The worst-ever Ebola epidemic is waning, but it has hammered home the message that the world needs a better detective system for emerging diseases.
Health24 reports that risks posed by pandemic threats such as deadly strains of flu and drug-resistant superbugs have shot up the agenda of global security issues at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos as politicians and scientists grapple with the lessons from an Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 8 600 people.
One thing is certain: more epidemics are coming and dense urban living, coupled with modern travel, will accelerate future infectious disease outbreaks, the report says.
After the 2009 H1N1 swine flu swine flu pandemic, a World Health Organisation review committee called for an internationally-funded "global public health reserve workforce" to be set up, as well as a contingency fund for emergencies and revamped research. The plea was ignored at the time, but it is finally getting attention. "The whole world needs a new early-warning system for these diseases," said Alpha Conde, the president of Guinea – where Ebola went undetected for three months in early 2014.
It is not the first time a disease has been able to fester under the radar in Africa. HIV, the virus that causes Aids, was missed for decades before finally bursting onto the world stage after it took hold in the US. In recent years, however, public fears about infections have ebbed, especially after the flu pandemic of six years ago turned out to be mild. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that humankind will be as lucky next time.
Asked to list the top infectious disease threats for the years ahead, Tom Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control, said: "I think we'd all start with flu." But another big danger is the emergence of drug resistance to bacteria which causes diseases from tuberculosis go gonorrhoea, as well as resistance to parasites like malaria.
Reuters Health reports that scientists looking for Ebola in bats have identified 16 other viruses in the animal which could jump to humans and potentially cause a disease outbreak on a similar scale to the West African crisis. Health security expert, Professor Nigel Lightfoot said humans can contract Ebola from bats, which are carriers of the virus, as well as from other animals. He said the additional viruses had been identified by scientists from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) in South Africa.
"They tell me they have got 16 other (viruses)…which are just waiting to spread to humans and cause the next (epidemic)," he told a conference in London on tackling serious infectious diseases. "So you shouldn't be saying if there is a next one. The message is when is the next emerging public health threat that is going to follow Ebola."
Lightfoot said the World Bank would shortly announce hundreds of millions of dollars investment in infrastructure in the three countries worst affected by Ebola – Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. The crisis has hit Liberia and Sierra Leone particularly hard because recent civil wars have left their health services in tatters, the conference hosted by think tank Royal United Services Institute heard. The conflicts also fuelled a brain drain as doctors left to work in the West.
Lightfoot, who is executive director of Connecting Organisations for Regional Disease Surveillance (CORDS), an international NGO which aims to flag up potential risks, said early communication was key to preventing outbreaks turning into epidemics. As a result of the Ebola crisis, CORDS is setting up a specialised West African network which is partly funded by the World Bank.
Lightfoot said it was vital for disease prevention specialists to work with people on the ground to build fast, smart surveillance systems. He said it was also important not to forget traditional healers who can play a key role in stopping Ebola and other diseases. In some places 60%-70% of people visit healers. In Democratic Republic of Congo, which has seen several Ebola outbreaks, health experts are teaching traditional healers how to spot patients with certain symptoms and direct them to the health system.
In addition to bats, humans can also contract Ebola from other animals such as monkeys which have come into contact with infected bats. The danger lies in exposure to infected blood in the killing and preparation of the animals. But Lightfoot said it was pointless to tell people to stop eating monkeys which are a valuable source of protein and have been eaten for thousands of years. Lightfoot said the answer was to minimise the risks by teaching people how to butcher animals safely and cook the meat well "so it's monkey stew, not monkey tartare."
He said there was no indication as to how serious the 16 newly identified viruses were.
The NICD research is ongoing.
[link url="http://www.health24.com/Medical/Flu/News/Flu-and-drug-resistance-flagged-as-top-pandemic-threats-20150123"]Full Health24 report[/link]
[link url="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/23/us-africa-ebola-health-idUSKBN0KW2G120150123"]Full Reuters Health report[/link]