Good governance in 'one health' approaches

Abstract

The authors discuss 'One Health' approaches for controlling newly recognised and re-emerging diseases of animal origin and contributions towards pandemic preparedness based on enhanced collaboration between Veterinary Services, Human Health Services and Environmental Services. Improved veterinary governance and cooperation with public health managers, social scientists, ecologists and many other stakeholders are important for reducing the risks of potential zoonoses--including foodborne diseases--at their source. Two case studies are presented to illustrate how One Health approaches can make a difference--Hendra disease incidents in Australia and rabies management on the African continent. This article also includes an overview of collaboration at the international level between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natiorfs, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the World Health Organization. Environmental determinants for disease emergence, anthropogenic climate change and human encroachment on shrinking wildlife habitats are considered, using highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) and Nipah virus as examples. Finally, the authors discuss the effects of livestock production on environmental change--in the light of global population growth and increasing demand for livestock and aquaculture products--with the need for future policy decisions to be based on a multidisciplinary One Health approach.