COVID-19: The need for the strategic "ONE HEALTH" approach

Abstract

Human health is increasingly interconnected with that of the animals in the environment they share, while the threat of emerging diseases arising at that interface increases as a result of the multiple and growing driving forces which propitiate that greater human-animal-environmental interrelationship. COVID-19 is an emerging zoonosis caused by SARS-CoV-2, a new coronavirus whose primary source is associated with bats. Its rapid global expansion led the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider the disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), for which the cross-sectoral approach is necessary. The "One Health" strategy, promoted by the international organizations FAO, OIE and WHO, promotes collaborative efforts at all levels across multiple disciplines and sectors to achieve optimal health for people, animals and the environment, thus providing a conceptual framework for the development of cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary solutions to global health challenges. This approach reviews the latest research reports on crucial aspects in the epidemiology of this new zoonosis, such as the characteristics of coronaviruses, their hosts, factors after crossing the interspecies barrier, and the undefined aspects of SARS-CoV-2 with potential implications for its prevention and control, as well as the lack of knowledge of the intermediate host of the virus, an important link in the epidemiological chain and the role that wild and domestic animal species, including pets, can have in the persistence of the virus in the environment and its potential re-emergence. It also addresses the necessary cooperation between human and animal health services in activities to face COVID-19, while pointing out its negative economic impact on the entire food production and distribution chain. This is an example of the importance of the holistic vision proposed by the "One Health" approach in the prevention and control of zoonoses, benefiting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by all countries, by proposing that healthy people and animals live in a healthy planet. There is a need of strengthening capacity building and cooperation between the human and animal health sectors, as well as their preparedness to face future health emergencies.