About CDC's One Health Office

Overview

CDC's One Health Office is the agency's lead for One Health activities domestically and globally.

Established in 2009, it is the first formal office dedicated to One Health established in a US federal agency. The office is located within the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases at CDC in Atlanta, GA.

One Health Office experts work closely with human, animal (domestic and wildlife), and environmental health partners in the United States, in other countries, and with international organizations to build strong partnerships; develops tools and trainings to advance One Health; and leverages CDC's expertise to assist partners in strengthening One Health efforts.

CDC's One Health Office serves as the head of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Collaborating Center for Emerging and Reemerging Zoonotic Diseases. One Health Office staff also serve as agency liaisons to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WOAH.

Program priorities

One Health focus areas

• Zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases
• Pandemic preparedness and response
• One Health emergencies at the human-animal-environment interface
• One Health pan-respiratory disease surveillance
• Global health security and capacity building
• Strengthen One Health coordination in the United States
• Strategic One Health partnerships
• Prevent zoonoses shared between people and pets

One Health Office priorities

• Lead CDC's One Health strategy in the United States and around the world
• Coordinate partners to operationalize and strengthen One Health in the United States
• Advance One Health globally through development of tools and trainings for capacity building for global health security
• Leverage CDC's expertise and engage partners to tackle One Health issues
• Provide technical expertise at the human-animal-environment interface, including during public health emergencies
• Fill information gaps on the control and prevention of pet-associated zoonoses through the Healthy Pets, Healthy People program

How we operate

CDC's One Health Office works within the United States and with other countries and regions to build strong partnerships and takes a strategic, targeted approach to control and prevent zoonotic and emerging infectious diseases and other One Health issues.

The office works with partners in other countries and across federal, state, tribal, local, and territorial governments; industry; professional organizations; academic partners; and nongovernmental organizations to:

• Coordinate partners to address One Health challenges
• Prepare for and respond to outbreaks and public health emergencies, such as Ebola, Zika, and COVID-19
• Build One Health capacity and strengthen global health security through training and tool development
• Strengthen surveillance and information sharing across public health, agriculture, wildlife, and other sectors
• Educate people on ways to prevent diseases they can get from pets, wildlife, and farm animals
• Develop guidance for veterinarians, public health officials, wildlife professionals, animal health officials, and many others

Below are examples of One Health Office priority projects in the United States and globally.

Projects

Prioritizing zoonotic diseases using the One Health approach

CDC's One Health experts are working globally to implement a One Health Zoonotic Disease Prioritization process that builds collaboration across disciplines and sectors to focus limited resources on preventing, detecting, and responding to those zoonotic diseases of greatest national concern.

Global Health Security Agenda

The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) is an effort by nations, international organizations, and civil society to accelerate progress toward a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats; to promote global health security as an international priority; and to spur progress toward full implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR) and Joint External Evaluations (JEE) for Improved Health Security, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Performance of Veterinary Services (PVS) pathway, and other relevant global health security frameworks.

CDC's One Health Office works with global partners to support the GHSA and further strengthen global health security, including the Quadripartite, made up of WHO, WOAH, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Office experts contributed to the development of the Tripartite Zoonoses Guide to support countries in taking a multisectoral, One Health approach to address zoonotic diseases. The office provided expertise in the development of implementation tools for the guide, including the Multisectoral Coordination Mechanism Operational Tool (MCM OT) to enhance coordination across sectors and the Surveillance and Information Sharing Operational Tool (SIS OT) to assess the coordinated surveillance capacity of any locality.

Outbreak And Emerging Response Support

CDC's One Health Office supports zoonotic outbreak investigations and emergency responses by conducting surveillance, research, and providing subject matter expertise and technical assistance. During an outbreak or emergency response, the office conducts and coordinates One Health investigations, which involve experts from human, animal, and environmental sectors working together to understand the source and spread.

COVID-19 and One Health

• CDC's One Health Office deployed One Health teams to states to support One Health investigations into domestic and wild animals infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. These investigations help scientists and health officials better understand how to prevent exposure and spread of SARS-CoV-2. This knowledge is critical in protecting the health and welfare of people and animals.
• CDC's One Health Office developed SARS-CoV-2 surveillance and reporting infrastructure using HHS Protect, CDC's centralized repository for COVID-19 surveillance data. These surveillance pipelines capture laboratory and epidemiologic data collected during One Health case investigations and help us understand how and why spread between people and animals happens; how spread can be prevented; and allow us to track mutations and variants in animals.
• CDC's One Health Office brought together federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local partners to collaborate and exchange information on the One Health aspects of COVID-19 by creating the One Health Federal Interagency COVID-19 Coordination Group and holding regular State-Federal One Health Update Calls. These collaborations led to the development of guidance related to animals and COVID-19 for pet owners, public health and animal health officials, veterinarians, and other audiences. To reach partners outside government, the office also held regular calls with veterinarians, academic partners, diagnostic laboratory personnel, professional organizations, and more.

Healthy Pets, Healthy People Program

The Healthy Pets, Healthy People website provides zoonotic disease prevention messages to educate pet owners, public health officials, veterinarians, human healthcare providers, and others on ways to stay healthy while enjoying pets, farm animals, and wildlife. The One Health Office works with the Pet Advisory Network, breeders and retailers, the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV), the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), and others to develop and distribute messaging and education about animal-related zoonoses, including those linked to pets.

ZOHU Calls/Webinars

Zoonoses & One Health Updates (ZOHU) Calls are one-hour monthly webinars that provide timely education on zoonotic and infectious diseases, One Health, antimicrobial resistance, food safety, vector-borne diseases, recent outbreaks, and related health threats at the animal-human-environment interface. Free Continuing Education is available for live calls and recordings.

Developing guidance with NASPHV

CDC's One Health Office works closely with the National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians (NASPHV). State public health veterinarians are the local and state professionals who regularly consult with physicians, emergency rooms, legislators, local officials, schools, health departments, and the general public on preventing and controlling diseases that people can get from animals and animal products. NASPHV, in partnership with CDC and others, collaborate on a variety of guidance and recommendations related to the prevention and control of zoonoses.

Influenza and Zoonoses Education among Youth in Agriculture

Since 2011, CDC has worked with the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote One Health collaboration between federal and state public health and animal health authorities and state youth agriculture groups through a program called Influenza and Zoonoses Education Among Youth in Agriculture.

CDC started this program after the emergence of multiple outbreaks of human influenza illness caused by viruses that normally circulate in pigs. Youth who are in contact with or work directly with animals are at a higher risk for zoonotic diseases.

This innovative program educates youth about zoonotic diseases, delivers disease prevention messages, and strengthens One Health networks among state human and animal health departments and agricultural communities across rural America.

The program has a direct potential reach of 7.2 million youth through 4-H and FFA but can also spread educational messages to their family, mentors, friends, agricultural producers, and others.

Visit the program's resource repository for educational materials.

Contacts