Veterinarians and medical doctors have long known that when people and animals share the same space, good things happen, and bad things happen. The good things, of course, have to do with the strong human/animal bond that builds over time. The bad things have to do with disease transmission.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, it is estimated that 75 percent of all emerging diseases are zoonotic, meaning that they can be transferred between animals and humans. Of the 1,461 diseases now recognized in humans, approximately 60 percent are due to multihost pathogens characterized by their movement across species lines. And over the last three decades, approximately 75 percent of new emerging human infectious diseases have been zoonotic. “Our increasing interdependence with animals and their products may well be the single most critical risk factor to our health and well-being with regard to infectious diseases,” concludes AVMA in its report, “One Health: A New Professional Imperative.” (To see the entire report, go to www.avma.org/onehealth.)

To address these issues in an organized, ongoing fashion, AVMA in September announced the creation of the One Health Commission. The CEO is Roger Mahr, DVM, former president of AVMA and a leading advocate for just such an initiative.

What will One Health do? In a nutshell, it will bring together in one room a variety of disciplines – veterinary medicine, human medicine and environmental sciences – with the common purpose of addressing new and existing zoonotic diseases. It’s an exciting concept. “The convergence of human, animal, and environmental health dictates that we embrace the ‘one health’ concept now,” Dr. Mahr said in a statement. “We live in a changing environment populated by humans and animals living increasingly interconnected lives. This creates unique health challenges which require integrated solutions and more collaboration across health science professions, academia, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and industry.”

The American Medical Association has been onboard for a couple of the years, and is represented on the board of One Health Commission. So too are the American Society for Microbiology, the Association of Academic Health Centers, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges, American Public Health Association, and Association of American Medical Colleges.

The One Health Commission was planning to host a national summit before the end of the year and to conduct a National Academies study on “one health” next year, to examine the interactions of humans, animals, and the environment.

The One Health Commission, and all it represents, is a definite talking point for you and your veterinary customers. The issue is capturing the public’s attention, as it should. As always, sales reps are in a unique position to carry information and news among customers. Perhaps one of your accounts is addressing the issue of zoonotic disease through unique educational outreach to their clientele. Tell your other customers about it; they will benefit from the input. And of course, it wouldn’t hurt to check in with the AVMA web site periodically to watch for news from the One Health Commission. You are a resource to your accounts.