Abstract
This special issue of Public Health Reports focuses on the important interface between public health and veterinary medicine for improving human health, animal health, and food safety. In 1858, Rudolph Virchow, the father of comparative medicine, stated, "Between animal and human medicine there are no dividing lines - nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine." A reenergized "one world, one health, one medicine" initiative is reflected in this issue that seeks to integrate veterinary medicine with other health sciences and professions to improve public health.