The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a global network to help detect the threat from infectious diseases, like Covid-19, and share information to prevent their spread.
In a statement released on Saturday, the WHO said the International Pathogen Surveillance Network will provide a platform for connecting countries and regions, improving systems for collecting and analyzing samples.
The network will use pathogen genomics to analyze the genetic code of viruses, bacteria, and other disease-causing organisms to understand how infectious and deadly they are and how they spread.
The data gathered will then feed into a broader disease surveillance system used to identify and track diseases, in a bid to contain outbreaks and to develop treatments and vaccines.
According to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the new network could “play a vital role in health security”.
“As was so clearly demonstrated to us during the Covid-19 pandemic, the world is stronger when it stands together to fight shared health threats,” Ghebreyesus said.
“All share a common goal: to detect and respond to disease threats before they become epidemics and pandemics, and to optimize routine disease surveillance,” he added.
The network is set to bring together experts on genomics and data analytics from governments, academia, the private sector, and elsewhere.
