Human and animal health on three continents--a biography of the early life of Karl Friedrich Meyer (1884-1974).

Karl Friedrich Meyer (KF) was born and educated as a veterinarian in Europe; he researched infectious diseases in Europe, South Africa and the United States. He is one of the true forefathers of the 'one health-one medicine' concept. The broad scope of his research covered botulism, leptospirosis, brucellosis, plague, ornithosis, Western equine encephalitis, mussel poisoning and clostridia. This manuscript adds some more details of his early biography.