History and perspectives of "One Health" approach

Abstract

Human and animal health face a complex scenario associated with global change that challenges the paradigms to which both fields have traditionally been confronted. Problems such as climate change, the increase in world population and urbanization, the intensification of livestock and agricultural production,  the disruption of ecosystems and globalization of trade and human transit, among others, make necessary to review the strategies to promote public health. There are numerous historical precedents that document attempts to integrate different dimensions in the field of health, although it was just in the first years of this  century that the “One Health” approach was formalized as a strategy for the promotion of public health. Availability and safety of water and food, resistance to antimicrobials and the emergence or re-emergence of zoonoses can be mentioned among the challenges to be addressed by the “One Health” framework. We must consider the challenge that represents for our regions, theoretical main receptors of the policies in the framework of “One Health”, the application of global action instruments managed by governments and corporations in the developed countries.