One Health, in a Nutshell
Around 75% of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate in animals. This figure sums up the idea behind One Health: human health, animal health and the health of ecosystems are closely linked, and infectious diseases can only be tackled effectively by looking at all three together.
This integrated approach brought together some 120 participants from 20 countries in Saint-Quay-Portrieux, around the theme: “The One Health Challenges to Tackle Infectious Diseases”.
Three Challenges at the Heart of the Debates
According to the Scientific Committee, discussions converged on three major issues: anticipating emerging health risks, understanding how environmental change affects health, and building integrated surveillance and governance systems able to respond to the health challenges of the 21st century.
These issues ran through the five main themes of the programme:
- Surveillance of zoonoses and emerging diseases, the most represented theme, with work on avian influenza, SARS-CoV-2, hepatitis E, arboviruses and tick-borne diseases, all calling for coordinated surveillance across human, animal and environmental health.
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a central priority, from surveillance systems to strategies for reducing antibiotic use and understanding how resistance circulates between humans, animals and the environment.
- The health effects of global change: climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, wastewater and microplastics.
- New tools and data integration: genomics, metaviromics, environmental DNA (eDNA), integrated databases and complexity science.
- Putting One Health into practice: governance, cooperation between institutions, involvement of local stakeholders, training and socio-economic dimensions.
Three Approaches that Stood Out
A European database linking climate hazards to the impacts of zoonotic diseases, presented by Ana Maria Perez Arredondo (Austria). By combining climate, environmental and health data, it aims to anticipate disease emergence driven by global change, illustrating the convergence between climate, biodiversity and health.
Integrated surveillance based on new molecular technologies, such as capture-based metaviromics to describe viral diversity in contaminated oysters, presented by Soizick Le Guyader (France), and eDNA sampling to survey vertebrate biodiversity, presented by Pauline Van Leeuwen (Belgium).
These tools open new possibilities for detecting health and environmental risks earlier.
Participatory schemes bringing together scientists, citizens and local stakeholders, such as active surveillance of vector-borne diseases with citizen scientists in the Netherlands, presented by Henk Van Der Jeugd, or participatory mapping of scrub typhus risk in northern Thailand, presented by Nolwenn Blache.
They show that the success of One Health depends as much on social innovation as on scientific innovation.
Seven Key Messages from the Scientific Committee
- Environmental change is becoming a major driver of health risks.
- Integrated surveillance is now a scientific priority.
- Antimicrobial resistance remains one of the most urgent global challenges.
- New technologies are transforming One Health.
- Zoonoses remain a core concern.
- The success of One Health depends as much on governance as on science.
- Participatory approaches are gaining ground as a lever for prevention and surveillance.
Research and Collaboration Avenues
- Developing integrated One Health surveillance systems and early warning schemes.
- Strengthening research on the links between climate change and emerging diseases.
- Building international, particularly European, networks against antimicrobial resistance.
- Speeding up the use of new surveillance technologies, from genomics to modelling.
- Developing participatory and citizen approaches to data collection and prevention.
- Better understanding the interfaces between wildlife, livestock and humans.
- Evaluating One Health governance models and cross-sector coordination mechanisms.
Young Researchers Awards: the Next Generation of One Health
With 30% of participants being early-career researchers under 35, OneH 2026 gave a prominent place to the next generation.
- Nolwenn Blache (VetAgroSup) – Best Oral Communication.
- Pauline Van Leeuwen (University of Liège) – Best Flash Talk.
- Bastien Berrand (Université de Lorraine & INRAE) – Best Poster.
According to the Scientific Committee, these contributions embody the principles of modern One Health: interdisciplinarity, methodological innovation, attention to human-animal-environment interactions, and strong potential for practical application in health risk management.
OneH 2026 in Figures
- About 120 participants from 20 countries.
- 59% women and 41% men.
- 30% early-career researchers under 35.
- 4 keynote lectures.
- 5 thematic sessions.
- 1 roundtable with 5 speakers.
- 25 oral communications, 10 flash talks and 39 posters.
- 101 submitted abstracts.
Thank You
OneH 2026 was co-organised by INNOZH, Technopole labellisée Retis and Centre de Ressources Technologiques (CRT), Anses Ploufragan-Plouzané-Niort and Labocéa.
Warm thanks to all speakers, participants, partners and sponsors who made this edition possible.
Stay in touch: onehcongress@innozh.fr
