One Health: Exploring the Intersection of Animal, Human, and Environmental Health

This academic year, the UArizona College of Veterinary Medicine is celebrating the graduation of its inaugural cohort. This achievement symbolizes a stride towards fostering the principles of One Health – the interconnectedness of animal, human, and environmental health.

One Health offers a multidisciplinary solution to tackle critical issues that affect our communities. It's a harmonious blend of various disciplines, uniting to confront the vital challenges facing our world. This holistic approach elevates the collective health of animals, humans, and the environment.

Veterinary medicine has stood as a pillar of the One Health initiative. "A veterinarian thinks about the humans who are associated with an animal and the environment that is shared by both the humans and the animal. It's this lateral thinking that makes veterinarians exceptional team members," said Dr. Worthing, an assistant professor of practice in the UArizona College of Veterinary Medicine.

Drs. Worthing, Cooper, and Pogreba-Brown are laying the foundation for even more robust collaborations, focusing on food safety and foodborne diseases that affect both animals and humans. They want to use animal shelters as a model for infection control in human long-term care facilities.

These innovative projects exemplify the vast potential of One Health to bridge the gap between veterinary medicine and public health, opening doors to more resilient and sustainable solutions.