One Health - Connecting Humans, Animals and the Environment by New Media Center University of Basel

Vertical Aquaponics

2025-10-06 14:02:52 UTC

I was very impressed when I first learned about this innovative agricultural system as a solution for urban food security. I would like to highlight it as an example of a sustainable interface between humans and animals. Aquaponics is a self sustaining agriculturalsystem that integrates fish farming with soilless plant cultivation in vertical stacks, where fish waste provides nutrients for plants, and plants filter the water for the fish.

Added Value: Neither the Animal nor the Plants are harmed and the Human benefits from Local, fresh and nutrient-dense food. It is a way of reducing human and environmental exposure to contaminants such as pesticides, specifically in urban areas where there is not a lot of space, aquapoincs can bring added value. Again ChatGPT helped me with the picture.

Assistance and medical alert dogs

2025-10-13 08:45:49 UTC

These dogs are trained to assist, alert and guide people suffering from developmental disorders, physical disability and hearing impairment. Medical alert dogs can support people with diabetes, epilepsy and narcolepsy. There exist organizations that train and allocate assistance and medical alert dogs. The added value is more independence in daily life for the human while the dog benefits from a strong emotional bond and has a healthy and stimulated life. Cost savings can be reached through the general higher independence of the person with the disability, an integration in society and direct savings of treatment costs.

2025-10-14 06:43:32 UTC

Our relationship with animals as part of the city life has always been a complex one. Pigeons are one of the regular visitors of squares, parks, trees and city life. It is common to find their feathers in many places and those are often gathered by children to foster their creativity and as an attempt to narrow the borders that separate humans from animals. They are considered an attraction since in many countries in the south of Europe, feeding them has been an attraction and is part of childhood. Their faeces can also easily get in contact with fruits and vegetables and both feathers and faeces may carry and transmit microorganisms such as fungal and bacteria through inhalation of spores or dust responsible for infections.

Leptospirosis

2025-10-14 07:44:43 UTC

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by Leptospira that spreads from animals to humans, mainly through rat urine. Rats carry the bacteria without getting sick and contaminate water or soil. Humans can become infected through cuts or mucous membranes when they contact this contaminated environment, leading to illness. This close ecological link between rats and humans, especially in areas with poor sanitation or flooding, makes leptospirosis an important public health concern.

2025-10-14 13:33:30 UTC

Rabies is an example of a communicable disease that can be transmitted between animals and from animal to humans through saliva, most commonly through bites.

Assistance au jardinage

doctoroshwamb — 2025-11-05 11:30:03 UTC

Pendant que la chevre beneficie des mauvaises herbes autour du champs, ses escrements apportent des engrais naturelles a l'agriculture humaine. Donc l''elevage des chevres est une interaction reciproque benefique pour l'homme, pour l'animal et pour la vegetation.