ONE HEALTH APPROACH & ZOONOSES: INDIA’S ROADMAP FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH TRANSFORMATION

ONE HEALTH APPROACH & ZOONOSES: INDIA’S ROADMAP FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH TRANSFORMATION

Reshma Debbarma¹*

¹PhD Research Scholar, Animal Physiology Division,
ICAR–National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, India

Corresponding author: debbarmareshma9@gmail.com

 INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored a critical reality: the wellbeing of humans, animals, and the environment is deeply interconnected. More than three-quarters of newly emerging human infectious diseases originate from animals, and India—owing to its massive livestock population, rapid urban growth, intense human–animal contact, and shifting ecological patterns—remains particularly vulnerable to zoonotic threats (Sharma et al., 2022). Traditional zoonoses such as rabies, brucellosis, leptospirosis, bovine tuberculosis, avian influenza, and Nipah virus continue to burden public health; however, contemporary pressures including climate variability, habitat loss, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), wildlife exploitation, and high-density farming have amplified their emergence and complexity (Das et al., 2021).

Against this backdrop, the One Health approach has gained prominence as an integrated and forward-looking strategy that acknowledges the shared health of people, domestic animals, wildlife, and ecosystems. For India, adopting this approach is not optional—it is vital for pandemic preparedness, strengthening veterinary public health capacities, and safeguarding national health resilience.

Veterinarians play a pivotal role within the One Health framework. Their responsibilities go far beyond clinical animal care, encompassing surveillance of zoonotic pathogens, enforcement of biosecurity measures, scientific livestock management, early detection of outbreaks, and effective communication of health risks. They also contribute significantly to food safety, responsible antimicrobial use, environmental protection, climate-responsive livestock practices, and cross-sectoral cooperation. Achieving the goals of One Health requires seamless coordination between veterinary services, public health authorities, environmental agencies, agricultural sectors, and community-based networks.

As India progresses toward the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, establishing a robust and unified One Health system becomes imperative. This article explores India’s strategic pathway toward operationalizing One Health, outlines measures to avert future pandemics, and highlights the expanding role of veterinarians in managing emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases.

THE ONE HEALTH APPROACH: A HOLISTIC FRAMEWORK FOR 21ST-CENTURY HEALTH SECURITY

One Health is described as a unified, collaborative approach that brings together multiple sectors and disciplines at local, regional, national, and global levels to promote optimal health. It is grounded in the understanding that the wellbeing of humans, animals, plants, and the environment is interconnected (WHO, 2021). The approach advocates shared responsibility, harmonized surveillance systems, efficient resource utilization, and integrated policy-making.

In the Indian context, the One Health framework holds particular importance due to several contributing factors:

1. A livestock population of more than 535 million
2. Frequent and close interactions between humans and animals, especially in rural and peri-urban regions
3. Wildlife commonly entering or coexisting near human habitats
4. Rapid growth of the dairy and poultry sectors
5. High prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) linked to inappropriate antimicrobial usage
6. Climate change altering the distribution and abundance of disease vectors
7. Accelerated urban growth, depletion of forests, and fragmentation of natural habitats

Zoonotic diseases continue to exert substantial health, economic, and social pressures across India, disproportionately affecting farmers, livestock owners, veterinarians, and frontline health workers. In the absence of a coordinated One Health strategy, disease management becomes disjointed and less effective.

 INDIA’S ROADMAP FOR BRIDGING HUMAN, ANIMAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

India has made notable progress in developing an integrated One Health framework through several strategic initiatives:

Launch of the National One Health Mission

Initiated under the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA), this mission seeks to unify the efforts of key sectors—human health (MoHFW), animal health (DAHD), wildlife conservation (MoEFCC), food safety (FSSAI), and environmental bodies—towards coordinated surveillance, research, and policymaking (Raghavan et al., 2023). It represents the country’s first major institutional attempt to operationalize One Health in a structured manner.

Integrated Surveillance Systems for Zoonoses

Multi-agency programs led by ICMR, ICAR, NCDC, and DAHD monitor diseases such as brucellosis, tuberculosis, anthrax, Japanese encephalitis, and avian influenza. These platforms collectively serve as the foundation for India’s cross-sectoral disease monitoring network.

Enhancement of Veterinary Health Infrastructure

Improvements in district veterinary hospitals, state and district disease diagnostic laboratories (SDDLs and DDLs), along with the deployment of mobile veterinary units (MVUs), have strengthened early detection and response capabilities for zoonotic outbreaks at the grassroots level.

Monitoring of Wildlife Health

Agencies including the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), ICAR–NIVEDI, and State Forest Departments now undertake periodic health evaluations of wildlife populations—an essential component for identifying potential spillover risks.

Environmental Surveillance and AMR Tracking

Bodies such as FSSAI, CPCB, and ICAR institutes assess environmental contaminants, water safety, pesticide residues, and antimicrobial resistance across livestock-based food chains. The National Action Plan on AMR (2020–2025) adopts a One Health perspective to guide interventions against drug resistance.

Community-Based Awareness and Engagement

Local participatory networks play a vital role in promoting behavioural changes in rural communities, where zoonotic risks are often intertwined with cultural traditions and daily practices.

Collectively, these initiatives form the structural framework of India’s evolving One Health system. However, to ensure robust pandemic preparedness, these efforts must be further harmonized, scaled up, and integrated across all sectors.

PREVENTING THE NEXT PANDEMIC: WHY INDIA MUST ACT NOW

Pandemic prevention is more cost-effective than pandemic response. Most pandemics originate from zoonotic viral spillovers—COVID-19, SARS, MERS, Ebola, Nipah, and Influenza outbreaks all emerged through animal hosts or human–animal interactions.

India’s landscape presents multiple high-risk zones:

• Pig farms and fruit bats (Nipah hotspots in Kerala)
• Poultry farms and migratory birds (avian influenza risk)
• Dense dairy farms (tuberculosis, brucellosis, AMR)
• Wet markets (bacterial zoonoses)
• Wildlife–human overlap areas (scrub typhus, KFD)

Key factors driving spillover risk:

1. Environmental change and deforestation
2. Illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat exposure
3. Intensifying livestock production
4. High-density poultry clusters
5. AMR-driven superbugs
6. Climate change altering vector distribution

India must adopt a proactive, surveillance-driven, technology-enabled One Health strategy to break the spillover chain early.

STRENGTHENING VETERINARY PUBLIC HEALTH FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS

Veterinary Public Health (VPH) is the central pillar of zoonotic disease prevention. VPH includes food safety, epidemiology, AMR control, outbreak response, sanitation, environmental health, and policy coordination.

Veterinary priorities for preventing the next pandemic include:

1. Early Detection of Zoonotic Threats

Veterinarians must lead district-level monitoring of livestock and poultry for unusual morbidity, mortality, or climate-linked disease patterns.

Heat stress, changing rainfall patterns, and ecological disruption alter disease dynamics—making climate-linked surveillance essential.

2. Monitoring AMR in Dairy, Poultry and Meat Sectors

My PhD background on milk biomarkers and mastitis diagnostics shows how early detection reduces unnecessary antibiotic use, preventing AMR-driven superbugs—one of the biggest pre-pandemic threats.

3. Biosecurity and Farm Hygiene

Simple changes—visitor restriction, separate boots, routine disinfection, rodent control—reduce 60% of disease transmission in poultry and dairy farms.

4. Slaughterhouse Sanitation

India’s slaughterhouses, especially unregistered ones, are hotspots for zoonotic agents like brucellae, E. coli, salmonellae and AMR bacteria.

5. Vaccination

Sustained vaccination of livestock for HS, BQ, FMD, brucellosis and PPR prevents spillover events by reducing pathogen load.

6. Vector Control

Climate change increases vector-borne risks (ticks, mosquitoes, midges). Vets must integrate ecological monitoring with disease prediction.

7. Risk Communication

Vets must communicate zoonotic risks to farmers using local languages and culturally appropriate methods.

8. One Health Surveillance

Linking veterinary labs, medical colleges, and environmental institutions into a unified digital framework is essential.

EMERGING AND RE-EMERGING ZOONOSES IN INDIA

India faces a wide range of zoonoses:

1. Viral Zoonoses

• Nipah
• Avian Influenza
• Rabies
• Japanese Encephalitis
• Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
• Kyasanur Forest Disease

2. Bacterial Zoonoses

• Brucellosis
• Leptospirosis
• Tuberculosis
• Anthrax
• Q fever
• Scrub typhus

3. Parasitic Zoonoses

• Hydatidosis
• Cryptosporidiosis
• Toxoplasmosis

4. Fungal Zoonoses

• Dermatophytosis
• Sporotrichosis

Re-emergence is often linked to environmental changes, antimicrobial misuse, wildlife encroachment, and climate shifts (Pandey et al., 2022).

THE CRITICAL ROLE OF VETERINARIANS IN ONE HEALTH

Veterinarians are the backbone of One Health implementation. Their responsibilities span clinical, environmental, epidemiological, and public health domains.

1. Disease Surveillance and Outbreak Detection

Vets detect unusual clinical signs early during farm visits, enabling rapid response. They also collect samples for zoonotic surveillance and support laboratory investigations.

2. Controlling Zoonotic Diseases at Source

Vaccination, herd health plans, farm biosecurity, wildlife–livestock interface management, and vector control begin with veterinarians.

3. AMR Mitigation

Vets must lead antimicrobial stewardship by:

• Avoiding blanket antibiotic usage
• Promoting culture-sensitivity testing
• Monitoring mastitis with SCC, biomarkers and IRT
• Educating farmers on withdrawal periods

4. Ensuring Safe Milk and Meat Production

Food safety—from farm to table—depends on veterinary inspection, residue monitoring, and hygienic practices.

5. Climate-Linked Disease Prediction

Veterinarians must integrate THI data, IRT, and climate biomarkers to predict disease outbreaks.

6. Wildlife and Environmental Health

Vets contribute to wildlife disease control, habitat health, and environmental sanitation—preventing spillover events.

7. Public Health & Community Education

Farmers trust veterinarians more than any other professional. This makes vets ideal communicators for hygiene, zoonosis prevention, rabies awareness, and biosecurity.

THE FUTURE OF ONE HEALTH IN INDIA

Here is a fully paraphrased, polished, and plagiarism-free version of your text:

To build a strong and future-ready One Health framework, India must implement the following key strategies:

1. Develop Integrated Digital Surveillance Systems

Create real-time data platforms that combine veterinary, medical, wildlife, and environmental health information for rapid detection and response.

2. Expand Diagnostic Capacity

Strengthen veterinary laboratories and deploy advanced field-level diagnostic tools for quicker disease identification.

3. Use Modern Tools for Mastitis and AMR Control

Incorporate infrared thermography (IRT), somatic cell count (SCC), and biomarker-based diagnostics to improve mastitis management and curb antimicrobial resistance.

4. Form District-Level One Health Coordination Bodies

Establish local committees that unite veterinary officers, medical teams, forest departments, and environmental experts.

5. Increase Investment in Zoonotic and Climate-Sensitive Research

Support studies on pathogen emergence, vector ecology, and climate-driven epidemiological changes.

6. Embed One Health Principles into Veterinary Education

Integrate transdisciplinary training into curricula to build a workforce capable of addressing complex health challenges.

7. Promote Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Strengthen cooperation among veterinarians, medical practitioners, environmental scientists, ecologists, and public health experts.

8. Enhance Wildlife Disease Surveillance

Improve monitoring of wildlife health to identify spillover risks before they impact livestock or humans.

9. Educate Farmers on Zoonotic Threats

Raise awareness about hygiene, safe animal handling, vaccination, and biosecurity at the farm level.

10. Implement National One Health Laws and Regulatory Frameworks

Introduce strong policy measures to institutionalize One Health practices across all sectors.

By fully operationalizing these strategies, India can significantly lower zoonotic disease risks, improve preparedness for emerging pandemics, and reinforce national health security.

CONCLUSION

Zoonotic diseases continue to pose a major challenge to both human and animal health in India. Adopting a One Health framework—bringing together veterinary sciences, public health systems, and environmental management—provides the most comprehensive and long-term strategy to address these risks. Strengthening veterinary public health services, enhancing AMR monitoring, enforcing farm-level biosecurity, and expanding access to rapid diagnostic tools such as SCC, milk biomarkers, and infrared thermography are critical steps in preventing future disease outbreaks. As the nation progresses toward the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, the role of veterinarians must be acknowledged beyond animal treatment—they are pivotal guardians of public health, food quality, and ecological wellbeing.

Ultimately, India’s resilience against emerging health threats rests on the effectiveness of the One Health approach, with veterinarians leading the way.

 REFERENCES

Bhunia, R., et al. (2022). Zoonotic disease risks in India: A One Health review. Veterinary World, 15, 110–118.

Das, P., et al. (2021). Emerging zoonoses and pandemic threats. Indian Journal of Public Health, 65, 312–319.

Pandey, S., et al. (2022). Climate influence on zoonotic disease outbreaks in India. Environmental Health Perspectives, 130, 450–460.

Raghavan, R., et al. (2023). India’s One Health Mission: Framework and strategies. Journal of Global Health, 13, 02008.

Sharma, R., et al. (2022). Zoonotic diseases and AMR challenges in South Asia. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 92, 725–734.

WHO. (2021). One Health high-level expert panel report. World Health Organization.