1️⃣ What is the ‘One Health’ concept?
“One Health” is a concept, strategy, and goal that has gradually established itself in the life sciences, veterinary medicine, and biomedical sciences. It recognizes the links between human health, animal health, and the environment, and advocates for holistic and prospective approaches to emerging infectious diseases considering the complex interconnections between species.
2️⃣ What is the significance of the ‘One Health’ concept?
The “One Health” concept is significant as it could help us better understand, anticipate, and manage the outbreak of new pandemics. It emphasizes the need for collaboration between different disciplines and sectors, and for recognizing and addressing the multiple interactions between public health, economy, animal health, and the environment.
3️⃣ What is the relationship between human activities and epidemics?
Human activities such as hunting, deforestation, and climate change can trigger epidemics of zoonotic origin. These activities can disturb the dynamics of interactions between populations of humans, infectious agents, animal reservoirs, and sometimes insect vectors, which usually trigger such epidemics.
4️⃣ What is the role of the ‘One Health’ concept in managing epidemics?
The “One Health” concept emphasizes the importance of considering the socio-economic, political, religious, and cultural realities of the country concerned in managing an epidemic. It also stresses the need for the support of populations for public health strategies and for communication and education strategies to adapt to each societal context.
5️⃣ What are the challenges in adopting the ‘One Health’ vision?
Despite the emergence of the “One Health” concept and its recognition by various international public health organizations, it remains little known to the public and is rarely integrated into government decision-making processes. The chaotic management of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted that the “One Health” vision is rarely adopted by policymakers, and governments have been unable to anticipate the emergence of new viral pandemics of zoonotic origin.
SRIRAM's
