There is a dire need to seriously fund the surveillance of , research into , and treatment of emerging potential pandemic agents that could cause Disease X .
Despite the grim situation , steps can be taken to stop Disease X and to reduce the spread and damage of Disease X by properly and preemptively preparing for it .” applies it to our everyday public health data systems on a much larger scale .”
Walke said there are five significant areas that will move the U . S . toward this vision . These are :
1 . Build the Right Foundation : Strengthen and Unify Critical Infrastructure for a Response-Ready Public Health Ecosystem
2 . Accelerate Data into Action to Improve
Decision-Making and Protect Health 3 . Develop a State-of-the-Art Workforce 4 . Support and Extend Partnerships 5 . Manage Change and Governance to Support New Ways
“ Guiding principles include empowering scientists to focus on knowledge discovery and public health information using modern tools and processes ; saving time through faster and more streamlined IT development and implementation ; promoting collaboration to ensure engagement , alignment , and harmonization ; and ensuring low-cost , sustainability by establishing scalable , flexible , reusable approaches to developing surveillance systems ,” Walke explained .
Experts continue to call for funding mechanisms to shore up readiness and response to all public health crises , not just Pathogen X .
Tahir , et al . ( 2021 ) emphasize that , “ There is a dire need to seriously fund the surveillance of , research into , and treatment of emerging potential pandemic agents that could cause Disease X . Despite the grim situation , steps can be taken to stop Disease X and to reduce the spread and damage of Disease X by properly and preemptively preparing for it . We need to develop international guidelines to control bioterrorism . Bioterrorism attacks could also result in an epidemic , for example , if Ebola or Lassa viruses were used as biological agents . Advice of academics should be sought in a timely way without any political involvement . Immediate and appropriate travel restrictions and airport screening will need to be implemented to contain the spread of pathogen X across borders . The world ’ s scientists , clinicians , and infectious disease experts must act collaboratively to investigate , control , and eliminate the disease in a timely way . Widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing can effectively contain the outbreak . Timely investments can be made to accelerate the development , availability , and approval of medical countermeasures ( like diagnostics , vaccines , and clinical trials ) required before and during the pandemic . Active surveillance of virus laboratories is needed to avoid a potential leak of a new virus .”
And as Banerjee , et al . ( 2023 ) urge , “ The COVID‐19 pandemic has shown the scale at which these novel pathogens can be a threat and the mass destruction that they can cause . Despite not being the first to cause chaos on our planet , it most definitely won ’ t be the last . This proposes the need to be prepared for the next upcoming novel or re‐emerging diseases by bridging organizational inadequacies , identifying key infections and hazardous regions , and highlighting alleged risk factors .”
Since COVID-19 , the prioritization has shifted , according to Henao-Restrepo ( 2022 ) who outlined a new set of concerns , including :
• Focus on viral families and representative or prototype viruses within each family
• Considering bacterial threats in the context of antimicrobial resistance ( AMR )
• Research agenda covering medical countermeasures beyond vaccines
• Building on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic
• Continued consideration of Disease X
Experts say they would be remiss if healthcare-acquired infections ( HAIs ) were not continued to be treated as a priority concurrent with pandemic preparedness . As we know , during the COVID-19 pandemic , HAI rates rebounded .
At the WHO meeting , Cassini ( 2022 ) said that the pandemic revealed significant infection prevention and control ( IP & C ) gaps at the national and facility levels and that healthcare workers are at higher risk and need to be better protected and trained for the next pandemic . Citing the WHO Multicenter Case Control Study to Assess Risk Factors for COVID-19 in Healthcare Workers ( HCWs ), which surveyed 3,057 healthcare personnel from 121 study sites in 21 countries , Cassini ( 2022 ) added that risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection in healthcare workers included exposure to COVID-19 patients with prolonged close contact ( more than 15 minutes within 1 meter ); not always appropriately performing hand hygiene after close patient contact ; and not adhering to PPE guidelines ( such as not wearing a surgical mask or respirator appropriately .
Cassini ( 2022 ) asserted that IP & C is cost-effective in response to outbreaks , pointing to the OECD / WHO Joint Project on the COVID-19 Pandemic ( Ozcelik , et al . 2022 ). A cost-effectiveness model was created using data from the first 180 days of the pandemic ; it found that more than 50 percent of new infections among healthcare workers in South-East Asia , Europe and the Americas could have been avoided , as could have approximately one-third of new infections in other regions . There was a USD $ 7.2 billion net savings globally when hand hygiene and PPE were practiced . The model also found that combining increased access to PPE with IP & C training yields the greatest global health and economic gains .
Yet the lessons around PPE still need to be learned . As Cassini ( 2022 ) reported , “ Severe PPE shortages demonstrated the need for decentralized / regional approaches ( in context of a pandemic ) for PPE manufacturing , logistic and disposal .” He also said greater emphasis should be placed on reusable / biodegradable PPE ; that increased attention on PPE should not hinder the attention on other IP & C measures ( meaning hand hygiene and training
20 november 2023 • www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com