Is our siloed method to well being surveillance creating the proper circumstances for the following pandemic?
Current outbreaks—from avian influenza to E. coli contamination in leafy greens—spotlight the pressing want for built-in illness surveillance techniques. But, many public well being surveillance techniques nonetheless function in isolation, creating harmful blind spots in our capacity to detect and reply to zoonotic ailments, antimicrobial resistance, and environmental contamination.
“The “One Well being” idea—endorsed by the CDC, WHO, and different international well being leaders—acknowledges that ailments typically come up on the intersection of those domains. However a One Well being method isn’t only a public well being crucial; it’s an financial safeguard.
The Problem: Fragmented and Incomplete Surveillance
Regardless of clear advances in understanding how ailments unfold, the techniques used to observe them stay siloed and inconsistent. Human well being, veterinary, and environmental information are sometimes saved in separate techniques, analyzed independently, and reported via completely different channels. This fragmentation results in delays in figuring out outbreaks, coordinating response efforts, and understanding how dangers propagate throughout sectors.
For instance, in areas the place veterinary information is disconnected from public well being techniques, zoonotic ailments like rabies or avian influenza might go undetected till they attain human populations. In rural or resource-limited areas, diagnostic infrastructure could also be sparse, resulting in underreporting and misclassification of crucial well being occasions. These delays and inaccuracies enhance the price of response—each when it comes to lives and {dollars}.
Compounding the difficulty, many public well being departments lack instruments for real-time monitoring and cross-agency collaboration. Outdated applied sciences restrict the flexibility to securely share data, which is particularly problematic throughout fast-moving occasions like illness outbreaks or environmental contamination. And in lots of circumstances, inadequate funding and workforce shortages stop well being companies from constructing extra sturdy, built-in techniques.
A Smarter Answer: The One Well being Method
A One Well being surveillance system would handle these gaps by enabling real-time information sharing and evaluation throughout human, animal, and environmental well being sectors. When designed and applied successfully, such techniques permit public well being officers to establish rising dangers earlier and act extra decisively.
Take into account the financial influence of a livestock-based zoonotic illness. In a fragmented system, detection could also be delayed, resulting in widespread transmission, commerce restrictions, and lack of client confidence. In an built-in One Well being system, early detection and speedy containment can restrict the influence to a single farm or area—defending each public well being and agricultural markets.
Equally, built-in environmental monitoring may also help establish potential contamination occasions earlier than they escalate. The 2018 E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce, for instance, may have been mitigated with higher visibility into water high quality, land use modifications, and agricultural practices within the affected rising area.
Excessive-Stakes Examples The place One Well being Makes a Distinction
The potential advantages of a One Well being method are intensive:
- Rising Infectious Ailments: The Council on Overseas Relations studies that as much as 75% of latest or rising infectious ailments in people are zoonotic in origin. Early identification of ailments like avian flu or hantavirus in animal populations allows sooner containment and prevents human transmission.
- Foodborne Diseases: The CDC estimates that, every year, 48 million People contract foodborne diseases, resulting in greater than 120,000 hospitalizations and three,000 deaths. Connecting meals security, environmental, and public well being information can pinpoint sources of contamination sooner, lowering the size of remembers and outbreaks.
- Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): In 2019, AMR contributed to just about 5 million deaths globally in keeping with the World Well being Group. Built-in techniques that monitor antibiotic use in each people and livestock assist inform evidence-based coverage, remedy protocols, and stewardship efforts.
- Local weather-Associated Illness Unfold: Researchers are discovering Local weather change is amplifying the unfold of vector-borne ailments like West Nile virus and malaria. Land use modifications, excessive climate occasions, and shifting animal migration patterns all affect illness vectors—and require coordinated, cross-sector surveillance to handle danger.
- Pesticide Publicity: Agricultural pesticide use has been linked to long-term well being points together with cancers and neurological problems. Cross-referencing environmental publicity information with public well being outcomes can result in smarter regulation and improved well being outcomes.
- Cross-Jurisdictional Dangers: Migratory animals and air or water techniques don’t acknowledge jurisdictional boundaries. For smaller well being departments—particularly these serving populations below 25,000—regional collaboration via a shared One Well being platform may assist overcome useful resource constraints and ensures no neighborhood is left remoted.
Constructing an Efficient One Well being Surveillance System
To appreciate the complete potential of a One Well being framework, surveillance techniques should combine three core information streams:
- Human Well being Surveillance – Consists of hospital an infection monitoring, syndromic surveillance, and molecular diagnostics that detect pathogens early and inform medical selections.
- Animal Well being Monitoring – Tracks livestock and wildlife illness traits, displays AMR in veterinary contexts, and identifies zoonotic threats earlier than they attain human populations.
- Environmental Well being Information – Captures water high quality metrics, vector populations, and land-use modifications, offering early indicators of illness hotspots or contamination dangers.
Superior applied sciences—like synthetic intelligence, genomic sequencing, and distant sensing—can improve forecasting capabilities, permitting for earlier intervention and smarter useful resource allocation. Nonetheless, know-how alone isn’t sufficient. Efficient techniques additionally require interagency collaboration, clear governance fashions, and skilled personnel who perceive the best way to interpret and act on built-in information.
Coverage and Follow Suggestions
To scale and maintain One Well being surveillance, state and native governments, well being organizations, and policymakers ought to take into account the next actions:
- Improve Information Integration: Construct interoperable digital platforms that allow seamless, safe, real-time sharing throughout human, animal, and environmental well being domains.
- Enhance Funding: Spend money on infrastructure, trendy diagnostic instruments, and workforce coaching to make sure surveillance techniques are sturdy and equitable throughout city and rural areas.
Strengthen Collaboration: Set up everlasting interagency activity forces and formalize processes for information sharing and joint response efforts. - Leverage Rising Applied sciences: Apply AI, predictive analytics, and genomic instruments to enhance outbreak forecasting and development evaluation.
- Interact Communities: Foster community-level participation in illness monitoring and prevention efforts to make sure well timed reporting and native possession of public well being outcomes.
The COVID-19 pandemic reminded the world simply how excessive the stakes are when surveillance techniques fall brief. As international journey, local weather change, and land use patterns proceed to shift, illness dangers are evolving sooner than many techniques can sustain.
A One Well being surveillance method affords a path ahead—one which acknowledges the interconnectedness of our ecosystems and leverages information to forestall small issues from turning into international crises. Investing in these techniques isn’t just good public well being coverage; it’s a strategic financial choice that builds resilience, protects lives, and ensures that our response to the following outbreak is quicker, smarter, and more practical.
About Heidi Steinecker, DrPH
Heidi Steinecker, DrPH, is the well being and human companies apply lead at Resultant. She has greater than 20 years of management in healthcare supply and public well being coverage. Heidi supplied helpful management in California’s COVID-19 response and has labored globally to strengthen healthcare techniques. She just lately accomplished her Doctorate of Public Well being with a concentrate on international well being safety on the Medical Faculty of Wisconsin.
