In this article, Zoran Katrinka, Councillor for Europe at the World Veterinary Association, takes a comprehensive look at zoonotic diseases; how they occur and how our rapidly changing population is affecting their prevalence. The author advocates a ‘One Health’ approach in the treatment of zoonotic diseases – a collaborative, international, cross-sectoral, multidisciplinary mechanism to address threats and reduce risks of detrimental infectious diseases at the animal-human-ecosystem interface (FAO).