Role of Veterinarians in One Health
ONE HEALTH Concept
‘One Health by its name stands for achieving optimal health objectives for humans, animals and the environment in which they live.’
GOAL of One Health Concept
‘To achieve best health for people, animals and their shared or common environment.’
Role of Veterinarians in One Health concept:
• One health concept includes human health firstly. Human health is dealt by MBBS doctors in clinics and hospitals. They take care of humans in time of diseases and provide them with proper and good medication. They provide good advices which help the patients to come back to their normal health.
• Secondly, one health concept includes animal health. So, it is obvious that veterinarians must have an important role in the concept of one health. Veterinarians have important role in maintaining animal health. At the same time, veterinarians also have an important role in promoting the concept of one health. There are many veterinary universities which are working on this concept of one health and promoting it with the help of their veterinarians. In last 30 years, the prevalence of infectious diseases has increased by 75%. It explains that most of infectious diseases in human are transferred from animals. This danger of 75% diseases in humans due to animals, bridge humans, animals and their environment into ONE HEALTH CONCEPT. One health concept is now becoming more critical and we have to protect human and animal health and save the environment also. These are the veterinarians who can ideally provide this bridge with their knowledge of biological systems, of diseased conditions and epidemiology, with their experiences, skills with diagnosis and treatment of diseases in a huge population of animals. They can eliminate these diseases and help in preventing the diseases.
• ‘The diseases that are transferred from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases.’ Veterinarians are the first line of defense against zoonotic diseases as well as toxicants. Veterinarians stay in contact with a wide range of domestic and free-range animals, effective diagnostic system, regulatory systems for animals, food safety and public health. If the animals stay healthy, this means that human will get good quality, healthy and safe milk and meat and environment will also stay safe from zoonotic diseases. Veterinarians play a key role in tackling the animal diseases and providing the animals with better nutrition, medication and care. One Health approach provides the opportunity for the veterinarian to collaborate intimately with the physician, public health officials, wildlife and environmental health professionals for better understanding of diseases affection to human being and animals.
Veterinarian and public health…!
‘Half or more than half of all human diseases are animal originated. These are caused by multi-host pathogens. So, veterinarians have role in controlling these infectious diseases. All activities of animal science affect human health either directly through biomedical research and public health or indirectly by addressing domestic animal, wildlife, or environmental health. Good animal health contributes to better public health and safe environment. Trained vet. professionals are working in milk industry to ensure good quality of milk. Vets are also working in meat and poultry industry to ensure healthy, halal and good quality meat and eggs. Vets are working in animal hospitals, their private clinics and dispensaries to provide better medication and treatment for animal diseases and in this way, they protect humans from zoonotic diseases. Vets are also working in field to ensure animal welfare and protection. Vets are working at farms to provide better nutrition and feed to animals which protects animals from getting sick. The veterinarian is committed professionally, ethically and morally with the community, whether rural or urban. Since a born volunteer, he forwards his knowledge to the community as a whole to improve his environmental education and health, to improve the quality of our life. Veterinary service literally means the difference between life and death not only for animals but also for humans as majority of world’s poor population depends on animals for food, income, social status or cultural identification.
Conclusion:
The main concept of ‘One Health’ is based on multidimensional integrated collaborative efforts involving various disciplines working locally, nationally, regionally and globally to generate optimal health conditions for humans, animals, and the environment.
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