Governments across the world now know the importance of being prepared for fast-moving international public health emergencies. Diseases caused by viruses capable of hopping from animals to humans pose serious threats, but are by no means the only dangers we need to take seriously.
1. Vaccine hesitancy
Advertisement
The spread of misinformation has caused falls in measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination in countries including the and , contributing to an uptick in measles cases worldwide. The collapse of HPV vaccination in Japan in 2013 due to is expected to cause some . Vaccine hesitancy featured on a .
Yet even among people who desperately want vaccines, diminished access may be a knock-on effect of the current pandemic. In some places in Africa, people queue for 5 hours to get the yellow fever vaccine, says Sylvie Briand, director of the WHO’s Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department. “But in other countries, where people have not experienced those kinds of diseases, we need to better communicate the benefits of vaccines.”
2. Antibiotic resistance
A 2016 report commissioned by the UK government estimated that, globally, , and that this could . This includes people who catch superbugs while in hospital and lives lost to drug-resistant tuberculosis, respiratory tract infections, sexually transmitted diseases and urinary tract infections. The UN is seeking agreement for a and efforts are under way to find new antibiotics and diagnostic tools. “New antibiotics are only a short-term answer,” says Tim Jinks at the Wellcome Trust, a UK-based research charity. “Long-term, we also need systems changes, such as clean water being available to patients, and healthcare workers adopting appropriate hygiene practices everywhere.”
3. Antifungal resistance
Fungal infections are estimated to . A described the recent rate of emergence of treatment-resistant pathogenic fungi as “unprecedented” and their effects on human health as “spiralling”. Growing levels of resistance to antifungal drugs have been recorded in Candida auris, which has caused deadly outbreaks worldwide, and Aspergillus fumigatus, which triggers serious complications for people with conditions including asthma, cancer, HIV and cystic fibrosis. The Global Action Fund for Fungal Infections is calling for increased surveillance, better diagnostics and more research.
4. Disease X
In 2018, the WHO included “” on its list of the most serious potential public health threats. It stands for any unknown epidemic disease for which preventive and curative treatments don’t exist. Covid-19 fits the bill. The WHO has highlighted the value of preparing surveillance, personnel, communication and interventions for as-yet unknown risks. “For all-hazard preparedness, we need to develop generic capacity that can be applied to a variety of threats,” says Briand. “Countries need actionable plans, which are exercised and questioned regularly, with a menu of interventions they can choose from depending on the type of disease.”
