Biosecurity Briefing

Subscribe | About | Current Issue | RSS | Archive

WHO Finds Infectious Disease Spread a Major Public Health Security Threat

By Crystal Franco, August 31, 2007

On August 23, 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) released its 2007 World Health Report on global public health threats in the 21st century. The report focuses on the increasing threat from infectious diseases, emphasizing that with airline travel reaching an estimated 2.1 billion passengers in 2006, “an outbreak or epidemic in any one part of the world is only a few hours away from becoming an imminent threat somewhere else.” According to the report, “diseases are now spreading geographically much faster than any time in history,” and they “are not only spreading faster, they appear to be emerging more quickly than ever before.”1

The report identifies diseases in nature that are especially “epidemic-prone” such as cholera, yellow fever, HIV, and avian influenza, as well as hemorrhagic viruses such as Ebola, Marburg, and Nipah virus. Additionally, the report highlights that as infectious disease research expands, so does the potential for “outbreaks associated with the accidental release of infectious agents,” as well as for “malicious releases of dangerous pathogens” causing deliberate outbreaks of infectious disease.1

The WHO report calls for “global collaboration” to meet both natural and deliberate infectious disease threats. The report urges the development of “core detection and response capacities in all countries,” which will require fortified public health systems. In countries that don’t have the capabilities to achieve infectious disease “prevention and control” on their own, the international community will need to provide “surveillance and response networks to assist them.”1

A WHO news release on August 23, 2007, summarizes the following 6 key recommendations made in the World Health Report:

• Countries need to fully implement the revised International Health Regulations (IHR 2005);
• Further “global cooperation in surveillance and outbreak alert and response” is needed;
• Countries should share laboratory technologies, materials, virus samples and knowledge openly;
• The international community has a “global responsibility” to develop the public health infrastructure and capacity of all countries;
• Governments should develop “cross-sector collaboration” to strengthen public health;
• Countries and the international community should increase the amount of resources dedicated to infectious disease surveillance, response networks, prevention campaigns, laboratory capacity, and training.2

In an introductory statement within the World Health Report, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the WHO concluded that “given today’s universal vulnerability to these [infectious disease] threats, better security calls for global solidarity. International public health security is both a collective aspiration and a mutual responsibility…. The new watchwords are diplomacy, cooperation, transparency and preparedness.”1

References

1. The world health report 2007: a safer future global public health security in the 21st century. The World Health Organization. August 23, 2007. http://www.who.int/whr/2007/whr07_en.pdf. Accessed August 31, 2007.
2. International spread of disease threatens public health security. WHO news release. August 23, 2007. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr44/en/index.html. Accessed August 31, 2007.