One Health Approaches for Strengthening Infectious Disease Surveillance Across the Human Animal and Environmental Interface

Abstract

The emergence of infectious diseases is increasingly influenced by the interactions between humans, animals and the environment. Conventional surveillance systems mainly depend on clinical diagnosis and laboratory confirmation in humans. Such systems may detect transmission only after a pathogen has become established within a human population. The One Health approach provides a broader framework by connecting human health surveillance with animal health and environmental monitoring. Recent developments in wastewater surveillance, pathogen genomics, and digital epidemiology have created new opportunities for earlier recognition of infectious disease threats. Environmental surveillance has expanded substantially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater surveillance is also becoming important for monitoring antimicrobial resistance because wastewater represents an interface between human populations, animal production systems and the environment. Genomic technologies can provide additional resolution by comparing pathogens detected in humans, animals and environmental samples. Digital platforms and artificial intelligence may further support the integration of large and heterogeneous surveillance datasets. This narrative review examines recent developments in One Health surveillance across the human animal and environmental interface.