Veterinarians in ONE HEALTH approach: coming to the forefront

Abstract

The concept of One Health (OH) has become a popular topic at the beginning of the 21st century in the global World. One Health is a collaborative product of multiple disciplines which includes all the interrelations that exist between human, animal and ecological health. The notion of One Health gained importance after the pandemics of SARS2 (2003), Avian Influenza (2005–2007) and even COVID-19 (2019-….) when the humanity has come up against to zoonoses and needed for research, policy and management. Especially, in the last decades, the outbreaks related to food and zoonoses have shown how much animal and human health are entwined. In this respect, veterinarians are at the essential point and play an important role in supporting the OH notion. Veterinarians are the only profession group whose training is based in comparative medicine and the health and diseases of multiple species. On the other hand, veterinarians play an essential role in the animal-based food chain. They have many responsibilities on the health of farm animals, such as animal nutrition and animal welfare to keep food safety and security. As a result, the importance and responsibilities of veterinarians in One Health area are substantial and the vital role in globalised food chain is uncontrovertible.