From Hantavirus to the Next Pandemic: Structural Barriers to Translating “One Health” from Aspiration to Implementation

Abstract

Objective: Globally endorsed for tackling zoonotic and emerging infections, the One Health framework faces major structural gaps between policy and practice. This study explores its implementation barriers across governance, funding, technology, workforce and community aspects via hantavirus cases, and evaluates related risks of Disease X outbreaks. Methods: Critical policy analysis and case study were conducted, drawing on hantavirus research in Latin America and the Caribbean, existing reviews on One Health challenges, and literature on Disease X preparedness in resource-limited regions. Results: Systemic flaws pervade One Health execution: fragmented cross-sector governance and budgets, insufficient preventive funding, poor data interoperability and unequal genomic surveillance capacity. Segmented professional training hinders interdisciplinary collaboration, while top-down strategies and local cultural misunderstandings reduce public cooperation. Multiple field cases further prove the framework’s operational fragmentation.Conclusion: Hantavirus exposes deep structural defects of One Health. To move beyond empty policy advocacy and prevent future pandemics, cross-sector coordination, unified budgeting, community-involved surveillance, and equitable data governance must be established worldwide.