Hygiena 2023, 68(2):55-62 | DOI: 10.21101/hygiena.a1834

The concept of One health: from theory to practice

Michaela Špačková, Radka Králová, Hana Orlíková, Ondřej Daniel

Státní zdravotní ústav, Centrum epidemiologie a mikrobiologie, Praha, Česká republika

During the 21st century, many global health threats related to zoonoses, new or re-emerging infectious diseases, climate change and/or environmental sustainability have emerged. Achieving harmonized approaches to the detection and prevention of these health risks is often difficult because traditional approaches are usually determined by the boundaries of financially and legislatively separated scientific fields, such as more or less independently functioning human and veterinary medicine, agriculture, climatology, sociology, economics, etc. The boundaries between these individual fields however, should not be solid, and cooperation should be based on common need or purpose. For better cooperation, numerous associations and groups, professional or based on interest, are being formed. Interdepartmental cooperation often struggles with legislative, competence and communication nodes. The "One Health" concept tries to break down these barriers and set new boundaries based on a common need, which is defined as ensuring the support of well-being and the possibility of jointly solving threats to health and ecosystems. It is based on the idea of achieving better public health outcomes worldwide through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Keywords: One Health, environment - health effects, health risk management

Received: March 2023; Accepted: May 5, 2023; Published: June 30, 2023  Show citation