Photo: Florian Fisch

If not before, then certainly since the coronavirus pandemic, everyone should understand that the health of human beings is closely linked to that of bats. If their habitat is destroyed, then their diseases are transmitted more easily. Already 20 years ago, experts defined the concept of ‘One Health’ as a sustainable health policy that considers humans, animals and the environment as a single entity. 

But the resultant confusion of competing terms for this idea merely proves that it is impossible for us to see health in terms of everything everywhere all at once, as it were. While ‘One Health’ originated in human and veterinary medicine, the social sciences and humanities prefer ‘Eco Health’, which means focusing on the relationships between different systems. ‘Planetary Health’ in contrast concerns itself with natural resources and climate change. Sascha Knauf, a veterinarian at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute in Germany, has already spoken ironically of ‘Galactic Health’. Perhaps we should lower our expectations – and instead of arguing about definitions, we ought to see One Health as a call to think more often outside the box.