Making a difference

Lord Soulsby died last month at the age of 90. Perhaps better known by veterinary surgeons than veterinary nurses, the lord of the worms, as he was affectionately known by his students, was an important figure in the veterinary profession. His amazing book Helminths, Arthropods and Protozoa of Domesticated Animals is one of those texts that is so well known it's usually referred to simply as ‘Soulsby’ (e.g. ‘have you checked in Soulsby?’). As early as the 1960s Lord Soulsby was advocating ‘One Medicine’, encouraging his colleagues and students to look at animal and human medicine as a continuum — a concept that is now known as One Health. One Health recognises that the health of humans, animals and ecosystems are interconnected. It involves applying a coordinated, collaborative, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral approach to address potential or existing risks that originate at the animal-human-ecosystems interface. The veterinary profession and the medical profession working together. It is a current buzz word — but a concept that has been around thanks to Lord Soulsby for over 40 years.