Infectious Disease Prevention and Control: A One Health Approach

Dear Colleagues,

One Health is a unified approach whose aim is to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. The health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are interrelated and reciprocally affect each other. Population growth and expansion into natural environmental habitats inevitably lead to closer human interactions, as well as those of humans with wild animals and domestic animals and wildlife.

Climate change, deforestation, and intensive farming, which aggravate the destruction of wild animals’ habitats and increase the movement of people, animals, and their products, are dictated by globalisation and contribute to the start and spread of zoonoses. More than 60% of the new and emerging infectious diseases that threaten human health originate in animal populations and can be further transmitted, either by direct contact or through vectors, to humans, potentially leading to epidemics or pandemic outbreaks. These threats are significantly increasing in frequency and severity over time, with tremendous long-term impacts. The recent COVID-19 pandemic, which led to millions of deaths globally, presents one of the strongest negative examples.

By linking humans, animals, and the environment, One Health can help us to address the full spectrum of disease control—from prevention to detection, preparedness, response, and management—and can contribute to global health security. This Special Issue, Surveillance techniques and field research are invited to provide insight into the early detection of environmental and vector/intermediate host-related factors facilitating the development of emerging infectious disease outbreaks. On the other hand, the development of sensitive and accurate diagnostic tests is encouraged to promptly recognise manifestations of zoonoses that may pose a significant threat to public health. The spectrum of diseases to be covered ranges from epidemics of air-borne and/or food-borne diseases to emerging vector-borne infectious diseases and the spread of environmentally favoured fungi.

Dr. Athina Pyrpasopoulou
Guest Editor

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• one health
• emerging infectious diseases
• disease outbreaks
• zoonoses
• climate change