WHO Launches Global Network to Detect Infectious Disease Threat

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• About International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN)
• What is the Need for an International Surveillance Network for Pathogens?
• Areas of Work for IPSN
• Outcomes of IPSN

Why in News?

• The World Health Organization has launched a global network to help swiftly detect the threat from infectious diseases, like COVID-19, and share the information to prevent their spread.

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About International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN)

• The International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN) is a global network of pathogen genomic actors, hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, to accelerate progress on the deployment of pathogen genomics and improve public health decision-making.
• By strengthening the pathogen genomic surveillance ecosystem, the IPSN enables faster detection of new pathogens and the enhanced tracking of the spread and evolution of diseases.
  • This in turn can drive better public health responses.
• The IPSN supports ongoing disease surveillance and will help detect and fully characterize new disease threats before they become epidemics or pandemics.
• Vision –
  • A world where every country has equitable access to sustained capacity for genomic sequencing and analytics as part of its public health surveillance system.

What is the Need for an International Surveillance Network for Pathogens?

• COVID-19 highlighted the critical role pathogen genomics plays when responding to pandemic threats.
• As pointed out by the WHO that without the rapid sequencing of the SARS CoV-2 virus, vaccines would not have been as effective and would not have become available as quickly.
  • New and more transmissible variants of the virus would also not have been identified as quickly.
• WHO said that genomics lies at the heart of effective epidemic and pandemic preparedness and response.
• While the pandemic spurred countries to scale up their genomics capacity, the agency warned that many still lack effective systems for collecting and analysing samples.
• The IPSN would help address such challenges.

Areas of Work for IPSN

• Communities of practice to solve common challenges –
  • At the heart of the IPSN’s work is a set of communities of practice that enable exchange between partners working on pathogen genomics.
  • The first of these is the IPSN Community of Practice on genomics data.
  • Its projects and deliverables aim to harmonize data standards and protocols, ensure genomics data tools are fit for purpose, and that data and benefits sharing are enhanced.
• Country scale-up accelerator to align efforts and enable South-South exchange –
  • The IPSN has established a Country Scale-Up Accelerator (CSUA) to accelerate and amplify the efforts of IPSN members to rapidly increase country capacity for pathogen genomic surveillance.
  • The CSUA’s projects and deliverables aim to create a set of capacity-building tools as global goods, and to empower increased South-South bilateral and subregional partnerships for capacity development.
• Funding to improve equity and to power IPSN projects –
  • To ensure improved coordination and harmonization of donor efforts, the IPSN has established a funders forum.
  • The forum which works with the Secretariat to support IPSN activities and members including a small grants fund.
• High-level advocacy/communications to keep genomic surveillance on the agenda –
  • With active engagement of countries, partners, regional organizations and WHO, the IPSN keeps pathogen genomic surveillance on the global agenda and ensures strategic buy-in.
• Global partners forum for pathogen genomics to bring partners together –
  • The annual forum brings together key players from all IPSN entities involved in pathogen genomic surveillance.
  • The forum will help in providing a high-profile stage to build partnerships, introduce innovations, socialize  ideas and advocate for political and financial commitments.

Outcomes of IPSN

• To build towards a strong disease surveillance system, IPSN members and their work will result in –
  • Stronger national and international surveillance systems better able to detect and characterize new threats and reduce endemic burdens;
  • Increased harmonization and innovation in pathogen genomics;
  • Increased scale and efficiency of country capacity building efforts; and
  • Increased political attention and financing efficiency.

Q1) What is the meaning of genome sequencing?

A laboratory method that is used to determine the entire genetic makeup of a specific organism or cell type. This method can be used to find changes in areas of the genome. These changes may help scientists understand how specific diseases, such as cancer, form.

Q2) What is the difference between DNA and RNA?

DNA is a double-stranded molecule that has a long chain of nucleotides. RNA is a single-stranded molecule which has a shorter chain of nucleotides. DNA replicates on its own, it is self-replicating. RNA does not replicate on its own.

Source: WHO launches global network to detect infectious disease threat