A vision of a One Health system for Australia: On the need to rethink our health system

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has clearly demonstrated our global vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases. Zoonoses — diseases that transmit from vertebrate animals to humans — are twice as likely to be implicated as emerging diseases than non-zoonoses. Such diseases have been increasingly linked to wildlife, which are a source of infection for humans and domestic animals, with viral spillover driven by human-induced changes in land use, agricultural intensification, and wildlife exploitation, among other things.3 Sadly, warnings from experts about the dangers of unsustainable development and its impact on natural systems remained largely unheeded by politicians and policymakers.

Meanwhile, SARS-CoV-2 continues to produce surprises. The virus was recently confirmed to be spreading in white-tailed deer in North America, and there are concerns that they may become a reservoir. Closer to home, the ability of cats to become infected with SARS-CoV-2 from their owners left experts grappling with the question of whether they could pass the virus on to humans. With 27% of Australian households owning a cat, such transmission would have amplified the burden of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the health system and would have presented considerable ethical and welfare dilemmas for veterinarians. A response would have required coordinated action by human and animal health professionals, which is unprecedented for a disease affecting companion animals and is largely unsupported by current systems. Fortunately, this scenario did not eventuate; there has only been one confirmed instance of cat-to-human infection (in a veterinarian), but a future emerging disease may behave differently. Indeed, similar discussions are now occurring in relation to monkeypox and the potential for pet rodents to become reservoirs.