If we’ve learned anything from COVID-19, it’s that we need to keep an eye on emerging diseases.
“Surveillance for emerging diseases contributes to global security. If basic surveillance and laboratory capacities are compromised, will health authorities catch the next severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or spot the emergence of a pandemic virus in time to warn the world and mitigate the damage?” Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, asked. In 2009.
The answer is obvious now.
Tracking zoonoses, pathogens that jump from animals to humans, is crucial for detecting disease emergence at the earliest time possible. Zoonotic pathogens will continue to emerge, and it will be impossible to track everything and prevent disease outbreaks, but a global zoonotic disease surveillance system could minimize the opportunity for emergence, transmission and global spread.
Surveillance for emerging diseases contributes to global security. If basic surveillance and laboratory capacities are compromised, will health authorities catch the next severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) or spot the emergence of a pandemic virus in time to warn the world and mitigate the damage?
– Margaret Chan
Most new pathogens are zoonotic. Driving their increasing emergence are land-use and food-production practices and population pressure. SARS-CoV-2 is just an example of a zoonotic virus whose emergence was highly likely, says the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness. Experts also say zoonotic outbreaks are becoming more frequent, increasing the urgency for better detection and more robust preparedness.
The earlier a zoonotic disease can be detected, the better. Data sources need to distinguish an abnormal disease pattern from a typical one. Data can be sourced from animal owners, veterinarians, community members and health care providers, for example, and the data can range from informal observations to biological samples.
As data is collected, it needs to be analyzed and presented in easily understood formats for decision-makers to properly interpret and use the information.
Evolving IT has led to breakthroughs and new ways to collect and transmit epidemiological, clinical and demographical information. Data management and decision software and systems to analyze, present, interpret and use information are also rapidly improving.
Widespread Internet access also allows more timely dissemination of information. Real-time information about outbreaks was shared on dedicated forums, social media networks and other unofficial channels during the pandemic’s early days. Even the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network relies on web-based data for daily surveillance.
Disease-surveillance systems are judged on their timeliness, simplicity, flexibility, reliability and sensitivity. In a 2009 report, the National Research Council (U.S.) Committee on Achieving Sustainable Global Capacity for Surveillance and Response to Emerging Diseases of Zoonotic Origin was unable to identify “a single example of a well-functioning, integrated zoonotic disease surveillance system across human and animal health sectors.”
An effective global, integrated zoonotic disease surveillance and response system did not exist in 2009. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, building one should be a priority.
Meanwhile, keeping an eye on the animals could also help prevent threats.
Bats, perhaps the original source for the COVID-19 virus (continuing on to humans possibly via raccoon dogs), could be key to avoiding the next catastrophe. “Bats have the potential to teach us a great deal about how to fight off disease,” University College Dublin’s Emma Teeling says in the Guardian.
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