One Health – Human and Animal Public Health

Master Degree

Ano Letivo 2024/2025

What is One Health? One Health is a working methodology that aims to implement procedures capable of promoting collaboration between different sectors, thereby promoting the health of all of us and of our surroundings (public health). The One Health concept is not new, and the practice of many human and animal health professionals all over the world already reflect this concept. The tendency towards clinical specialization has led us to neglect the different connections that exist between human and animal populations and the influence of the environment on health. Nowadays, the mobility of people, animals and goods entangles routes, distances, cultures and methods of plant and animal production. The pattern of pathogen transmission is increasingly complex, constituting one of the biggest current global health challenges. Responses like having teams of clinicians waiting for calamitous scenarios are increasingly expensive and impracticable. The appropriate and cost effective solution lies in preventing such a scenarios. This is only possible by understanding unravelling and interpreting the different signals that allow for event prediction, enabling the termination of the transmission chain of the unwanted event. The United Nations (UN), through its various bodies, has already adopted One Health working methodology. However, training in the area is still scarce. This master's degree is designed to provide the main tools for the student to excel in the complexity of surveillance of communicable diseases between humans and animals.