One Health

Last Modified: November 21, 2024

Wildlife Services employee wearing blue latex gloves holding a duck

One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that optimizes the health of people, plants, domestic and wild animals, and ecosystems.

The One Health approach recognizes that:

the health of animals, people, plants, and the environment are linked, and
all those involved in protecting animal, human, and environmental health must work together to achieve the best health outcomes.

Learn about the National One Health Framework and our partnerships.

One Health in Practice: APHIS Programs

At APHIS, we have a longstanding commitment to the One Health principles. This approach has been integral to APHIS' mission for decades, and we are proud to embrace One Health as a cornerstone of our work.

Explore our programs to learn how APHIS puts One Health into practice every day.

We protect against animal diseases to keep America's animals and people healthy.

We safeguard U.S. crops and forests against invasive pests to help agriculture thrive–across the country and around the world.

We lead our Nation’s efforts to manage conflicts between people and wildlife so they can coexist.

We ensure the humane treatment of more than 1 million vulnerable animals, nationwide.

We work alongside other Federal agencies to make sure biotechnology products are safe for U.S. agriculture and the environment.

Two farmers standing in a spring flowering canola field checking the quality of seedlings

We work in over 25 countries around the world to keep agriculture healthy and trade markets open.

Woman and man sitting a table in front of USDA and U.S. flags shaking hands

One Health Spotlights

Protecting animal and plant health intersects with some of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change, diseases that can spread between animals and people, global population growth, and food security. One Health is key in finding solutions. Learn how we're advancing One Health practice through research, applied science, and other initiatives.

The goal of the National Rabies Management Program is to prevent the further spread of wildlife rabies and eventually eliminate terrestrial rabies in the United States.

The United States has the strongest avian influenza surveillance program in the world. APHIS leads national efforts to monitor for avian influenza in commercial and backyard poultry, wild birds, and wild mammals.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health threat because it makes antimicrobials (such as antibiotics) less effective. These are critically important tools for protecting animal, plant, and human health, though any use of an antimicrobial can lead to resistance. Addressing AMR is a high priority for the agricultural and public health sectors.

Male veterinarian using a stethoscope with goats in a pen.

APHIS and other One Health partners are conducting projects and studies to protect our Nation's animals and people from SARS-CoV-2 and other animal diseases.

Five brown deer standing in a snow-covered field

Reducing use of the fumigant methyl bromide is an acute need for our planet. APHIS is working hard to find alternatives to this ozone-depleting chemical.

Non-native pests and diseases will always pose a threat to U.S. agriculture. To help respond to this threat, APHIS and North Carolina State University developed a modeling system to forecast plant pest risks.