One Health in the African wilds: A veterinary tale

Abstract

The “One Health” concept brings together and balances the relationship between the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. It follows the understanding that changes in any of these may increase the risk of new diseases emerging or old diseases re-emerging and spreading among people and animals. The huge biodiversity of animals, invertebrates, vegetation and soil types present in African free-ranging wildlife conservation areas lends itself to a multitude of interactions between various vertebrate species and invertebrate vectors, pathogens, and the environment. In wildlife, these infections generally occur in an endemically stable state where infection is common but rarely progresses to disease.