A general overview

One Health can be defined as a global concept of promoting human health based on a strategy for a better comprehension of the current health issues created by the interactions of human, animal and environment sciences. In fact, this global concept of promoting health is not new: this approach was proposed by William Osler and Rudolf Virchow, and enhanced by Calvin Schwabe’s in the 1984 published book “Veterinary Medicine and Human Health”. Considering the growing interdependence between human and animals, mainly due to their food products, the medical and veterinarian professions have been directed to work together, under this collaborative approach. As result, this approach stimulates collaborative studies between related groups, and mainly between science institutes from distinct regions and countries, to achieve optimal health for people, animals and the environment. This collaborative approach results in several benefits, such as:

• Improvement of animal and human health;
• Meeting new challenges that can be overcome with the collaboration among professionals from veterinary medicine, human medicine, environmental, wildlife and public health;
• Development of excellence centers for education and training, enhancing the collaboration between scientific groups of veterinary medicine, human medicine, and public health;
• Increase professional opportunities for physicians and veterinarians;
• Enhancing the scientific knowledge to create innovative programs to improve health

Considering these evidences of improving human and animal health, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) executive board established an official action to organize some activities under the One Health approach. So, after a meeting on April 14, 2007, AVMA organized the One Health Initiative Task Force (OHITF), in order to study the feasibility of a campaign to facilitate collaboration and cooperation among health sciences professions, academic institutions, governmental agencies, and industries. This collaborative approach would have the main goal of proper evaluation, treatment and preventive activities concerning animal and human common diseases. The OHITF proposed recommendations and strategic activities that would spread the One Health concept among the health professionals. Such activities are mainly based on the collaboration between distinct and related areas to veterinary medicine profession: public health, human medicine, animal science, environmental science, wildlife. As a result of the collaborative work between such areas, an obvious improving of the worldwide health can be achieved.

During a meeting promoted by the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, from CDC, under the theme “Operationalizing One Health: a policy perspective – taking stock and shaping an implementation roadmap”, it was identified that one of the main concerns is the proper training of professionals, in order to develop skills, expertise, and competencies. A possible result of such discussion would be the interaction between scientific and academic institutes and universities in order to propose an integrated curriculum for health related areas professions, aiming the formation of professionals with the global view of One Health approach, supposable able to integrate all issues concerning a specific health theme, and propose rational solutions based on their holistic knowledge.

Based on this overview, the interactions between scientific groups from distinct countries, with distinct health realities, would be a particularly interesting experience for such professionals. This kind of training would be a challenge for universities and scientific institutes, considering the possible limitations between distinct academic structure from participating countries and schools; however, the globalization reality that is currently worldwide spread must be considered in such agreements, mainly considering the purpose of promoting an improvement of the human health through the One Health approach. A professional with such training would be allowed to deal properly with relevant health issues worldwide, and would support the assessment and elucidation of health problems characterized by a diversity of particularities.

Universidade Federal de Viçosa

Considering the relevance of the One Health concept in the research areas developed by distinct Graduate Programs and Departments of Universidade Federal de Viçosa, the Dean of Research and Graduate Studies and the Office of International Affairs organized a workshop on 2013 August 6th, aiming the identification of common and related scientific activities in this area. The following graduate Programs were included in this first step of the Cooperation Program:

Veterinary Medicine: www.posvet.ufv.br
Nutrition Science: www.posnutricao.ufv.br
Agricultural Microbiology: www.posmicrobiologiaagricola.ufv.br
Food Science and Technology: www.dta.ufv.br/posgrad.htm

Also, the Department of Nursery and Medicine was also included in the Program (www.dem.ufv.br).

University of Washington
Soon…
In meanwhile, check: http://globalhealth.washington.edu/

Washington State University
Soon…
In meanwhile, check: http://globalhealth.wsu.edu/home-page