Why in Broadcast?

• The World Health Organization launched a global network called International Pathogen Surveillance Network (ISPN) to help swiftly detect the threat from infectious diseases, like COVID-19, and share the information to prevent their spread.

About IPSN

• IPSN is a global network of pathogen genomic actors, hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.
• The network rely on pathogen genomics to analyse the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms to understand how infectious and deadly they are and how they spread.
• IPSN enables faster detection of new pathogens and the enhanced tracking of the spread and evolution of diseases.
• The IPSN also supports ongoing disease surveillance and will help detect new disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics.
• IPSN will provide a platform for connecting countries and regions, improving systems for collecting and analyzing samples.
• The IPSN will have a secretariat within the WHO’s Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.
• The network will bring together experts on genomics and data analytics, drawn from governments, academia and the private sector.

Genomics and Infectious Disease

• Genomic technologies play a vital role in the control of infectious disease threats.
• The rapid and accurate analysis of microbial DNA enables detection of new threats and outbreaks.
• This new knowledge is fuelling more effective interventions to prevent and manage the spread of disease.

World Health Organization

• The WHO, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is a specialized agency of the UN responsible for international public health.
• It was established 0n 7th April, 1948.
• Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian public health official is the first African origin Director-General of WHO.

More Info

• COVID-19 highlighted the critical role pathogen genomics plays when responding to pandemic threats.
• Without the rapid sequencing of the SARS CoV-2 virus, vaccines would not have been as effective and not have become available as quickly.
• Genomics lies at the heart of effective epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response.
• The IPSN would help address such challenges, since it could give every country access to pathogen genomic sequencing and analytics as part of its public health system.
• The network aims to help ensure infectious disease threats are swiftly identified and tracked and the information shared and acted on to prevent catastrophes like the Covid pandemic.
• It is the latest of several initiatives launched since COVID-19 that aim to bolster the world’s ability to prevent and more effectively respond to pandemic threats.