First annual One Health Day highlights link between people’s health and animals, environment

What

The first annual global One Health Day will be held Thursday, November 3, to raise awareness worldwide about the One Health concept, which recognizes that the health of people is connected to the health of animals and the environment. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is among the many organizations participating in the international campaign. CDC is launching an updated website and taking part in a global hashtag Twitter campaign using #OneHealthDay. CDC’s One Health Office Director and veterinarian Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh also has published a blog about preventing diseases that can spread between people and animals. 

When

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Why

There are many examples showing how the health of people is related to the health of animals and the environment. There are some diseases, known as zoonotic diseases, that can spread between animals and people. Just this year, eight multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections were linked to backyard chickens. These outbreaks involved the largest number of illnesses in people linked to backyard poultry ever recorded, and highlight the need for awareness that even healthy looking chickens can carry germs that could make people sick and contaminate areas where the birds live and roam.

Animals also can provide early warning signs of potential human illness because they can get sick from some of same diseases and environmental hazards as people. For example, birds often die of West Nile virus before people show signs of illness and play an important role in surveillance for this virus.

One Health is not a new concept, but it has become more important in recent years as scientists work to combat zoonotic diseases, which make up 75 percent of today’s emerging infectious diseases. CDC uses a One Health approach by working with physicians, veterinarians, ecologists, and many others to monitor and control public health threats by learning about how diseases spread among people, animals, and the environment.

Where

Information about One Health Day can be found here: http://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/one-health-day.html. Information on CDC’s One Health approach and how it can help protect people’s health can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/. To join CDC in the global hashtag campaign, use #OneHealthDay on social media on Nov. 3. Dr. Barton Behravesh’s blog is here.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

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