WHO launches global network to detect and prevent infectious disease threats

The World Health Organization and partners are launching a global network to protect people from the threat of infectious diseases through the power of pathogen genomics.

The statement said the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) would provide a platform to connect countries and regions and improve systems for sample collection and analysis.

He said the data will be used to facilitate public health decision-making and to share that information more widely.

“Pathogen genomics analyzes the genetic code of viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing microbes to understand their infectivity, lethality, and how they spread.

“Using this information, scientists and public health officials can identify and track disease to prevent and respond to disease outbreaks as part of a broader disease surveillance system, and to develop treatments and vaccines. can do,” he said.

The network, hosted by the WHO Pandemic and Epidemic Information Hub, will bring together cutting-edge genomics and data analytics experts from governments and stakeholders around the world, according to a statement.

According to it, all experts share a common goal of detecting and responding to disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics, and optimizing routine disease surveillance.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the new network’s goals are ambitious but could also play an important role in health security.

Ghebreyesus said this would give countries access to genome sequencing and analysis of pathogens as part of their public health systems.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us clearly, the world is stronger when we unite to fight our common health threats.

“The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has highlighted the critical role pathogen genomics plays in addressing the threat of a pandemic.

“Without rapid sequencing of the SARS-COV-2 genome, a vaccine would not have been as effective and would not have been available so quickly,” he said.

Infectious variants of the virus will not be identified as quickly, he said.

WHO director-general says genomics is at the heart of effective epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response

Genomics is also part of ongoing surveillance of a wide range of diseases, from food poisoning and flu to tuberculosis and HIV, he said.

Its use in monitoring the spread of HIV drug resistance, for example, has led to antiretroviral therapy that has saved countless lives, he said.

Rockefeller Foundation Chairman Dr. Rajiv Shah said:
As the world joins forces to combat COVID-19, global cooperation in pathogen genome surveillance is critical.

“Building on this experience, IPSN will build a powerful platform for partners to share knowledge, tools and practices across sectors and borders to ensure future pandemic prevention and response are both innovative and robust.

“Despite the recent expansion of genomics capabilities in countries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are still collecting and analyzing samples and using those data to inform public health decision-making. There is still a lack of effective systems to use and to promote.

“There is not enough sharing of data, practices and innovations to build a robust global health surveillance architecture.

“Budgets, which surged during the pandemic to allow for rapid capacity building, are now being cut even in the richest countries,” Shah said.

Josefina Campos, Director of the National Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics at ANLIS Malbran, Argentina, said diseases know no borders and that a disease threat in one country is a threat to others.

“Argentina is deeply invested in building our capacity and that of others in pathogen genomics.”

“I look forward to working with IPSN members to achieve our common goal of preventing disease and saving lives,” Campos said.

He said the network will address challenges through a global network that links geographical and disease-specific networks to create a collaborative system to better detect, prevent and respond to disease threats.

She said members will work together in specialized groups focused on specific challenges, funded through IPSN, to expand ideas and projects in pathogen genomics.

“By connecting national, regional and broader stakeholders, IPSN helps build critical capacities, amplify voices and reinforce priorities at the regional and national levels,” she said. (South)