Links Among Human Health, Animal Health, and Ecosystem Health

• Published in: Annual review of public health Vol. 34; no. 1; pp. 189 - 204
• Main Authors: RABINOWITZ, Peter, CONTI, Lisa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Palo Alto, CA Annual Reviews 01-01-2013
• Subjects: Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Demography; Ecosystem; Environmental Health; Forecasting; Hazardous Substances - adverse effects; Humans; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Public Health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Zoonoses - epidemiology; Zoonoses - etiology; Human; human animal interface; multidisciplinary approach; Animal; Ecosystem; Health hazards; shared health risks; Multidisciplinary; Public health; One Health
• ISSN: 0163-7525; 1545-2093
• DOI: 10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031912-114426

In the face of growing world human and animal populations and rapid environmental change, the linkages between human, animal, and environmental health are becoming more evident. Because animals and humans have shared risk to health from changing environments, it seems logical to expand the perspective of public health beyond a single species to detect and manage emerging public health threats. Mitigating the effects of climate change, emerging pathogens, toxicant releases, and changes in the built environment requires a retooling of global public health resources and capabilities across multiple species. Furthermore, human and animal health professionals must overcome specific barriers to interprofessional collaboration to implement needed health strategies. This review outlines the relationships between human, animal, and ecosystem health and the public health challenges and opportunities that these links present.