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Early detection of epidemics will be possible with better surveillance and use of artificial intelligence, according to Baron Peter Piot, the co-discoverer of the Ebola virus.
The reputed Belgian microbiologist said zoonosis (infections transmitted to humans from animals), urbanisation, high density population, international travel, climate change, conflict (humanitarian crisis), deforestation, population growth and increased food demand will contribute to the risk of exposure to more and more emerging infections in future.
Early detection is crucial to containing the epidemic, for which local capacity and a rapid support system to respond to disease outbreaks has to be developed, he said, while delivering the Hyderabad Lecture Series at the University of Hyderabad.
Measures such as infection control in hospitals, action against overuse of antibiotics and vaccine scepticism should be ensured. Research and development of vaccines should be supported, he said.
The scientist also emphasised the need for the active involvement of governments across the globe. Non-governmental organisations and international organisations such as CEPI (Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation) have been collaborating in epidemic preparedness measures.
Speaking on ‘100 Years after the Spanish Flu: Are we ready for the Next Epidemic?’ Piot threw light on the history of epidemics and pandemics since 1918.
Ebola, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (Middle-Eastern Respiratory Syndrome), AIDS, Zika virus, Dengue, Chikungunya, Yellow fever and the Nipah virus were a few examples, he cited, which have plagued the human population.
He also explained the dynamics of social, economic and political systems and their impact on dealing with these epidemics.
In the past two years, Nobel laureates have delivered four lectures under the Hyderabad Lecture Series, which is supported by an endowment created by IRDAI.
Piot, the founding executive director of the UNAIDS organisation and Director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, is a renowned microbiology scientist, a clinician, public health activist and diplomat. His team discovered the Ebola virus during an epidemic in a rain forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa in 1976.
Appa Rao Podile, Vice-Chancellor, UoH, welcomed the gathering. Subhash C Khuntia, IRDAI Chairman, and other officials were present at the lecture.
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