Inside the World Influenza Center: Constant Threat Watch for Flu and Other Viruses

Flu and other viral threats

As many as 650,000 people worldwide die from seasonal flu-related respiratory illness.2 The world has faced three global influenza pandemics in the 20th century, the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic believed to have claimed as many as 250,000 lives.3

“If our collaborating partners around the world detect an animal flu virus that has infected humans, they will share that material with us and we will analyze it,” says Lewis. “We have essentially been involved not only with bird flu viruses, but also with swine flu viruses that are routinely detected in human populations. continues to pose a threat to

Lewis and her team are examining the properties of the virus, including the immune response it provokes and how it compares to the list of candidate vaccine viruses already recommended for pre-pandemic preparedness.

“If there are significant differences from the candidate vaccine viruses we have already recommended, there may be moves to update our recommendations and make new recommendations for specific potentially risky viruses,” she said. ‘ said.

In addition to this, they will analyze the viral genome for markers that may suggest that the virus has changed, thereby examining the risks the virus poses. “This is a tough one,” Lewis says. “Often the changes are associated with a particular type of virus, and may be understood ly in a particular virus, but we don’t expect the same mutation to continue to have the same effect on the virus.” We can’t always be sure, it evolves and continues to evolve in animal populations.”

Earlier this year, WHO’s incoming chief scientist Jeremy Farrar said: BMJMore Governments should invest in vaccines against all strains of influenza present in the animal kingdom, through at least Phase 1 and 2 studies.Four

Lewis agrees. For her, without at least some action, the Candidate Vaccine Virus List, which she spends so much time and resources on each year, “will remain just a wish list, with no usefulness . . . It will keep us from getting on track toward preparedness.” There are many open key questions on the issue, such as whether vaccine candidates can provide cross-protection against different circulating clades or strains.

And even evaluating all influenza viruses is difficult. “It’s hard work,” Lewis admits. “But if we don’t, we don’t have the information to make informed decisions about what to do to prepare for the pandemic.”

‘Inevitable’ future pandemic

For Lewis, another pandemic doesn’t matter when, if anything. “We face constant threats from emerging infectious diseases,” she says. “I’m sorry, but I think future pandemics are likely to be inevitable.”

With that in mind, assessing what happened during the covid-19 pandemic is very important. “We need to reflect on what we can learn from the COVID-19 pandemic and response,” she says. Her hope, like what she’s learned from her global flu surveillance and response system over the past 70 years, could mean that the next time we face a pandemic, we won’t have to face the worst of it. There is something.

But she’s not entirely hopeful, especially when it comes to research and diagnostics. say. “Some of the initial challenges in the first weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic could go a long way in clarifying what we need to do in the next pandemic. I’m not entirely sure that we remember these challenges and think about how we can do better in the future.”

She raises the concern of many researchers who believe they are missing out on a huge opportunity to prepare by reducing, rather than strengthening, the research networks and surveillance systems built during the COVID-19 pandemic. are shared.

“Frankly, we cannot stop the process,” says Lewis. “We cannot take this opportunity to learn what we can do from the COVID-19 pandemic so that we will be better prepared next time. I am very concerned about stopping the process.”

She concludes: And any of these viruses could start the next pandemic. “