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Australian One Health Leader Responds to Previous One Health Initiative team’s Opinion NEWS Commentary of January 4, 2013: “Advance One Health or... Impede One Health? – An opinion”   “Whilst I absolutely support your sentiments I am not sure that it is as bad as you suggest and I am equally not sure of the cure.   We have a great deal going on globally, regionally and indeed nationally under the banner of One Health and perhaps after the One Health meeting in Bangkok, Thailand [2nd International One Health Congress January 29 – February 2, 2013 http://www.pmaconference.mahidol.ac.th/] at the end of this month we will be better able to gauge progress. There are a number of key sidebar meetings (a crucial one now on the Monday) that will give us a good idea of how universal we are and what silos have developed!   But equally, some notable, high profile international and national organizations/agencies (including within Europe, the U.S. etc.) have strongly resisted any attempts to create any sort of One Health association that might focus us and bring us together. I still think this is needed but appreciate the different views on this. This may though be an important step as I suspect without this we will naturally continue to work independently as some continue to do (despite their rhetoric to the contrary).  I will brave the opposition again in Bangkok (as I did in Melbourne at the 1st International One Health Congress*) and sound out the enthusiasm for something of this nature.   Note that we already have the Third international Congress for One Health being organised by the Dutch in the Netherlands.  Also, Dr. John S. Mackenzie [PhD, Research Associate at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University from Malvern, Vic, Australia] and I  have tentatively offered to host the fourth again in Melbourne (in conjunction with the Ecohealth Congress http://www.ecohealthalliance.org/).   So yes, things are not all rosy, we are not all working as one across the One Medicine kingdom but the concept of One Health is very much alive (albeit in a number of guises) and the Bangkok meeting should be an interesting time to assess  progress.”     Professor Dr. Martyn Jeggo [BVetMed, PhD], Director, Australian Animal Health Laboratory PO Box 100, Geelong, Victoria, Australia Mobile 0061409166752     *Dr. Jeggo, a prominent veterinarian, is an internationally recognized and highly respected One Health leader.  He chaired the organizing committee and noted public health physician, David L. Heymann, MD, chaired the scientific advisory committee of the 1st International One Health Congress meeting in Australia February 14-16, 2011, http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/publications/OneHealthSocietyProposalAmendedversion.pdf.  Many in the One Health movement consider this to be the “gold standard” for showcasing One Health internationally in an all inclusive, co-equal, interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary, participatory fashion, i.e. in the true spirit of One Health.  Drs. Jeggo and Heymann are both members of the One Health Initiative team’s Honorary Advisory Board http://www.onehealthinitiative.com/advBoard.php.