2024-07-01 17:08:47
By Antoni Plasència and Gonzalo Fanjul (ISGLOBAL).
Dozens of health centers and research centers around the world are following these days with alarm the rapid transmission and spread of the avian virus A(H5N1). This virus has been spreading from wild birds to domestic birds and from there to marine and terrestrial animals, causing major outbreaks. This includes genetic changes between viruses of high and low pathogenicity, with unexpected consequences. Until now, its transmission to humans has been confirmed in about twenty cases (including a child), most of them mild, and there is no evidence of transmission between humans. But this situation is causing a serious food safety crisis in the United States, where the high presence of the virus in the milk of cows has activated a health alert that the power of unknown milk can be a health risk in addition to the possibility of infection. changes that increase their carrying capacity.
No one wants to hear about plagues anymore, looking to get away from the memory of sadness, pain and contractions suffered for months. But, sooner than later, we will also suffer events of equal or greater importance for global health, society and economy, due to the spread of viruses, known or unknown.
The re-emergence of avian flu is one more example of how the health of people, animals and the planet are linked in a growing and important challenge. The central question is whether we are prepared, at the global and local level, to prevent a new pandemic. More importantly, if we have operational preparedness and response methods, especially surveillance and rapid detection of circulating viruses; diagnosis, treatment and prophylaxis in humans and animals; public and private intersectoral cooperation; and communication with the population that fosters trust and security.
Likewise, it is key to improve cooperation between countries and between players. This is why this week’s Pandemic Agreement will be submitted for ratification by the World Health Organization (WHO), to ensure the global commitment of governments, together with the private sector and civil society, to prevent epidemics and normally ensure responses that minimize their impact.
Unfortunately, despite the theoretical desire to reach an effective and lasting agreement, there are still weaknesses between the global North and the South in terms of funding, access to information for the development of diagnostics, vaccines and treatments, and accounting for agreements. The danger is that the need to ratify such an agreement now forces the details of the most relevant provisions to be postponed.
It is advisable not to underestimate the value of the false closure of this process, when the window of political opportunity created by the coronavirus emergency is shrinking. The European Union, the United States, China and other leading negotiators face a polycrisis landscape that not only dissipates their financial and political resources but appears to have returned them to pre-pandemic conditions. Although Spain and other Member States are trying to bring the EU situation to a more stable place, it does not seem that this effort will be enough.
The prevention of pandemics is less visible and its consequences less known. But it is enough to remember the 29 million deaths and trillion-dollar bill of the most recent global health crisis to realize what is at stake. This agreement must be a historic, cooperative and supportive step, in the face of pandemics, and cannot be a minimum negotiation. Preparation will save our lives… even though we will never know.
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