Public Health

Although only a minority of veterinarians report primary public health employment, virtually all veterinarians contribute to the overall public health effort. According to the World Health Organization, “health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Public health can be defined as the totality of all evidence-based public and private efforts that preserve and promote health and prevent disease, disability, and death. The concept of One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple health science professions, together with their related disciplines and institutions—working locally, nationally, and globally—to attain optimal health for people, domestic animals, wildlife, plants, and our environment.

Zoonotic diseases present challenges not only to veterinarians but also to all professions concerned with public health. Cooperation between veterinarians and public health physicians has been an important factor in zoonosis control programs. An example of this collaboration is the eradication of bovine tuberculosis, first in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, and then in the USA, Canada, and other countries. Unfortunately, some zoonoses that are well controlled in developed nations, such as bovine and porcine brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, and rabies, remain major problems in the developing world. Diseases can also reemerge in areas where they have been eradicated. Newly recognized zoonotic organisms such as Hendra and Nipah viruses are emerging, and many other zoonoses remain a constant concern.