While exciting advances have been made in our understanding of disease processes at the level of genes and molecules, these approaches need to be complemented by an understanding of disease processes that are occurring at a larger scale. One Health provides an integrative framework for exploring the inter-dependencies of human, animal and environmental health and for developing effective and equitable measures for tackling the infectious disease problems that confront our globalised world.

In this lecture, Professor Cleaveland will draw on examples from her work on infectious diseases in the natural ecosystems of East Africa to highlight connections between the health of human, domestic animal and wildlife populations. She will describe how One Health approaches are helping us move towards the effective control and elimination of rabies, one of the world’s most deadly diseases.