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Casey Barton Behravesh, MS, DVM, DrPH, DACVPM says, “I miss my calls from Dr. Steele. He was always so excited to hear the latest news from CDC. He taught me--and many others around the globe— the importance of working across sectors to achieve the best possible health outcomes and how to be a good mentor.”
A Captain in the U.S. Public Health Service, Dr. Barton Behravesh has long advocated using a multidisciplinary/ interdisciplinary/transdisciplinary One Health approach involving human, animal, and environmental health and other relevant partners to address shared health, safety, and security threats including emerging zoonotic and infectious diseases in order to best protect health for all.
Barton Behravesh, serves as Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) One Health Office, and as a member of the One Health High Level Expert Panel. She is a remarkable acolyte of James H. Steele, DVM, MPH and was recognized and highly praised by the late doyen of global veterinary public health.
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The Veterinary Public Health Division is Established at CDC
In 1947, James H. Steele, DVM, MPH, founded the Veterinary Public Health Division at CDC. Dr. Steele understood the important role of animals in the epidemiology of zoonotic diseases (the study of how these diseases are spread and how they can be controlled), and he recognized that good animal health is important for good public health. The Division played an important role in the public health response to diseases such as rabies, brucellosis, salmonellosis, Q fever, bovine tuberculosis, and leptospirosis. With this Division at CDC, the principles of veterinary public health were introduced to the United States and other countries around the world.
Source: CDC One Health History
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In personal telephone communications with colleagues, Steele often paid tribute to Barton Behravesh expressing his admiration for her high level of intelligence, epidemiology knowledge, creativity and dedication to One Medicine-One Health principles.
Over the years, at the conclusion of conversations, Steele would frequently tell his current and prospective potential public health leaders to, “Carry on...”, his peerless way of encouraging and motivating colleagues to seek the highest possible level(s) of achievement during their careers. Barton Behravesh more than met Steele’s expectations and was included in One Medicine-One Health: An Historic PerspectiveSeptember1 2022 [Revised from FEB1 2021]-scroll to bottom.
Notably, among Barton Behravesh’s many past contributions, her most recent contributions include co-leading a momentous federal interagency milestone towards advancing One Health in the United States with the release of the 2025-2029 | National ONE HEALTH Framework to Address Zoonotic Diseases and Advance Public Health Preparedness in the United States. She says, “One Health is the future. We must work together across public health, agriculture, wildlife, environment and other relevant sectors across all levels from community to global to have the biggest impact. Our first ever National One Health Framework to Address Zoonotic Diseases and Advance Public Health Preparedness in the United States will enhance our ability to jointly prevent, detect, and respond to zoonotic disease threats and related One Health issues. This initiative will improve efficiency across the U.S. government by enhancing collaboration across all relevant sectors with governmental and non-governmental partners while optimizing resource use in order to protect the health, safety, and security of people, animals, plants, and our shared environment.”
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Dr. Steele founded the American Veterinary One Health Society (formerly American Veterinary Epidemiology Society) in 1964, a longstanding active influential player in the dynamic One Health movement of the later 20th, early 21st century and today. For more details about his life and times please see “Animal Health Human Health One Health: The Life and Legacy of Dr. James H. Steele”.
Quick Links
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Please see MONOGRAPH in Veterinaria Italiana
“One Health – One Medicine”: linking human, animal and environmental health
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History of the One Health Initiative team and website (April 2006 through September 2015) and the One Health Initiative website since October 1, 2008 … revised to June 2020 and again to date February 2021
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Vaccines for zoonoses: a One Health paradigm
SciTech Europa Quarterly (March 2018) – Issue 26
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Pan European Networks SciTech Europa Quarterly
SciTech Europa Vaccines for zoonoses: a one Health paradigm – Pages 227-229 (Read PDF) “One of the One Health Initiative team’s co-founders and leaders is an internationally-recognized eminent physician…
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