How Cooperative Engagement Programs Strengthen Sequencing Capabilities for Biosurveillance and Outbreak Response

The threat of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases continues to be a challenge to public and global health security. Cooperative biological engagement programs act to build partnerships and collaborations between scientists and health professionals to strengthen capabilities in biosurveillance. Biosurveillance is the systematic process of detecting, reporting, and responding to especially dangerous pathogens and pathogens of pandemic potential before they become outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics. One important tool in biosurveillance is next generation sequencing. Expensive sequencing machines, reagents, and supplies make it difficult for countries to adopt this technology. Cooperative engagement programs help by providing funding for technical assistance to strengthen sequencing capabilities. Through workshops and training, countries are able to learn sequencing and bioinformatics, and implement these tools in their biosurveillance programs. Cooperative programs have an important role in building and sustaining collaborations among institutions and countries. One of the most important pieces in fostering these collaborations is trust. Trust provides the confidence that a successful collaboration will benefit all parties involved. With sequencing, this enables the sharing of pathogen samples and sequences. Obtaining global sequencing data helps to identify unknown etiological agents, track pathogen evolution and infer transmission networks throughout the duration of a pandemic. Having sequencing technology in place for biosurveillance generates the capacity to provide real-time data to understand and respond to pandemics. We highlight the need for these programs to continue to strengthen sequencing in biosurveillance. By working together to strengthen sequencing capabilities, trust can be formed, benefitting global health in the face of biological threats.

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The Stellenbosch Consensus on Legal National Responses to Public Health Risks

International Organizations Law Review ◽

10.1163/15723747-2020023 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-68

Author(s):

Roojin Habibi ◽

Steven J. Hoffman ◽

Gian Luca Burci ◽

Thana Cristina de Campos ◽

Danwood Chirwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Global Health ◽

International Health ◽

World Health ◽

Vienna Convention ◽

Health Security ◽

Public Health Emergencies ◽

The Face ◽

Health Organization ◽

Health Regulations

Abstract The International Health Regulations (ihr), of which the World Health Organization is custodian, govern how countries collectively promote global health security, including prevention, detection, and response to global health emergencies such as the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Countries are permitted to exercise their sovereignty in taking additional health measures to respond to such emergencies if these measures adhere to Article 43 of this legally binding instrument. Overbroad measures taken during recent public health emergencies of international concern, however, reveal that the provision remains inadequately understood. A shared understanding of the measures legally permitted by Article 43 is a necessary step in ensuring the fulfillment of obligations, and fostering global solidarity and resilience in the face of future pandemics. In this consensus statement, public international law scholars specializing in global health consider the legal meaning of Article 43 using the interpretive framework of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

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One Health: its recent evolution and driving issues

Microbiology Australia ◽

10.1071/ma12137 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

pp. 137

Author(s):

John MacKenzie ◽

Martyn Jeggo

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Global Health ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Influenza Pandemic ◽

Animal Health ◽

Nipah Virus ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

H1n1 Influenza ◽

Species Barrier ◽

Health Security

Global health security has become a major concern, particularly the threats to human and animal health from the emergence and re-emergence of epidemic-prone infectious diseases, as well as the significant and growing impact of these outbreaks on national and international economies. It has long been known that many of these diseases can cross the species barrier between humans, wildlife and domestic animals, and indeed over 70% of novel emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, that is, have their origins in animal reservoirs. There have been many recent examples of this trend, the most dramatic being recently the SARS epidemic ? the first major threat to global health from a novel zoonotic disease in the new Millennium. Other recent examples include the H1N1 influenza virus pandemic; the spread of Nipah virus into Bangladesh and India; and perhaps the most important of all, the ongoing concerns of a highly virulent influenza pandemic due to avian influenza virus (H5N1).

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Financing Vaccines for Global Health Security

10.1101/2020.03.20.20039966 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jonathan T. Vu ◽

Benjamin K. Kaplan ◽

Shomesh Chaudhuri ◽

Monique K. Mansoura ◽

Andrew W. Lo

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Global Health ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Expected Returns ◽

Global Health Security ◽

Economic Returns ◽

Health Security ◽

Price Increases ◽

The Cost

AbstractRecent outbreaks of infectious pathogens such as Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19 have underscored the need for the dependable availability of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). The cost and risk of R&D programs and uniquely unpredictable demand for EID vaccines have discouraged vaccine developers, and government and nonprofit agencies have been unable to provide timely or sufficient incentives for their development and sustained supply. We analyze the economic returns of a portfolio of EID vaccine assets, and find that under realistic financing assumptions, the expected returns are significantly negative, implying that the private sector is unlikely to address this need without public-sector intervention. We have sized the financing deficit for this portfolio and propose several potential solutions, including price increases, enhanced public-private partnerships, and subscription models through which individuals would pay annual fees to obtain access to a portfolio of vaccines in the event of an outbreak.

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Case reports on dangerous infectious diseases: a review of patient consent

BMJ Military Health ◽

10.1136/jramc-2018-000949 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 166 (3) ◽

pp. 179-180

Author(s):

Kieran Walsh

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Case Reports ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Health Security ◽

Patient Consent ◽

Tier 1 ◽

Control And Prevention ◽

Deliberate Release ◽

Care Guidelines

Case reports are commonly used to describe new infectious diseases. In the past 20 years, there have been an increasing number of emerging infectious diseases that could constitute a major threat to global health security (through naturally occurring pandemics or deliberate release of infectious agents). It is vitally important that case reports related to infectious diseases are written up according to the highest possible standards and that guidelines regarding patient consent to publish are followed. So, do case reports that relate to dangerous infectious diseases follow guidance related to patient consent? To help find the answer to this question, I looked at a sample of case reports published on PubMed between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016. I searched for freely available full-text reports of infections that affected humans. The search was conducted for case reports on infectious diseases that pose the greatest risk to global health—infections that have been classified as Tier 1 agents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An assessment was carried out as to whether the identified case reports satisfied the criteria related to consent as outlined in the CARE guidelines. In total, 71 case reports were found. These were related to Ebola, Botulism, Yersinia and Tularaemia. The authors stated that they had obtained consent to publish in 17 of these case reports. Only a minority of published case reports on extremely dangerous pathogens contain documented evidence that consent was obtained from the patient in question. In this sample, 24% of case reports contained such evidence regarding consent.

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Emerging Countries

10.1093/oso/9780199694631.003.0010 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Jennifer Prah Ruger

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

Health Systems ◽

Technical Assistance ◽

System Development ◽

Political Influence ◽

Knowledge Generation ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Health Issues ◽

Outbreak Response ◽

Global Affairs

With a growing presence on the world stage, the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—are expanding their influence and impact worldwide. These countries can address global health issues as they build their own health systems. They are growing in significance, separately as nations and collectively as a center of gravity. They are assuming multiplying roles in global health, including funding, knowledge generation and dissemination, technical assistance and policy advice, empowerment and agency enhancement, advocacy, surveillance and outbreak response, and health system development. Their emerging economies and health systems link them closely to the developing world’s concerns, while their growing economic and political influence draws them into the company of industrialized countries and gives them a more powerful voice in global affairs. Their emergence as global health actors may call more attention to developing countries’ perspectives and needs.

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The Stellenbosch Consensus on the International Legal Obligation to Collaborate and Assist in Addressing Pandemics

International Organizations Law Review ◽

10.1163/15723747-2020024 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-30

Author(s):

Margherita M. Cinà ◽

Steven J. Hoffman ◽

Gian Luca Burci ◽

Thana Cristina de Campos ◽

Danwood Chirwa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

International Health ◽

World Health ◽

Vienna Convention ◽

Health Security ◽

Legal Obligations ◽

The Face ◽

Health Organization ◽

Health Regulations ◽

Legal Meaning

Abstract The International Health Regulations (ihr), of which the World Health Organization is custodian, govern how countries collectively promote global health security, including prevention, detection, and response to potential global health emergencies such as the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. While Article 44 of this binding legal instrument requires countries to collaborate and assist each other in meeting their respective obligations, recent events demonstrate that the precise nature and scope of these legal obligations are ill-understood. A shared understanding of the level and type of collaboration legally required by the ihr is a necessary step in ensuring these obligations can be acted upon and fully realized, and in fostering global solidarity and resilience in the face of future pandemics. In this consensus statement, public international law scholars specializing in global health consider the legal meaning of Article 44 using the interpretive framework of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

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Neurological Complications in COVID-19: Implications on International Health Security and Possible Interventions of Phytochemicals

10.5772/intechopen.96039 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Johnson Olaleye Oladele ◽

Oluwaseun Titilope Oladele ◽

Oyedotun M. Oyeleke ◽

Adenike T. Oladiji

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

Case Reports ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

International Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Neurological Complications ◽

Health Security ◽

Beneficial Effects ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Main Protease

Global health security or international health security (IHS) includes any natural or man-made phenomenon that challenged human health and well-being including emerging infectious diseases such as the current global pandemic: COVID-19. Since the sudden outburst of COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, many COVID-19 patients have exhibited neurological symptoms and signs. Till now, there is no known effective established drug against the highly contagious COVID-19 infection despite the frightening associated mortality rate. This chapter aims to present the mechanism of action of coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the clinical neurological manifestations displayed by COVID-19 patients, impact on the global health system and present phytochemicals with neuroprotective ability that can offer beneficial effects against COVID-19 mediated neuropathology. Reports from COVID-19 clinical studies, case reports, and other related literature were evaluated. Neurological complications of COVID-19 include anosmia, acute cerebrovascular disease, acute disseminated post-infectious encephalomyelitis, encephalitis, etc. Also, SARS-CoV-2 соuld be a neurotropic vіruѕ due to its iѕоlаtіоn from сеrеbrоѕріnаl fluіd. Multірlе nеurоlоgісаl dаmаgе displayed by COVID-19 patients might be due to hyperinflammation associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Kolaviron, resveratrol, vernodalin, vernodalol, and apigenin are natural phytochemicals with proven anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties that could extenuate the adverse effects of COVID-19. The phytochemicals have been documented to suppress JNK and MAPK pathways which are essential in the pathogenesis of COVID-19. They also showed significant inhibitory activities against SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Taken together, these phytochemicals may offer neuroprotective benefits against COVID-19 mediated neuropathology and suppress the burden of the pandemic on IHS.

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Casualties of preparedness: the Global Health Security Index and COVID-19

International Journal of Law in Context ◽

10.1017/s1744552321000288 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 17 (2) ◽

pp. 204-214

Author(s):

Manjari Mahajan

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Global Health ◽

Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽

Global Health Security ◽

Health Security ◽

Prevailing Paradigm ◽

Political Determinants ◽

The Us ◽

Security Index ◽

The Uk

AbstractThe 2019 Global Health Security Index (GHS Index) assessed the US and the UK as the two countries best prepared to address a catastrophic pandemic. The preparedness rankings of this index have had little correlation with the actual experiences of COVID-19 in various countries. In explaining this disrepancy, the paper argues that better indicators and more data would not have fixed the problem. Rather, the prevailing paradigm of global health security that informs instruments such as the GHS Index needs to be interrogated. This dominant paradigm narrowly conceptualises global health security in terms of the availability of a technical infrastructure to detect emerging infectious diseases and prevent their contagion, but profoundly undertheorises the broader social and political determinants of public health. The neglect of social and political features is amplified in instruments such as the GHS Index that privilege universalised templates presumed to apply across countries but that prove to be inadequate in assessing how individual societies draw on their unique histories to craft public health responses.

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Emerging Powers and Global Health Governance: The Case of BRICS Countries

The Oxford Handbook of Global Health Politics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190456818.013.19 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Yanzhong Huang

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

First Century ◽

Global Health Governance ◽

Industrialized Countries ◽

Health Governance ◽

Policy And Practice ◽

Health Diplomacy ◽

Brics Countries ◽

Working Together ◽

Emerging Powers

Focusing on BRICS countries, this chapter examines the profound implications arising from the growing and future role of emerging powers in global health governance (GHG). At the beginning of the twenty-first century, not only did BRICS countries shift towards net donors, but also their efforts in global health agenda setting and norm development increased. Their policy and practice in conducting health diplomacy constitute an alternative to the existing GHG paradigm. However, their role in GHG remains limited and mixed, as shown in the relatively small size of development assistance for health (DAH), a selective and state-centric approach to developing and participating in global health institutions, and the lack of progress working together and translating policy rhetoric into action. It is still too early to view these efforts as a counterbalance or counterforce to industrialized countries in GHG.

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China and the global search for health security: history, vaccines, and governance

China International Strategy Review ◽

10.1007/s42533-021-00066-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daojiong Zha

Keyword(s):

Global Health ◽

Final Section ◽

Analytical Framework ◽

Global Search ◽

Effective Control ◽

Past Century ◽

Health Governance ◽

Health Security ◽

Core Elements ◽

History Of

AbstractChina is a key player, not just an actor, in the global search for health security. Reiteration of this point is useful for International Relations studies, which often portray China as a factor to contend with, especially given the background of the country as the first to report the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper adopts an analytical framework developed through a summary of routines in Chinese engagement in global health from a practitioner’s perspective: aid, interdependence, governance and knowledge. These are the core elements in a country’s pursuit of engagement with the rest of the world. After the introduction, the second section of the paper reviews contributions from China in the history of global plague control over the past century. The third section discusses structural issues affecting access to vaccines, which are essential for bringing COVID-19 under effective control. The fourth section identifies a number of challenges China is facing in global health governance. The final section offers a few concluding thoughts, reiterating the nature of interdependence in the global search for enhancement of health security.

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