A debate is ongoing if Olympic Games should be cancelled, moved or delayed because of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern declared by WHO on 1st February 2016 on microcephaly in Brazil, which is being proven to be associated with Zika infection. On May 25th, 150 experts in bioethics, public health and social sciences signed an open letter to the WHO, asking to skip the Games, in order to avoid a further spread of the epidemic.
Albert Osterhaus, director of the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ) in Hannover, Germany, and Chairman of the European Working group on Influenza (ESW), is one of the top virologist in the world, who has discovered more than 50 new viruses over the last decades. In this short video he explains why the word “pandemic” can be a cause of misunderstanding between health authorities and the public, as it happened in 2009, when the new emerging flu virus A(H1N1) turned out to be milder than expected in the beginning.
Public engagement that sets citizens and stakeholders as co-designers and collaborators of R&I activities can contribute to more dynamic and responsible governance of research and innovation. Public Engagement for Research, Practice and Policy conference, to be organized on November 16-17 in Brussels, calls for experts, stakeholders, policy-makers, entrepreneurs, researchers, regional authorities and Commission officials to a joint discussion on this theme.
One of the main source of distrust towards public health authorities is the suspect of hidden connections with the pharmaceutical industry, but, in case of a severe pandemic, an adequate supply of antivirals and vaccines is essential. ASSET asked Norman Begg, GSK Vice President, Head of Scientific Affairs and Public Health, Vaccines, what kind of agreements exist for Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) or of a pandemic, between big pharma and WHO. The answer for the two situations is not the same.
Until the end, it seemed it could sort out to be a happy-ending story, a demonstration of how new social networks, renown for spreading misinformation, can also correct it, when used properly. But the unfortunately predictable finale showed the opposite: counteracting false ideas about vaccines is not that easy. It will take time, a big deal of patience, communication skills and a good, coordinated strategy as well.
It is never easy to develop definitions, especially when we are talking about something that is emerging and changing as we speak. This is the case for Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), an emerging process within European Framework Programs whose definition is new and evolving. However, we can certainly identify a number of key characteristics of RRI, which is an umbrella term including a wide variety of notions, coming from the academia and politics.
Albert Osterhaus, director of the Research Center for Emerging Infections and Zoonoses (RIZ) in Hannover, Germany, is also a vet and a strong promoter of the One Health movement, which aims to consider animals and humans together, as possible sources and vectors of emerging diseases. In his lab MERS-Cov was discovered, which has caused thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths so far, mainly in the Middle East and in Korea. He has studied a new strategy to counteract this disease, vaccinating the dromedary camels, which are the main source of human infections.
“We are so close to ending the polio” and “Still 15 years to a polio-free world” are not contradictory statements. They instead describe, with different degree of optimism, the current framework and the objective to be pursued in the fight against this disease. In other words, we are closer than ever to the target of a world free of polio, but much remains to be done to carry the world across the threshold. Polio eradication is the next issue public health authorities will be committed to in midterm future.
