title: Global public health issues.
abstract: The context of the conference presentation that gave rise to this article was the importance of veterinarians becoming more engaged in the public-health challenges of today. During the presentation, I sought to point out some of the pressing reasons why. Of particular concern to me are the missed opportunities to help influence human health and well-being as private veterinary practitioners in addition to public-practice veterinarians. Key elements: Public health, the protection and improvement of community health by organized community effort; the global community, the entire world; social responsibility, being, as members of society, morally and legally responsible for the welfare of human beings; terrorism, the systematic use of terror (fear), especially as a means of coercion (it is always local!); system integration, the interaction of interdependent groups to form a unified whole.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA. mblackw1@utk.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Blackwell
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000517:prevention & control; D004520:Education, Veterinary; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D014481:United States; D015047:Zoonoses