One health in history

This chapter historicizes "One Health" as a concept and approach. It explores the changing constellation of ideas, practices and conditions that brought human and animal health into alignment in different historical contexts, the people and institutions involved and the factors of change over time. The first section shows how deeply animals and animal health were embedded within human medicine in the pre-modern period. The second section extends from the late 18th-century foundation of the veterinary profession to the turn of the 20th century. It tracks the evolving relationship between the veterinary and medical professions, and how, as scientific knowledge and practices changed, new conceptual links were forged between humans, animals and the environment. The third section extends this analysis into the 20th century, focusing particularly on the changing status of animals within medical research, and on international efforts to develop comparative medicine and veterinary public health. The conclusion challenges the idea that the historical record can provide straightforward lessons or guides for "One Health" today