By Kimberly Henrickson
Medill Reports
There’s an old adage in medicine: if you see a farmer enter the emergency room, you better pay attention and act fast.
Farmers are “notorious” for not seeking medical care, said Dr. Dan Shirley, an infectious disease physician at University of Wisconsin Health. He attributes this to an ingrained do-it-yourself culture, as well as low health care access in rural areas. “It’s the same thing that makes them not ask for help when their machines break. It’s a whole culture of fixing things themselves and not asking outsiders for help.”
In addition to the physical demands of farming, farmers also face increased infectious disease risk. Health risks to farmers are particularly important in Illinois, where a third of more than 71,000 farms house livestock, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau. According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, farmland takes up about 75% of the state’s land.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration warns that anyone who works with animals or animal waste, including farmhands, ranchers, slaughterhouse employees and veterinarians, has an increased risk of contracting a zoonotic disease. Zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, are infectious diseases spread from animals to humans. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, zoonoses can spread through direct contact with an animal, contact with something the animal has infected, through insect bites, or through eating or drinking contaminated food or water.
Illinois’ One Health Commission was formed Jan 1. under a state law designed to monitor the interconnected relationship of human, animal and environmental health. The interdisciplinary commission, situated within the Illinois Department of Public Health, will bring together experts in these disciplines.
“This law dismantles the barriers that currently separate human, animal and environmental health sectors, and ensures the future of cross-disciplinary collaboration that will enable the state to respond more effectively to complicated health threats,” said state Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest), who sponsored the law in the Illinois Senate, in a statement.
Including environmental health experts is crucial because zoonotic disease is significantly impacted by global warming. Climate change alters the conditions of ecosystems, which can change how far and how quickly diseases spread. For example, one study found changing temperatures, wind patterns and humidity levels led certain birds to change their migratory patterns, leading to increased avian flu outbreaks.
Additionally, unpredictable weather events driven by climate instability will create conditions hospitable for disease-carrying insects and animals. The destruction of animal habitats and forests disrupts the delicate balance of local ecosystems, pushing species together. This leads to disease transmission when one species lacks immunity to germs carried by another.
Climate instability has long been a concern for farmers, who famously “make hay when the sun shines” and depend heavily on the natural environment to sustain their livelihoods.
While Illinois is one of the first states to legislatively recognize the need for interagency collaboration to combat zoonotic disease, there is national and international attention on the connection between humans, animals and the environment.
In January 2025, the CDC, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of the Interior released the National One Health Framework, which outlined objectives for addressing zoonotic disease over the next five years. New Jersey established a One Health Task Force in 2021, and in November, wildlife, agricultural and public health agencies in Colorado signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance their data-sharing and collaboration. Other states conduct One Health research at universities or support One Health initiatives within their public health or agriculture departments.
Illinois’ One Health Commission will work with governments and agencies to assist with surveillance of disease outbreaks and implement new public health strategies for combatting zoonotic disease. According to the CDC, from 2019 to 2023 there was an average of 190 outbreaks and 5,304 cases of illness in Illinois each year for which the primary mode of transmission was through animal contact.
Shirley and his wife raise sheep, alpacas, highland cows and chicken, so he sees the myriad infection risks of working on a farm firsthand. To best serve farmers, Shirley said he thinks public health initiatives should start with farmers’ associations and resource groups.
In addition to animal-borne disease risks, he warns that farmers also face risks from dangerous pathogens, including fungal diseases, that live in soil and plant matter. These pathogens are churned into the atmosphere when farmers prepare their land for planting, he said.
Shirley said he hopes One Health initiatives will place greater focus on animal health.
“A lot of the surveillance and the interventions that have worked, that we now recognize as One Health, are to think about the animals, and how we can prevent the diseases in them, which might also lessen the impact on us,” he said. “Tracking the same kinds of things in animals (as in humans) is an area that could probably be improved.”
Csaba Varga, an associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, runs a lab focused on One Health. For one memorable project, his lab collaborated with veterinarians to create free and accessible resources for beef and swine producers to develop biosecurity programs in case of outbreaks. The resources include information sheets, guidance for developing farm protocols and outbreak contingency plans, and printable signage that farmers can use on their properties.
For non-farmers, Varga emphasizes conscientiousness when it comes to protecting oneself from zoonotic disease. He recommends simple measures like washing one’s hands after visiting a petting zoo and avoiding kitchen cross-contamination.
“The take-home message is that humans are not living alone,” Varga said. “We are in an ecosystem and, somehow, everything is connected.”
Kimberly Henrickson is a health, environment and science specialization graduate student at Medill.