A Short History of One Health in the United States

Examination of the history of the One Health idea reveals historical periods of prominence as well as periods of displacement. We trace the waxing and waning of the One Health from 18th century United States through the origins of its current renaissance in the 1960s. European One Health advances are only addressed as background for early developments in the United States. The history of One Health is best appreciated and detailed by examination of the work of its most prominent U.S. based advocates including Benjamin Rush, Adoniram B. Judson, James Law, Daniel Elmer Salmon, K.F. Meyer, Richard E. Shope,James Harlan Steele, and Calvin W Schwabe. Examination of these different One Health-based approaches highlight their value and long-term continuity in solving difficult or intractable medical, veterinary, and public health problems that are optimally addressed with a multidisciplinary perspective.