English abstract
Background: The One Health concept (OHC) seeks to improve the health of plants, animals, and humans
because improving animal and plant health will increase the capacity for improving human health. Many
risks such as plant and animal biotechnology applications have the potential to generate new diseases
that can be transmitted to humans. In this way, the health of humans, animals, and plants is interrelated
and depends on one another. However, it has been difficult to apply the OHC in some countries, such as
those in the Middle East. The absence of financial support in the region is a major hindrance to applying
this concept in the region. The application of the OHC requires the support of specialists who can advo cate the government for support in launching OHC-related projects. Here, we discuss the OHC in the con text of antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases, and biosafety/biosecurity, which are important public
health issues. Furthermore, we describe the current status of the OHC in the Middle East and recent
research conducted related to this concept. There has been recent international solidarity in the applica tion of the OHC to reduce risks that threaten the health of organisms. Several countries jointly launched
the Global Health Security Agenda in 2014 with the aim of realizing a world that is free of infectious
disease-related health risks. However, no previous review articles have examined the applications of
the OHC in the Middle East region. This article discusses the OHC in terms of its needs and current appli cations in the Middle East.
Methodology: The following keywords were used in the search: ''One Health," ''Middle East," ''medicinal
plants," ''viruses," ''rabies," ''MERS," and ''antimicrobial resistance." Related papers were obtained by
searching for these keywords using available search engines, such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and
Google search, as well as international organization websites.
Conclusion: The concept of One Health is relatively new and has not been applied in most countries, pos sibly because the value of this concept for improving human health is not well understood. The key prin ciple defining this concept and its importance is the interdependency of plants, animals, and human
health. By applying the OHC, humans can benefit from healthy plants and animals by enhancing their
growing conditions, medications, and environments. This would in turn improve general human health
by allowing the safe extraction of therapeutics and food resources.
