A bipartisan group of veterinarians in Congress has introduced a bill to improve public health readiness in the face of disease outbreaks by requiring a One Health approach — that is, one leveraging the interconnected health of people, animals and the environment.

Under this legislation, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture would work with other agencies to create a federal One Health Framework. This Framework would advance knowledge of One Health; aid coordination among federal agencies studying the health of people, animals and the environment; and develop a workforce to help prevent and respond to disease outbreaks in animals and people.

The end goal is to bolster the federal government’s ability to deal with zoonotic disease outbreaks. Sounds like something we can all connect with.