Dr Archna Gautam*

MD (Community Medicine), Assistant Professor Department of Community Medicine, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Mandi at Nerchowk, Himachal Pradesh, India

*Corresponding Author: Dr Archna Gautam, MD (Community Medicine), Assistant Professor Department of Community Medicine, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College and Hospital, Mandi at Nerchowk, Himachal Pradesh, India. Email ID: archnagautam12@gmail.com and Contact Number: 9736960327.

Received: August 31, 2026; Published: October 05, 2026

Background: Human health is closely linked to the health of animals, plants and ecosystems. Land-use change, biodiversity loss, climate variability, antimicrobial use, urbanisation and increasing movement of people and animals can alter exposure pathways and influence the emergence or distribution of health risks. These interactions are particularly relevant to India, where diverse ecological settings coexist with large and mobile human and animal populations.

Methods: A structured narrative review was undertaken using peer-reviewed literature and authoritative policy and technical documents from international agencies and Indian government sources. Literature was organised thematically around the foundations of One Health, zoonotic spillover, antimicrobial resistance, climate-sensitive disease, the Indian Himalayan Region, surveillance, governance and workforce development.

Results: The reviewed evidence supports an integrated approach to surveillance and prevention across human, animal and environmental sectors. Environmental change can modify contact between wildlife, livestock and people; antimicrobial residues and resistance determinants can circulate across human, animal and environmental settings; and climatic conditions can influence vector ecology and the geographic and seasonal distribution of some infectious diseases. The Indian Himalayan Region presents additional challenges because of ecological sensitivity, changing land use, tourism, livestock-based livelihoods, difficult terrain and variable access to health and veterinary services. India's National One Health Mission provides an institutional platform for cross-sectoral coordination. Community Medicine can contribute through epidemiological surveillance, outbreak investigation, risk communication, operational research, community engagement and intersectoral coordination. Competency-based One Health education should be incorporated into existing undergraduate, postgraduate and field epidemiology training rather than treated solely as a separate subject.

Conclusion: One Health is a practical framework for strengthening prevention, preparedness and response when it is translated into locally relevant surveillance, governance, workforce development and community participation. For Himalayan states, implementation should be evidence-informed and adapted to district-level ecological, epidemiological and health-system contexts.

Keywords: One Health; Zoonoses; Antimicrobial Resistance; Climate Change; Surveillance; Community Medicine; Indian Himalayan Region; Public Health Security

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Citation

Citation: Dr Archna Gautam. “One Health for Public Health Security in India and the Indian Himalayan Region: Epidemiological, Ecological and Health- System Perspectives". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 10.10 (2026): 39-45.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 Dr Archna Gautam. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.