Wildlife trade, for example in pangolins, is one area of concern for causing zoonotic disease outbreaks. Credit: Frendi Apen Irawan/Wikimedia As the world looks to a future after COVID-19, experts are urging governments to concentrate on preventing viruses from spilling over into humans. But this takes cross-departmental co-ordination, bringing together the needs of people, animals and our planet. Catherine Early reports on the policy challenges and the ‘one health’ approach The word “unprecedented” has been used widely in the past year, as waves of the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 surged around the globe. But while it may have been unprecedented, the pandemic was not unexpected – coming as little surprise to scientists who had been studying the rise of zoonotic disease outbreaks in recent years.