one health

Imagine investigators navigating city streets, collecting clues on a hidden health threat from the city’s furry inhabitants. Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) living in New York City are helping to uncover the secrets of zoonotic diseases – illnesses that move between animals and humans. This is critical because early detection and response to zoonotic and emerging diseases while still in animals is essential in limiting or preventing human outbreaks.

April 30 is World Veterinary Day: a day to celebrate veterinarians, their work and their impact. Although the importance of veterinarians is hardly a secret, people often forget that veterinarians’ work goes beyond clinical care of animals. USDA employs more veterinarians than any other department in the federal government, with positions located across the nation and associated territories. The breadth of roles that veterinarians fill at USDA illustrates their versatility. Veterinary epidemiologist, emergency responder, laboratory diagnostician, and public health veterinarian are just some of the roles that USDA veterinarians fill every day.

At USDA we use a feedback loop of 1) surveillance and monitoring 2) research, and 3) education and outreach to find science-based answers to challenging questions such as those posed by AR.