Veterinary Public Health

Veterinary public health is a component of public health that focuses on the application of veterinary science to protect and improve the physical, mental and social well-being of humans. Veterinary public health concerns the surveillance and control of zoonoses at many different levels be it via disease control programs at farm level or wild animals or in the abattoir. One Health is the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally, to attain optimal health for people, animals and our environment, as defined by the One Health Initiative Task Force (OHITF). A major zoonosis is Rabies. Approximately 5,000 animal rabies cases are reported annually to CDC, and more than 90% of those cases occur in wildlife.