1. “One Health”:
theoretical underpinnings
to understand its potential
Jakob Zinsstag, jakob.zinsstag@unibas.ch

2. Who we are.....
Multidisciplinary research unit within the
Department of Epidemiology and Public health
at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute
(www.swisstph.ch) with partnerships in eight countries in
Africa and Central Asia.
Focus:
Health systems for mobile pastoralists
Control of zoonoses (diseases transmissible between animals
and humans in developing countries) Bovine tuberculosis,
Rabies, Brucellosis, Anthrax, Avian Influenza
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3. National Centres for Competence of Research North-South
www.nccr-north-south.unibe.ch
7 Swiss Institutions: NRM, Conflict, Governance, Sanitation,
Livelihood, Health, Urban planning together with their South partners
Funded by Swiss National Science Foundation and
Swiss Development Cooperation
EU FP7 Integrated control of neglected zoonoses
www.iconzafrica.org www.AfriqueOne.net
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4. Overview
1. Calvin Schwabe‘s „One medicine“
2. Biological closeness of humans and animals
3. Reflection on the human-animal relationship
4. Intercultural perspective / Role of self reflexiveness
5. „One health“ economic framework with examples from dog
rabies and brucellosis
6. „One Health“ necessary and sufficient components
This afternoon in the session 3.2.
1. An extension to social-ecological systems
2. Health in social-ecological systems necessary and sufficient
components
3. Outlook to challenges and ways forward
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5. The „one medicine“ by Calvin Schwabe‘s has ist
origins in his work with Dinka pastoralists in
Sudan in the 1960s
„There is no difference of
paradigm between human and
veterinary medicine. Both
sciences share a common
body of knowledge in
anatomy, physiology,
pathology, on the origines of
diseases in all species.“
Schwabe C. (1964, 1984 3rd Edition):
Veterinary Medicine and Human Health.
Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore
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6. „One medicine“ als General Medicine
Schwabe C. (1964, 1984 3rd Edition): Veterinary Medicine and Human Health.
Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore
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7. Biological closeness of humans and animals
Human genome is 99% similar with great apes and 95% with
pigs.
There is no biological reason why humans should not consider
their surrounding domesticated animals and wildlife as close
relatives and treat them with utmost care.
Modern scientific argument has limited outreach:
What are cultural and religious determinants of the human-
animal relationship?
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8. Some examples of cultural and religious determinants
of human and animal relationship
Papyrus of Kahun, 1800 BC, humans and animals as the “flock of
God”
India: metempsychosis (transmigration) and reincarnation.
Co-creational perspective in the Thora / Old Testament
- Creation of land animals on the same day as humans
- Animals to rest during Shabbat
- Isaiah 11, 1-9 Messianic view of peace between animals and
between humans and animals
Modern animal welfare has roots in Southern German Pietism
Albert Schweitzer: „Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben“
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10. “Dans une société pastorale
comme celle des Peuls,
la Femme et la Vache,
on ne les sépare point;
on les aime ensemble puisque,
selon la légende,
“Dieu créa la Vache,
Il créa la Femme,
Il créa le Peul.
Il mit la Femme derrière la Vache
et le Peul derrière la Femme”,
formant ainsi l’inséparable trilogie”.
(Sow ed.)
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11. „Imagine-toi, les blancs ont même des docteurs pour
chiens“
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12. Relative Growth of Various Meats, Globally,
from 1980 to 2004 (1980 = 100%)
% 300
Bovine
250 meat
Pigmeat
200
Poultry
meat
150 Sheep and
goat meat
100
1980------------1992------------2004
Source: FAO, 2005
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15. Dog trade and small holder pig rearing in Eastern Mali
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16. Reality of the animal-human relationship and its
consequences
Highly diverse and polarized human-animal relationship:
– economically maximized exploitation in indutrialized production
– way out of the poverty trap for 700 million poor livestock keepers
– humanizing of pets
– naturalist movement to give person rights to primates and whales.
Consequence:
Intercultural work requires a clarification of our own perspective
-Self reflexiveness: What is my personal cultural/religious background
driving my animal-human relationship (also agnostic or athesim is a
cultural background)
-Can we meet between different cultural attitudes?
-Is this the beginning of a new subjectivism in Science?
-Influences the way we do our work  „One health“ economic
framework
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19. Comparative cost of rabies control in N‘Djaména
(Zinsstag et al. PNAS 2009, 106(35) 14996–15001
Dog and human vaccination
Human vaccination alone
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Courtesy: Dr. Jan Kolar, Prague

21. Synopsis of cost and benefits of
livestock brucellosis mass vaccination in Mongolia
(Roth et al. BWHO, 2003)
Distribution of Benefits
30000000
25000000
20000000
US$
15000000
10000000
5000000
0
Intervention Public Private Household Total Health Agricultural Total
cost health health income Benefits Benefits Societal
benefits benefits loss Benefits
Sector

22. „One Health“ requirements
Necessary (but not sufficient) requirements:
– Recognition of intextricable linkage of human, livestock,
companion animals and wildlife
Sufficient requirements:
– Added value of health and wellbeing of humans and animals
and/or financial savings from closer cooperation of human and
animal health.
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23. A teaser for this afternoon:
“One health” as part of Ecosystem
approaches to health
contemporary complex health problems cannot be solved by
“reductionist” approaches and require
ecological and social systems thinking.
 Join the Kunming Conference in October, 15-18 2012
 Become a member of the EcoHealth
 www.ecohealth.net
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24. Thank you:
- Walter Ammann, Madeleine Colbert and GRF team
- Swiss TPH and international collaborators
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