The World Health Organization (WHO) announced this Saturday the creation of a global network to protect populations from infectious disease threats through pathogen genomics.
The International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) will become an interconnected platform for countries and regions to improve sample collection and analysis systems, using this information to make decisions in public health systems.
“The goal of this new network is ambitious, but it can also play a vital role in ensuring health security: to provide all countries with access to pathogen sequencing and genomic analysis as part of their public health system,” the director said this Saturday. This is stated in a statement by WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Pathogenic genomics analyzes the genetic code of viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing organisms to understand their potential for infection and mortality.
With this data, researchers and public health officials will be able to detect and track diseases to prevent and respond to outbreaks in a broader surveillance system to develop treatments and vaccines.
“As the Covid-19 pandemic has clearly demonstrated, the world is stronger when it comes together to fight health threats,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
According to the WHO, COVID-19 has highlighted the critical role that pathogen genomics plays in responding to pandemic threats.
“Without rapid sequencing of the SARS-COV-2 genome, vaccines would not be as effective or available so quickly. New and more transmissible variants of the virus would not have been identified so quickly,” he said.
“Genomics is at the heart of effective epidemic preparedness and response, and is also part of ongoing surveillance for a wide range of diseases, from foodborne illness, influenza, tuberculosis and HIV. [Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana]”, he added.
Rockefeller Foundation President Rajiv J. Shah said global collaboration on genomic pathogen surveillance “has been critical as the world battles COVID-19.”
“IPSN builds on this experience by building a trusted platform for partners across industries and countries to share knowledge, tools and practices to ensure pandemic prevention and response is innovative and robust in the future.”
Despite the recent increase in country genomic capacity as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries still lack effective systems for sample collection and analysis. It is not enough to share data, practices and innovations to create a robust global health surveillance system.
Argentina is one of the countries “committed to developing” its capacity in pathogenic genomics.
“Diseases do not recognize borders: the threat of a disease in one country is also a threat to others. We look forward to working with IPSN members to achieve our common goal of preventing disease and saving lives,” said the director of the National Center for Diseases. Control and Prevention Buenos Aires genomics and bioinformatics Josefina Campos.
IPSN brings together experts from around the world in genomics and data analysis from governments, philanthropic foundations, multilateral organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector.
All organizations, according to WHO, have a common goal: to identify and respond to disease threats before they develop into epidemics and pandemics, and to optimize surveillance.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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