Hendra virus - a One Health success story

Zoonoses account for 60% of emerging diseases threatening humans. Wildlife are the origin of an increasing proportion of zoonoses over recent decades to a point where they now account for 75% of all zoonoses(1). Concurrently and/or consequentially, there has been an increasing recognition of the inter-connectedness of wildlife, livestock and human health, and increasing momentum of an ecosystem-level approach (most commonly termed One Health) to complex emerging disease scenarios(2). This paper describes the evolution and application of such an approach to periodic Hendra virus incidents in horses and humans in Australia.