One Health
Figure by the World Health Organization depicting the One Health concept(www.who.int)
One health (called ”en helse” in Norwegian) is an approach that recognizes the close connection between human health, animals, and the environment. This is an initiative demanding close collaboration between institutions working with human data, biodiversity, and the environment. Integrating data from these can enhance surveillance and the management of known and emerging infectious diseases.
It is estimated that approximately 75% of emerging pathogens causing illness in humans are zoonotic, being derived from animals through the shared environment in which we live (1). One health considers several types of diseases and transmission routes. Zoonotic diseases is one of these and represent transmissions from animals to humans, such as rabies, avian influenza, Mpox, SARS-COV2, and Ebola. Similarly, there are vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks, including malaria, dengue fever, and Lyme disease. Other examples can be found in food-borne Illnesses caused by e.g. salmonellosis and E. coli infections contracted through contaminated food products. The gastrointestinal illness caused by Campylobacter outbreaks in Norway over 12 years is a concrete One Health approach to establishing real-time disease surveillance (2). Environmental contamination caused by water pollution (e.g. animal waste products in water supply systems) or toxic waste exposure is also covered by this approach.
By linking humans, animals, and the environment, One Health can help to address the full spectrum of disease control – from prevention to detection, preparedness, response, and forecasting – and contribute to global health security. There are projects in Norway aligning with the One health approach like the NMBU-leadHUNT One HealthandThe One Health Education and Research projecthosted by UiT. For the current list of projects by the Research Council of Norway see the list below pulled from Prosjektbanken.
Norwegian resources for One Health
External resources
- Latest publication in Cristin
- Ongoing projects listed in Prosjektbanken