Scientists to stop devastation of Zika-like pandemics

LONDON: For several months, health workers have been battling to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A total of 60 cases, 28 of them fatal, have been reported around the town of Mbandaka, though authorities say the outbreak is now under control, reports The Guardian.

Politicians, nevertheless, remain nervous. Thousands died in the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 after the virus – which probably spread from infected animals, such as fruit bats – triggered widespread cases of severe, sometimes fatal, internal bleeding.

Ebola is one of a series of previously unknown diseases – others include Sarsand Zika – that have recently appeared without warning and devastated communities, having jumped from animal populations to humans. HIV spread to humans from chimpanzees, for example. And in future new killers will emerge as humans spread into previously inaccessible areas and come into contact with infected creatures, causing deadly new pandemics.

Now a group of scientists believe they have solution. They have launched a remarkable new project which aims to spot the next pandemic virus. The international initiative is known as the Global Virome Project (GVP) and it aims to pinpoint the causes of fatal new diseases before they start to make people ill.

Advocates of the project say they will achieve this remarkable task by genetically characterising viruses found in wild animals – particularly those that have been major sources of viruses deadly to humans. By pinpointing viruses at greatest risk of infecting humans,, counter-measures, such as vaccines can be prepared. “We are about to start initial work in China and Thailand by studying bats, rodents, primates and water birds there,” said Peter Daszak, of the EcoHealth Alliance, one of the main supporters of the project. “We aim to find out as yet unknown viruses that could infect men and women and so pinpoint ways to protect them.”

A pilot study, known as Predict and backed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has already pinpointed more than a thousand viruses in animals that have the potential to infect humans. The GVP will aim to boost that number significantly. Indeed, if it is to succeed fully in its task it will have improved on these figures by several orders of magnitude for it is thought there are around 1.6 million yet-to-be-discovered viral species living in animals.

 

Scientists to stop devastation of Zika-like pandemics

LONDON: For several months, health workers have been battling to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A total of 60 cases, 28 of them fatal, have been reported around the town of Mbandaka, though authorities say the outbreak is now under control, reports The Guardian. Politicians, nevertheless, remain nervous. Thousands died in the West African Ebola outbreak of 2014 after the virus which probably spread from infected animals, such as fruit bats triggered widespread cases of severe, sometimes fatal, internal bleeding. Ebola is one of a series of previously unknown diseases others include Sarsand Zika that have recently appeared without warning and devastated communities, having jumped from animal populations to humans. HIV spread to humans from chimpanzees, for example. And in future new killers will emerge as humans spread into previously inaccessible areas and come into contact with infected creatures, causing deadly new pandemics. Now a group of scientists believe they have solution. They have launched a remarkable new project which aims to spot the next pandemic virus. The international initiative is known as the Global Virome Project (GVP) and it aims to pinpoint the causes of fatal new diseases before they start to make people ill. Advocates of the project say they will achieve this remarkable task by genetically characterising viruses found in wild animals particularly those that have been major sources of viruses deadly to humans. By pinpointing viruses at greatest risk of infecting humans,, counter-measures, such as vaccines can be prepared. We are about to start initial work in China and Thailand by studying bats, rodents, primates and water birds there, said Peter Daszak, of the EcoHealth Alliance, one of the main supporters of the project. We aim to find out as yet unknown viruses that could infect men and women and so pinpoint ways to protect them. A pilot study, known as Predict and backed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has already pinpointed more than a thousand viruses in animals that have the potential to infect humans. The GVP will aim to boost that number significantly. Indeed, if it is to succeed fully in its task it will have improved on these figures by several orders of magnitude for it is thought there are around 1.6 million yet-to-be-discovered viral species living in animals.