An Enquiry on the Ethics of One Medicine

ABSTRACT One Medicine is not One Health. Although both concepts connect animal and human health, One Health has arguably become a frame for public health. This paper argues that One Medicine uniquely centres on animal and human patients and speaks to the equal interdependence of their health, though it has also (historically) been adopted as a response to the circumstances of living in and with nature. The evolution of One Medicine can be seen as ‘jumping together,’ or the consilience of ideas and disciplines over time, giving a new sense in theory that unifies previously unconnected phenomena found in nature. Practically, education and oversight can be developed towards its purpose of enhanced clinical and veterinary health care; and just as clinical medicine and public health are related, there is a role for One Medicine to support One Health's focus on the ecological determinants of health. This paper takes the first step towards defining One Medicine's emergent ethical frame, creating space between it and One Health.