Today, Cellfie is excited to bring you this fantastic article on a pressing issue that we have recently seen the disasterous implications of. The COVID-19 pandemic is thought to have arisen due to the spread of disease between species and Kareena's excellent article explores how we can learn from this to reach better health in the future through "One Health".
Despite countless red flags in the past, the COVID-19 pandemic was the disastrous catalyst needed to outline the vital nature of the concept of ‘One Health’ in today’s interconnected world. It may not be a new concept, but it has only recently been receiving recognition due to various factors including technological advancement, climate change and population growth. Implementing One Health could be the answer to improving world health.
Recognised as an important concept for decades, One Health only became an official initiative in the early 2000s. The concept acknowledges the interconnectivity of all living things in equality; human, animal and environmental health should all be appreciated and acted on. If too much stress is placed on one sector, it can have hugely negative impacts on overall health. Recently, One Health has been moved to the centre of the world stage as certain dynamics have changed. For example, contact with animals has increased due to an increase in human population, meaning that more people are encroaching on wild habitats and not respecting animal health. Furthermore, technological advancement has led to increased deforestation and rising climate change, upsetting ecosystems and causing lots of animals to enter urban areas, spreading disease and damaging their own health.
Today more than ever, One Health is being perceived as increasingly important as shown by the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, scientists believe that the pandemic originated in Chinese markets where lives animals were being stored in improper conditions too close to food, causing a spread of disease. If One Health had been taken into account, animal needs would have been respected, reducing the likelihood of disease spread. One Health is involved in all sectors of life. One area where this link is particularly apparent is in agriculture. For example, there has been evidence of cows infected with E.Coli infecting humans, as their diseased manure was used to fertilise crops that were later eaten by humans, infecting people.
Wherever you look, One Health is involved as its issues encompass not only zoonotic diseases, but also antibiotic resistance; food safety and security; vector-borne diseases, environmental health; chronic diseases; mental health; and occupational health. Moreover, the progress of climate change and pollution is having a dire affect on the environment and consequently, on animals and humans. Climate change is exacerbating the endangerment of many species including the Monarch Butterfly, which is rapidly losing its food and living space. Human activity as a whole is threatening temperature and weather patterns as well as water and food security of animals and humans alike. If the values of One Health were implemented by creating an appreciation for animal and environmental health, that matches the recognition of human health within the economy and society, the world could progress to recovery. After all, the environment, animals and humans are hugely interrelated. We need animals and nature not only for agriculture, security and economic gain but also very mental health.
The UN proposed seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs) including aims such as zero hunger; good health and well-being; clean water and sanitation; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; and life on land. Without One Health, these goals to improve the health of our world could simply not be reached. In the future, therefore, one health will be seen in all sectors of life. One health is already helping, as recognition of the concept has encouraged organisations such as the Puccini foundation to utilise comparative medicine to relate cancer research on animals to that in humans. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recognised the importance of one and has set up a new international disease expert panel who are addressing the spread of zoonotic diseases. With more education arising in industry in schools around the monumental benefits of adopting one health, earth may just have a fighting chance of recovery. One health is the way forward. After all, nature and self are not put into separate categories; they are under an interconnected umbrella that encompasses every sector of life.
A long, uneven road to achieving world health lays ahead of us but with the concept of One Health in our tool kit, humans may just achieve universal well-being.
By Kareena Cooper.