It’s another cold and crisp morning in the mountains as Dr. Geeta Pipaliya picks up her lab coat and checks the list of villages to be visited today. A veterinary doctor working in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, Dr. Geeta is a frontline health professional introducing the One Health approach in her native region.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made us realize how human and environmental health are closely related. Scientists estimate that 6 out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals. Moreover 3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic, meaning they spread from animals to humans, like the SARS‑CoV‑2 virus which caused COVID-19. The One Health approach aims to combine initiatives towards human, animal and environmental health so that we are better prepared against any new diseases.

Bhagirathi Devi, a resident of Sukhi village in Uttarkashi, owns 5 cows and sells their milk for a living. Like most livestock owners, she lets her herd graze freely in forests around the village, where they interact with other livestock and wild animals. Observing high instances of stillbirth or birth of weak calves, suspicious weight loss, and a marked decrease in milk yield, she became concerned. Since the nearest veterinary hospital was located many kilometres away, she could not take any action.

When other villagers also started noticing similar symptoms in their livestock, the medical team were called to the village. Subsequent diagnosis hinted towards a disease known as Brucellosis, which can spread to other animals as well as humans who come in contact with them. 

As a part of the UNDP programme on ‘Green Recovery Pathway for India: Transitioning towards a green and resilient COVID-19 recovery,’ the department of Animal Husbandry in Uttarkashi has been provided a Rapid Zoonotic Disease Diagnosis Vehicle, or the ‘One Health Van’. Fitted with modern diagnostic equipment, this van doubles up as a sample collection and disease diagnosis lab on the go, enabling health workers like Dr. Geeta effectively respond to emergencies.

“These villages are close to dense forests, so attack on livestock as well as humans by a leopard or bear is quite common. While villagers do understand the threats to life, they cannot account for possible spill over or transmission of diseases. This is why timely diagnosis is important,” Dr. Geeta explains.

In addition to the vehicle, veterinary health workers are being regularly trained on emerging diseases and new methods for timely detection and treatment. Health centers are being solarized so that they can have uninterrupted power and also transition towards clean energy. Villagers are taught how to detect common symptoms so that they can alert the authorities on time. 

Dr. Geeta adds, “Earlier, it used to take us several days to collect samples and get a proper diagnosis, since the labs are only located in major towns. Now with the vehicle we can do it much faster.” In a short span of 6 months, the vehicle has travelled to over 10 villages and helped nearly 200 animals receive treatment. Establishing such early warning and response systems is important to protect ourselves from the threat of future pandemics.

The sun is about to set as Dr. Geeta finishes her last survey report. She’s tired but enthusiastic about her work, “Who knows where the next deadly virus can come from. Our lives and livelihoods in the mountains are dependent on nature and animals. If they are healthy, we are healthy.”