The One Health concept – from soil to humans

Humans are not separate entities, but part of the whole world. All organisms are interconnected, and human health depends on the health of the soil, plants, and animals.

🦠 Microorganisms are the smallest, yet among the most essential elements of life on Earth; they were the first to colonize our planet and currently make up a significant portion of global biomass:

• bacteria - 15% of living biomass,

• fungi - 2% of living biomass,

• archaea - 1% of living biomass.

🔬 The foundation of the One Health concept is soil health and the beneficial and harmful microorganisms inhabiting the soil and the rhizosphere (the soil zone associated with plant roots).

🛡️ Soil is home to nearly one-third of the total diversity of microorganisms, and the dominant groups are Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota, Cyanobacteriota, and Acidobacteriota, which perform extremely important functions:

• they participate in material cycles,

• maintain proper soil structure,

• support plant health,

• limit the growth of pathogens,

• and increase the resilience of ecosystems to climate change.

💊Microorganisms exist in soil as well as in human and animal bodies, where they perform vital functions like digesting food, synthesizing vitamins, and supporting immunity.

🌐 The health of every living organism begins with these tiny, deeply hidden microorganisms, which form the foundation of the One Health concept.

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