One Health is the collaboration between multiple scientific disciplines and domains, with a common goal: to improve the health of people, animals and the environment. It recognises that the health of people, animals and the environment is connected.
Zoonotic diseases of animals can infect humans either through direct contact with animals or indirectly via vectors, food or through the environment. Diseases that are naturally transmissible directly or indirectly from animals to humans are called zoonoses.
RIVM National Institute for Public Health and the Environment collaborates with medical health professionals, veterinarians and experts from other disciplines, such as entomology, food safety and environmental sciences, to control emerging zoonoses and gathers knowledge on the spread of zoonotic diseases.
In the Netherlands, RIVM coordinates national activities on the signalling and response of zoonotic diseases.