Latest news with #DiseaseX
Euractiv
09-07-2025
- Health
- Euractiv
Hardwire One Health into EU law before ‘Disease X' strikes
The next pandemic will likely emerge where humans, animals, and ecosystems intersect, yet veterinary systems remain Europe's blind spot. That warning dominated the 'Preventing Disease X' conference in Brussels on 3 July, where experts called for EU policy to match the scale of the risk. Their message was clear: if One Health is to be more than a buzzword, it must be hardwired into legislation, now, before Disease X strikes. Most pandemics, including COVID-19, began with zoonotic pathogens, and the next one, dubbed Disease X, likely will too. Preventing it starts with animal health. From concept to capability Dr. Emmanuelle Soubeyran, Director-General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), delivered a blunt assessment: 'One Health is not only a concept, but it is becoming a binding principle of global health programmes. But principles are not enough, and they need to be translated into actions, especially when the first signs of disease emerge. That's why veterinary services must be at the frontlines of pandemic prevention.' She called the COVID-19 pandemic 'a governance stress test that exposed painful gaps in surveillance in the veterinary system and in public health systems and in multi-sectoral coordination.' Those gaps, she warned, still exist. The problem isn't just technical. It's political. Soubeyran said: 'We need to raise the profile of animal health and convince both political and private decision-makers that investment in animal health is very important. Animal health is not only an issue of animal health. It has an impact on trade, food security and public health and antimicrobial resistance and also impacts on biodiversity and environmental impact.' Yet the conversation too often stops at ministries of health. 'Most of the time I speak about One Health in front of ministers of health, but not in front of ministers of agriculture or ministers of economy,' she said. 'I should speak with Ministers of Agriculture, Ministers of Economy, and Ministers of Finance as well.' Without that broader engagement, she warned, the One Health agenda risks narrowing into 'One Human Health.' Governance meets the laboratory Jean-Baptiste Perrin of the European Commission's DG Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) acknowledged the governance gap, and outlined efforts to fix it. 'We have the preparedness strategy published in March, but additional strategies are coming,' he said. Chief among them is a new EU stockpiling strategy, due on 8 July. While focused on medical countermeasures (MCMs), it has clear implications for zoonotic outbreaks. 'One is the stockpiling strategy, so explaining how the European stockpile can articulate with national, sometimes regional, or local stockpile for meaningful countermeasures,' Perrin explained. Also in the pipeline is a strategy for novel countermeasures (NCMs), mapping the full value chain from innovation to deployment. 'One very important point in this strategy … [is] the governance and the coordination, the chain of command that needs to be clear in time of crisis.' HERA is also working on threat-specific technical roadmaps. 'We're working on threat-specific roadmaps tailored to each pathogen and its most effective countermeasures.' To support this, HERA is building links between human and veterinary institutes, a concrete expression of the One Health vision. However, Perrin stressed that none of this will work unless member states collaborate. 'It's a complex task, especially given the differing competencies of Member States.' Legislative levers remain limited Asked whether the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) could expand HERA's remit to cover veterinary tools, Perrin acknowledged structural limits. 'There is a specific difficulty at European level to properly and fully implement the One Health approach … we do not have the same competency in public health and animal health. That said, it's worth discussing, and I think we need to keep the discussion open and reflect further on the mandate. But as of today we need to concentrate on human health,' he said. The price of neglect If money was missing from the conversation, Professor Jonathan Rushton supplied the spreadsheet. 'Economics is not just for advocacy,' the agricultural economist from the University of Edinburgh warned. 'Economics can help with the drivers of human behaviour … and it can support the assessment of the incentives about how we get people involved in vaccination campaigns.' Rushton noted that animal health contributes to far more than farm productivity. 'We're providing animals that are healthy; they provide products that are safe to eat, in quantity, that actually provides important micronutrients and proteins … it's also an economic activity.' Yet global spending still fails to reflect this importance. In a livestock sector worth an estimated $3.3 trillion annually, animal health spending barely reaches 2 percent of that. 'In 2021, $10 trillion was spent on human health. $70 billion was spent on animal health. It's minuscule.' Prevention is not a luxury Roxane Feller, Secretary-General of Animal Health Europe, closed the meeting by reinforcing what others had said throughout the day: investment in animal health is strategic. 'Animal health is not a cost, it's an investment.' Political momentum is growing, she noted, citing a new Parliament report on livestock sustainability, and recent Council debates on vaccination and disease control. But the One Health gap remains. 'The missing elephant in the room is more on One Health. We still believe that there is a lack of understanding of this intrinsic correlation between human, animal and environmental health.' That disconnect is felt most acutely on the ground. Emily, a young dairy farmer from South Devon, shared the emotional and financial toll of losing over 130 cows to bovine tuberculosis (TB), wiping out decades of selective breeding and destabilising her entire business and family. 'TB's just not a disease when you're losing cows,' she said. 'It absolutely ruins your life.' Her story underscored what many experts argued throughout the day: that prevention must start with engagement, support, and investment, well before crisis hits. From silos to systems What emerged from the conference was not a lack of awareness, but a shared frustration at the fragmentation of the current system. Governance remains weak, investment lags, and political engagement is too narrow. Surveillance, veterinary services, and pandemic response must be connected through legislation, budgets, and cross-sector cooperation. As Soubeyran concluded, 'We cannot prevent every outbreak … but with sustained political will, coordinated investment, cross-sectoral action, we can stop the next pandemic, or at least we can get prepared to be more efficient.' Europe must act before Disease X makes preparation irrelevant. [Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]
Euractiv
01-07-2025
- Health
- Euractiv
Breaking the chain: strengthening Europe's preparedness for disease outbreaks
Preventing future pandemics means preparing for both known and unknown viral disease threats. Since it was added to the WHO R&D Blueprint list of diseases in 2018, 'Disease X' has become the 'bogeyman' for scientists and health professionals across the globe. Disease X refers to an unexpected and unknown outbreak of a contagious or infectious disease that could cause a pandemic similar in scale to COVID-19. As an elusive pathogen, we don't know if we can prevent the occurrence of Disease X, but we do know that from SARS to MERS, swine flu, Ebola, and avian influenza, animal-borne diseases have been the source of every major pandemic in the past century. As a zoonotic disease is likely the prime candidate for the next pandemic, work should begin with a better understanding of the risks of emergence of zoonotic infectious diseases. Whilst the recently published WHO Pandemic Agreement calls on governments to take measures to identify and address drivers of infectious disease at the human-animal-environment interface, with the aim of early prevention of pandemics, the EU Preparedness Union Strategy makes no mention of animal health or zoonotic disease threats. The concrete role of the animal health sector in the EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) is also not yet clearly defined. 'One Health' — integrating human, animal and environmental health — is of course mentioned by both the WHO and HERA, but investment in the prevention of animal-borne diseases, or zoonoses, as well as veterinary science and animal health more generally, is all too often overlooked in preparedness planning. A 2022 World Bank report estimated that investing US$10–11 billion annually in One Health prevention - including US$2.1 billion per year to bring public veterinary services up to international standards, and US$5 billion to improve farm biosecurity - could prevent pandemics that would carry vastly higher costs to manage and control. If we take the COVID-19 pandemic as an example, the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook (IMF 2022) projected the cumulative output loss from the pandemic through 2024 to be about US$13.8 trillion. COVID-19's enduring devastation serves as a stark reminder of a critical and persistent risk: the systemic neglect of animal health systems. So, if we are serious about taking the necessary measures to prevent the next pandemic, we must learn from past failures and act both accordingly and decisively. This starts with better prioritising animal health for the benefits it can bring as our frontline of defence protecting against future pandemics. In today's interconnected world, a health risk in one location, in one species, is a risk for all due to globalised markets and travel, and the ability of pathogens to spread through various means, including direct contact, indirect contact, airborne transmission, and via vectors like insects. To bolster global health security, it is imperative to incorporate binding infrastructure and workforce provisions, including veterinary capacity and flexible regulation for rapid response to disease outbreaks, into preparedness planning. With over three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases coming from zoonotic pathogens, it is clear that we must enhance existing animal disease surveillance systems so they can identify potential threats to animal and human health in good time. We also need to increase the number of qualified vets and veterinary paraprofessionals and support animal owners' access to veterinary services. And with one in five farm animals lost due to disease each year, access to safe and effective vaccines and medicines for animals, as well ability to use these must be assured. With Europe facing numerous outbreaks of animal diseases such as bird flu, foot-and-mouth disease, and bluetongue virus, there is a clear need to implement disease prevention programmes, endorse the use of preventive measures such as vaccines and parasite control, and enhance basic animal health care. Although bluetongue and FMD are not zoonotic, bird flu is. Fortunately the risk of human infection remains low, but it has been reported in dairy cattle in the US. Without wishing to be alarmist, the EU and international governments need to realise that the more animals are affected by a disease, the greater the possibility for the virus to jump from mammal to mammal, and potentially also to people. Enhancing efforts in the field of animal disease prevention would not only reduce the huge socio-economic costs associated with a more reactive approach to disease outbreaks in animals, but they could also drastically reduce the potential One Health risks. Investing in animal health is non-negotiable. It's one of the most effective, proactive and lucrative investment strategies for enhanced preparedness we can take to stop emerging diseases before they ever endanger people and their livelihoods.
The Irish Sun
09-06-2025
- Health
- The Irish Sun
New coronavirus only ‘one small step from spilling over into humans' and sparking widespread outbreak, say scientists
A NEW coronavirus may only be "a small step away from spilling over into humans", scientists have warned - sparking fears of another pandemic. Scientists believe the variant, called 1 Dr Michael Letko, a molecular virologist at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, is leading the research into the concerning variant Credit: Ted S. Warren/College of Veterinary Medicine/WSU American scientists fear the virus - found in China - may be one small mutation away from also being able to infect humans, which could lead to a widespread outbreak. The new study, published in , looked at a lesser-known group of coronaviruses called merbecoviruses. It includes HKU5 and MERS-CoV, which is responsible for the deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. First noted in 2012, the virus typically spreads from infected camels to humans and causes severe respiratory disease, which can be fatal to 34 per cent of its victims. Read more on pandemics The research team, which included scientists at Washington State University (WSU), the California Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina, sought to understand how merbecoviruses infiltrate the cells of their hosts. While most bugs in the group seemed to pose little threat to people, scientists said one subgroup, HKU5, has concerning traits. Michael Letko, a virologist at WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, said: "Merbecoviruses – and HKU5 viruses in particular – really hadn't been looked at much, but our study shows how these viruses infect cells. "What we also found is HKU5 viruses may be only a small step away from being able to spill over into humans." Most read in Health Like other coronaviruses, merbecoviruses rely on a spike protein to bind to receptors and invade host cells. Dr Letko's team used virus-like particles containing the part of the spike protein responsible for binding to receptors and tested their ability to infect cells in their lab. World is not prepared for looming Disease X pandemic says Doctor Tedros Ghebreyesus While most merbecoviruses appeared unlikely to be able to infect humans, HKU5 viruses — which have been found across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East — were shown to use a host receptor known as ACE2, the same used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19. But for now HKU5 viruses can only use the ACE2 gene in bats and can't deploy it on humans nearly as well. Examining HKU5 viruses found in Asia - where their host is the Japanese house bat - the researchers demonstrated some mutations in the spike protein that may allow the viruses to bind to ACE2 receptors in other species, including humans. 'These viruses are so closely related to MERS, so we have to be concerned if they ever infect humans,' Dr Letko said. 'While there's no evidence they've crossed into people yet, the potential is there — and that makes them worth watching.' Dr Letko said the study and its methods could be used for future research projects and to help the development of new vaccines and treatments. What is the new Covid variant confirmed in the UK? The new strain - called NB.1.8.1 - has been spotted in the parts of the UK, such as Ireland and Wales. It's also cropped up in Europe, the US and Australia, as well as Egypt, the Maldives, Thailand, China and Hong Kong. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently issued a warning over NB.1.8.1, designating it as a "variant under monitoring" due to its global spread and key mutations. 'Despite a concurrent increase in cases and hospitalisations in some countries where NB.1.8.1 is widespread, current data do not indicate that this variant leads to more severe illness than other variants in circulation,' the WHO said. But while it may not be particularly severe, it may infect people more easily than previous variants, with some evidence suggesting that the variant binds more tightly to human cells. The WHO stressed that, based on available evidence, the variant's risk to public health was "low at the global level". "Currently approved Covid-19 vaccines are expected to remain effective to this variant against symptomatic and severe disease," it added. Symptoms include sore throat, fatigue, fever, mild cough, muscle aches and a blocked nose. Some people may also get gastrointestinal symptoms. It's not the first time concerns have been raised over HKU5. Earlier this year, Chinese scientists warned that This suggests a higher potential for zoonotic spillover - when a disease spreads from animal to human. If there is no 'intermediate middle animal', it becomes harder to predict and prevent spillover events through interactions such as wildlife trading or hunting. "There is the potential for this new virus to spillover to humans, like previous coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2," said Dr Gary R McLean, a research fellow at the Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study. But he noted that, so far, there is no "evidence" that HKU5-CoV-2 can infect people – the paper is based on tests in a laboratory, showing the bug's "potential". "Hopefully the Chinese authorities now have good surveillance systems in place and the laboratories work to rigid safety standards that minimise the risk of spillover occurring," he said. The WHO has previously listed MERS and Covid as two of several diseases - alongside the mysterious disease X - that could spark a pandemic, but for which there is no specific treatment or vaccine.
India Today
07-06-2025
- Health
- India Today
Rafale fuselages to be made in India in boost to indigenous defence manufacturing
27:15 This episode of Health360 delves into India's rising COVID-19 cases, fuelled by new Omicron sub-variants like JN.1. Dr. Randeep Guleria, ex-AIIMS director, explains its symptoms and cautions for vulnerable groups. Dr. Arjun Dang discusses rising test demands and variant spread. The show also explores 'Disease X' and its potential impact on future pandemics.
New York Post
11-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Why the WHO could control the world during an outbreak of ‘Disease X'
This past Monday, President Trump signed an executive order banning 'dangerous gain-of-function biological research in the United States and around the world.' With this directive, Trump added muscle to his previous decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). As important as these steps are, the US still remains highly vulnerable to international control if and when a widely rumored 'Disease X' outbreak were to occur. 5 As part of his new vision for US foreign policy, Pres. Trump withdrew the US from the World Health Organization. Ron Sachs/CNP / Let's review the history. On Jan. 30, 2020, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, announced a 'public health emergency of international concern' in response to the advancing COVID-19 crisis. With these six magic words, Tedros put into force the WHO's International Health Regulations (IHR), which the United States was obligated to then follow. Upon Tedros' invocation of this IHR 'treaty,' the WHO effectively seized power over all sovereigns, signatories and member nations, including us. Advertisement In America, federal agencies like the National Institutes of Health instantly assumed outsized power, with Dr. Anthony Fauci taking center stage. On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued a 'national public health emergency' — and in doing so, delegated executive control to some of the very people (like Fauci) involved in creating the world's previous coronavirus crises. 5 Despite this notable action, the WHO could still influence the US medical establishment during periods of global health emergencies. REUTERS Tedros Ghebreyesus was born in Ethiopia and is not a medical doctor. Instead, he is a Marxist and member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, a group the Ethiopian government has classified as a terrorist organization. While Tedros was the health minister for Ethiopia, there were three significant cholera outbreaks (2006, 2009 and 2011). Advertisement Allegations continue today that Tedros covered up these outbreaks to avoid international embarrassment. Unsurprisingly, Tedros' response to the COVID-19 crisis was equally reckless, running cover for the Chinese Communist Party and denying resolutely that the virus leaked from their government-run research laboratory in Wuhan. 5 WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is not a medical doctor, and yet he still leads the most important health organization in the world. AFP via Getty Images Although Trump has withdrawn the US from the WHO, America will only be truly decoupled from the organization when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — as director of Health and Human Services — fully severs the relationship between the CDC and the WHO. Until then, the public health of all Americans could still be determined by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. This means that if Ghebreyesus were to merely suspect the arrival of a communicable disease, he could require every WHO member nation to submit their jurisdictional powers, their sovereignty and decision-making abilities to him. America may no longer be formally part of the WHO, but it would still be impacted by the tremendous influence it holds over the global health and medical community. And this could play out most worryingly, if and when the world is confronted with a 'Disease X.' Advertisement 5 Ghebreyesus was once a member of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, which many have considered a terror organization. AFP via Getty Images 'Disease X' is the genetic term used by the WHO to reference an anticipated but unspecified future pandemic. But that future could very likely be now. Our research indicates that 'Disease X' has already been weaponized and released in the form of a gain-of-function enhanced version of COVID-19 that is more contagious and lethal than its predecessor. Even more frightening, our research also indicates that a new, more lethal vaccine has already been prepared as the supposed antidote to 'Disease X.' We suspect both have originated in China. The new vaccine includes a 'replicon,' so named because of its ability to reproduce the active ingredient of the virus spike protein throughout the patient's body. This has the potential to make it highly contagious — and especially dangerous. In 2024, scientists in Japan developed and began using an experimental 'replicon concoction' named 'Kostaive.' The official website of the European Medicines Agency of the European Union describes Kostaive as 'a vaccine for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in people aged 18 years and over.' Sound familiar? Advertisement Unless RFK Jr. reins in the CDC — and fully decouples it from the WHO — the implications of a 'Disease X' outbreak remain dire. The paramount question is: will the US military in a future 'global health emergency of international concern' bow to the WHO for guidance — as it did in 2020 — or stay under the command and control of the commander in chief? After all, the president is (supposedly) the only government official with constitutional authority to order the United States to avoid medical martial law — no matter how deadly a potential 'Disease X' might turn out to be. Adapted from 'Disease X and Medical Martial Law' by Todd s. Callender J.D., Jerome R. Corsi Ph.D. and Craig D. Campbell Ph.D, Copyright – Post Hill Press, 2025.
