One Health

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  • 1.  Lyme Disease Awareness Month — A One Health Challenge for Pet Families

    Posted 3 days ago
    May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and the data continue to tell a sobering story. CDC estimates suggest that approximately 476,000 people may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease each year in the United States, and projections for 2026 forecast further expansion driven by warmer temperatures extending tick activity seasons. In Michigan alone, cases nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2025 — and the geographic range continues to widen.
    This isn't just a human health story. Lyme disease is a shared risk across species in the same household. Dogs can contract Lyme disease too, with symptoms including swollen joints, lameness, fever, and loss of appetite — and in some cases, serious kidney disease that can be fatal. Because people often share the same environments with their dogs, they face similar risks of tick exposure. When one family member is diagnosed, the others should be checked.
    This illustrates One Health: the same environment and tick threat affecting both people and pets within families.
    But here's the part that doesn't get enough attention: prevention and early treatment depend on access to veterinary care. Tick preventatives, vaccination where appropriate, regular screening, and prompt antibiotic treatment when needed — these are not luxuries. They are essential to protecting the entire family's health. Yet for too many pet families, the cost of veterinary care puts these basics out of reach.
    Every family — regardless of socioeconomic status — deserves access to the veterinary care that keeps both people and pets safe from threats like Lyme disease. Until we close that gap, we're leaving some of our most vulnerable families unprotected against a growing risk.
    As tick season ramps up, what is your organization or community doing to bridge the gaps between human health, veterinary care, and social services to protect families — including their pets — from tick-borne disease?


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    Michael J Blackwell, DVM, MPH, FNAP
    Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS (Ret.)
    Director, Program for Pet Health Equity
    Center for Behavioral Health Research
    https://pphe.utk.edu
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  • 2.  RE: Lyme Disease Awareness Month - A One Health Challenge for Pet Families

    Posted 2 days ago

    Dr. @Michael Blackwell, this is such a clear example of One Health in action-shared environment, shared risk, and shared consequences when access falls short.

    Lyme Disease


    Prevention and early treatment for both people and their pets are well established, but too many families still cannot access affordable care.
    That's where coordinated, cross-sector solutions matter most.

    Practical steps communities are taking:

    • Integrate pet care into public health and social service outreach (ex One Health Clinics)

    • Expand access to affordable tick prevention and veterinary care

    • Promote awareness-if one in the household is exposed, all should be checked


    Here are some helpful links about Lyme disease

    Human Lyme disease (living with & treatment):


    Pets (prevention, symptoms, treatment):


    Until we close that access gap, we're leaving both people and their pets unprotected against a growing, shared risk.



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    T' Fisher, Director of Operations
    Center for Pet Family Well-Being
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    Original Message


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