As the world looks to the future, a new global, collaborative effort has taken shape. Across continents and oceans, the united front the world saw during COVID-19 has continued in the form of a coalition of scientists and public health experts hard at work in advancing pandemic preparedness. This force, known as the Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition, is harnessing cutting-edge data science, advanced diagnostics, and especially global collaborations to revolutionize our approach to predicting and tracking infections.
In a recent interview with Economic Times Healthworld, Dr. Gavin Cloherty, head of infectious disease research at Abbott’s diagnostics business explains exactly how a collaborative approach is allowing insight into potential viral outbreaks.
“COVID-19 taught us that no one organization, network or country is enough to effectively fight against viral pathogens,” expands Dr. Cloherty. “We must have an ongoing global commitment to pandemic preparedness, and key to that is collaboration across the private and public sectors for ongoing surveillance, early detection and rapid response to emerging threats. “
It is almost like a hive mind approach - a network of highly trained eyes and ears on the ground monitoring outbreak hotspots worldwide. This mega viral radar system has only come through eyes across the globe, brought together in an effort to prepare for a possible outbreak in the future. This mindset extends to growing the world's "virus-hunting workforce" through initiatives like the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Intervention Network (TEPHINET), boosting recruitment and training endeavors for epidemiologists.
Deploying Virus Hunters Where They’re Needed The Most
An effective way to fight future pandemics is to prevent them from ever sparking in the first place. APDC is taking its advanced virus-hunting capabilities to those communities where outbreaks are most likely to originate.
In India, they've joined forces with local groups like YRGCARE to tackle HIV and hepatitis amongst underserved populations through widespread testing and outreach. Boots-on-the-ground field teams visit viral hot spots providing screening and health services that account for India's diverse healthcare landscape. This includes regions affected by climate change. As a member of the Climate Amplified Disease and Epidemics (CLIMADE) consortium, APDC is enhancing surveillance capabilities to address the rising threat of climate-amplified diseases. Techniques like digital monitoring of viral genomic data combined with environmental factors aim to predict how climate change may exacerbate outbreaks.
“One way that the coalition is monitoring the impact of the changing climate on disease outbreaks is by looking at viral sequences through phylogenetics — or looking back at the genetic ancestry of organisms — to track how viruses have traveled from one region of the world to another. By combining this information with environmental data, coalition scientists are able to better understand viral trends and more closely predict a virus’ future development.” explains Dr. Cloverty.
A Unified Front against Pandemics
At its core, APDC is built around bringing in collective intelligence— the world's top minds, to oppose the shape-shifting threat that a pandemic represents. Their formula brings together an array of top expertise - elite scientists, public health professionals, data scientists and outreach teams - working as one cohesive group with innovative tools and a unanimous ethos/ vision towards healthcare.
Their mission makes one thing crystal clear: If a pandemic level threat were to appear again, we will be prepared to battle it.
Disclaimer: The information mentioned in this document is only suggestive /for patient education and shall not be considered as a substitute for doctor’s advice or recommendations from Abbott. Please consult your doctor for more information.
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