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Globalization, One Health and Diffusion of Infectious and Chronic Diseases

Minasie Letta

Chamberlain University

June 27, 2023

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Globalization and One Health

This paper aims to illustrate the effect of globalization in expanding the expansion rate of

infectious and chronic diseases. Globalization is the interconnectedness and interdependence of

countries worldwide in information technology, popular culture, and social, cultural, and

economic ties. Globalization is a blessing to the world people in terms of getting information,

conducting transactions in the blink of an eye, and sharing ideas and cultural values of our

interest with the rest of the world. Nonetheless, globalization has a dark side by accelerating the

dissemination of infectious and chronic diseases worldwide. Close door policy is obsolete; no

country stands alone or becomes self-sufficient. We need one another to lead our lives, to prosper

on the globe, to determine our fate, to pave our destiny, and to bloom or gloom together. We have

witnessed the spread of COVID-19 across the world, ravaging the lives of millions of lives,

especially those who are vulnerable and people living with underlying conditions.

Many countries tried to tighten the immigration system; they boycotted flights and

correspondence with some countries and demanded negative COVID-19 results for incoming

passengers. With all the necessary health measures in place, the pandemic disseminated

worldwide. The world has learned a lesson from the COVID-19 virus that we are one, despite the

national and racial disintegrations echoed here and there. From the Black Death during the 14th

century to the 1950s influenza up to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, human beings failed to cult

the spread of infectious diseases because of trade and the movement of people (Oppong, 2020).

One Health was inaugurated to live for the common cause of humans, animals, and the

ecosystem. Financing One Health, working on building system thinking, and suppressing the

revival of nationalism should be the table agenda of countries worldwide.

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Globalization and Infectious Diseases

Globalization is the connexon of countries worldwide in information technology, social,

economic, cultural, psychological, and religious ties. Due to monumental developments in air,

maritime, and land gadgets, the globalization of world commerce and the related movement of

individuals and goods worldwide has substantially risen over the ages (Antràs et al., 2023).

Climate change, the spread of bioactive nitrogen compounds, and biodiversity loss have reached

a critical point. We observe exponential growth in demographic, economic, commercial, and

environmental indices. These are all the effects of globalization, which again affect information

flow, human migration, trade patterns, capital flow, regulatory frameworks, and cultural

dissemination (McMichael, 2013).

Mainly, globalization affects the environment, demography, economy, and technology. For

instance, a warm climate harms the ocean's biodiversity and makes it easier for mosquitoes to

proliferate and spread malaria. We have also witnessed when humans exposed animals to new

illnesses by encroaching on their habitats. Similarly, SARS, the Hendra virus, and the Nipah

virus are diseases contracted by animal interaction in their habitats. Similarly, dengue increased

with expanding urbanization, while malaria may have decreased. War and conflict can also

disrupt access to clean water, sanitation activities, and vaccination programs. On many

occasions, war and conflict lead to disease outbreaks and transmission of infectious diseases like

tuberculosis. In the economy, rising economic development is typically correlated with a move

from transmissible diseases to non-contagious ailments (such as diabetes and hepatitis C). The

industrialization of food production frequently necessitates the use of antibiotics in animals,

which can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance genomes. The mobility of people is

also associated with developing antibiotic-resistant infectious diseases. Technological expansion

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and sophistication are also shaping our world. Although flights pose numerous threats, we now

have advanced disease reconnaissance and examination tools. The advancement of genetics and

computer technology helps us detect the origins of many pathogens, including Ebola, influenza,

measles, food-borne infections, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Cheng, 2018; Riegelman &

Kirkwood, 2019). During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed how mobile technologies

are beneficial in automating compliance with quarantine, contact tracing, scheduling vaccines,

and transmission of ideas and guidelines. In contrast, we have seen how social media like TikTok

become an emergent mental health threat for the young generation.

One Health and Its Approaches that Help Prevent the Next Pandemic

To attain the highest level of Health for humans, domestic animals, and the environment,

broad health science professionals, allied fields, and institutions work together regionally,

countrywide, and globally. The One Health movement, which started in the late 20th and early

21st century, gained momentum after the 2003 SARS epidemic. Since the late 20th century,

many new and reemerging diseases, including HIV/AIDS, pandemic influenza, Ebola, Zika, and

the coronaviruses SARS and MERS, have been traced to animal sources and reservoirs. These

included control of tuberculosis, anthrax, and rabies.

The One Health initiative connects human, animal, and ecosystem health by examining

and finding solutions to many long-term effects of human action, such as climate change,

deforestation, agricultural industrialization, economic globalization, and population growth. A

hot temperature creates a conducive environment for disseminating infectious diseases and skin

cancer, and it is a potential loophole for new infectious and chronic diseases. Similarly,

agricultural industrialization makes animals crowded and vulnerable to known and emergent

diseases. Deforestation and other environmental changes fundamentally change the balance
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between people, animals, and the ecosystem. Similarly, economic globalization poses risks for

introducing new and invasive plants and dramatically expands the territory for existing diseases

and disease vectors. Population growth is also a threat, particularly when it increases the

geographic presence of humans and invades new ecosystems (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2019).

One Health Initiative and Educational Framework

Though initially One Health was started by the veterinary medicine community, it has gained

widespread support from national and international organizations. One Health intends to act as a

hub for collaboration between the full spectrum of disciplines and professions. Preventing

zoonotic illnesses and the human-animal relationship have potential benefits for animals.

Similarly, the reduction in the pace of anthropogenically induced extinction of species and the

intentional introduction of non-native species help sustain the ecosystem.

Microbiological impacts on health and illness, ecosystem health, and human and animal

connections are all included in the One Health educational paradigm. Representatives from

medicine, nursing, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and public health comprise the

Interprofessional Education Working Group (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2019).

The Need of Prioritizing System Thinking

To this paper's writer, prioritizing system thinking is a prerequisite to One Health. The

principle of preserving and safeguarding the coexistence of humans, animals, and the ecosystem

is ideal, demanding, and timely. Nonetheless, before we march to coordinate professionals to

collaborate for one cause and one world, we need to bring them to one system of thinking. The

system thinking raised in this paper goes beyond the scope of ‌Riegelman and Kirkwood (2019).

Public health and healthcare professionals need a system to solve health inequalities, population

increase or decrease, health factors, and social justice. To think of the world as one, the
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nationalism feeling of each of the countries needs to be suppressed. The irony is that the feeling

of nationalism has revived in recent years by echoing sensitive immigration issues, trade

imbalance, foreign aid, and features of globalism as an immediate danger. The primary issue is

establishing a memorandum of understanding of the benefits of global thinking, preserving the

whole world and all creatures, conserving climate, and decreasing ozone depletion. The global

agenda must be focused on green energy, fostering cooperation, facilitating the development of

third-world countries, and investing in reafforestation, terracing, research, and education.

Suppose we believe that no country is safe by itself and that we either bloom or gloom

together. In that case, we must establish systems to solve health determinants, narrow

inequalities, pacify social injustice, and treat disease syndromes together. If climate change

continues, we will lose millions of acres of land to the rise of the ocean; we will expect deadly

and mighty hurricanes, cyclones, earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters. There are

bottlenecks and leverage interventions in systems thinking. While the former focuses on getting a

solution to immediate constraints (like emergency response put in place in the U.S.), the latter

focuses on taking advantage of existing interventions. System thinking is a prerequisite for

developing coordinated approaches, strategies, and methods of conducting simultaneous

interconnected interventions. Hence, we need to have a system thinking about economic, social,

environmental, and professional cooperation worldwide. Systems thinking is the foundation of

One Health (Riegelman & Kirkwood, 2019).

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Summary

Globalization is all countries' economic, technological, cultural, and spiritual

interconnectedness. Information is widely disseminated worldwide with the help of the internet,

helping the world population to live closer virtually. Globalization has its cons and pros.

Facilitating trade transactions, developing correspondence between countries, increasing

awareness of differences and similarities of people and culture, and fostering communication

through Meta, TikTok, Rumble, YouTube, and others are some of the legacies of globalization. In

contrast, globalization is an aggravating factor for infectious and chronic diseases. The world

witnessed how we are interdependent and interrelated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The mobility of people and goods ignites the dissemination of infectious diseases. To

solve significant health concerns surrounding globalism, we need to develop system thinking and

expand the initiative of One Health. Inhabiting the homes of animals is the source of zoonotic

diseases. The increase in temperature increases the prevalence of skin cancer, the melting of

glaciers, and the rise of oceans. Climate change is the cause of natural disasters, displacement,

migration, and dissemination of infectious and chronic diseases. The world needs a system of

drug administration to stop drug-resistant microorganisms. In many countries in Africa,

prescription drugs are nominal. Anybody can buy a medicine of his choice anywhere, including

groceries and outdoor markets. There is no strict drug control or law enforcement. This is a

potential harbor for existing and emergent diseases threatening the world's health.

Despite the unique technological innovations, infectious diseases continue to threaten

humankind seriously. Diseases formerly thought to be eliminated, like measles, reappear, and

new viruses and communicable diseases like Ebola and Zika are developing (Oppong, 2020).

The problems persist: excessive use of antibiotics has contributed to the emergence of resistant
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bacteria; excessive opioid prescription has raised questions about the safety of the products we

use, and ongoing environmental deterioration continues to pose a threat to public health in areas

where old diseases like malaria and dengue fever are still prevalent (Turnock, 2016). The above

grave health dangers and interconnectedness of the world necessitate the implementation of One

Health agenda, focusing on humans, animals, and the environment.

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References

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Department of Economics – Princeton, American Economic Review 2023, 113(4): 939–

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‌Cheng, A. (2018, June 1). How Globalization Changes How Disease Spreads. The News Lens

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McMichael, A. J. (2013). Globalization, Climate Change, and Human Health. New England

Journal of Medicine, 368(14), 1335–1343. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmra1109341

Oppong, J. R. (2020). Globalization of Communicable Diseases. International Encyclopedia of

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Riegelman, R., & Kirkwood, B. (2019). Public Health 101: Improving Community Health (3rd

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