One Health recognizes that the health of people, animals and the environment are all interlinked. The goal of One Health is to encourage collaboration across different sectors and disciplines at the local, national and global level to achieve the best health for people, animals and our environment. This interlinked approach to global health is based on a strong scientific foundation to prevent the public spread of infectious disease, and is an approach that has gained increasing traction in recent years.

To showcase the importance of having an integrated and multidisciplinary approach in tackling public health threats using the One Health approach, Pathogens and Disease and FEMS Microbiology Ecology have joined forces with guest editors, Edmundo Calva and Stanley Maloy to produce a joint Thematic Issue on this topic.

The One Health Concept allows us to visualize infectious disease under a comprehensive perspective, where our minds wander between the reductionism of molecular biology and the holistic view of systems biology, and travel with confidence from the structure and function of particular molecules towards the relationship between microorganisms and their environment.  As presented here, both the pathogenesis of disease and the ecology of pathogen transmission are implicated in our historical understanding of infections of the past, which allow us not only to understand history in itself but also to deal better with infections in the future.

Edmundo Calva, Guest Editor – Perspective with José Luis Puente

We hope you enjoy this joint collection of articles from Pathogens and Disease and FEMS Microbiology Ecology showcasing One Health in action.

If you are interested in learning more about the One Health approach, get involved in our One Health campaign and keep up-to-date with all news and developments in this emerging field.