The “One Health Center” is scheduled to begin operation in 2027. At our institute, we are conducting research into One Health as a central role of the “One Health Center”. While conducting this research, we considered the core concept of One Health and its research.

　We will continue to consider these subjects and modify our approach as necessary.

The review team of One Health studies, December 26, 2024.

1．One Health
2．One Health research at our institute

1．One Health

The concept of “One Health” encompasses the relationships between “human health”, “animal health”, and “environmental health”, which mutually influence and support each other. One Health is focused on protecting these types of health and maintaining a balance between them (Figure 1).

Figure 1   Description of One Health

  For example, in zoonotic diseases, such as a novel coronavirus infection, both humans and animals become infected because of changes in wildlife habitats and increased opportunities for contact between humans and animals as their living areas increasingly overlap. This situation has resulted from excessive development of forest areas and global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (Figure 2). Additionally, environmental pollution affects human health directly via polluted water and/or air containing harmful substances derived from human activity. Minamata disease is caused by the ingestion of contaminated food (fish) (Figure 3). From the One Health perspective, these two cases are examples in which human activities affect environmental health and animal health, resulting in a negative effect on human health.

According to the One Health concept, to protect human health, it is necessary to also protect animal health and environmental health, considering the balance between all types of health as a whole.

Figure 2   Zoonosis

Figure 3   Environmental pollution

２．One Health research at our institute

　

At our institute, One Health research refers to the scientific examination of how human health, animal health, and environmental health positively and negatively affect each other, and the comprehensive exploration of approaches for promoting sustainable harmony and optimization through collaboration between researchers working in different fields from various perspectives.

For example, regarding zoonotic diseases, we plan to research topics such as infection control in humans and animals by analyzing not only disease epidemics among humans, but also situations involving human-animal contact, pathogen carriage in animals, and the effects of global warming and ecosystem change (Figure 4). Additionally, regarding environmental pollution, we plan to research not only contamination of water and air, but also methods for preventing the spread of environmental pollution and reducing its effects on human health by analyzing the mechanisms of contamination and effects of bioaccumulation (Figure 5).

Figure 4   One Health Research on Zoonosis

Figure 5   One Health Research on Environmental Pollution

　We have been conducting One Health research (including testing, inspection, and investigation) in a wide range of fields, including infectious diseases, pharmaceuticals, food, air, water, waste, biodiversity, and climate change adaptation. We will continue to actively engage in cross-disciplinary and advanced research to promote One Health, leveraging this expertise and the strengths of our organization. Additionally, when the core facility at the One Health Center begins operations in 2027, we will contribute to the promotion of One Health not only at our center, but also in collaboration with domestic and overseas research institutions (Figure 6).

Figure 6   One Health Center (Image)

 

 

 

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