Connect with Us
• History of One Health
• One Health Office Fact Sheet
• ZOHU Calls/Webinars

CFIA

• Community for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases

Public Health Ontario

• Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza: Infection Prevention and Control Guidance for Veterinary Clinics

Other

• One Health University of Calgary
• One Health Initiative (OHI) (Uniting human and veterinary medicine)
• One Health Institute University of Guelph
• Infection Prevention and Control Best Practices for Small Animal Clinics released in 2020  (Ontario Animal Health Network)
• Worms & Germs Blog (University of Guelph Centre for Public Health & Zoonoses)
• Fact sheets - Zoonotic Infections from Pets (University of Guelph Centre for Public Health & Zoonoses)
• Animals in Healthcare Facilities: Recommendations to Minimize Potential Risks Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, Volume 36, Issue 5, May 2015 , pp.495 - 516. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/ice.2015.15