Global network created by WHO will act in the prevention of infectious diseases

Institutions from different countries around the world will be integrated through the International Pathogen Surveillance Network (IPSN), an initiative created by the World Health Organization (WHO). The aim is to improve sample collection systems and share information more widely. The expectation is that the data obtained can help in the formulation of policies and in the decision-making process. According to a note released by the WHO, the network is based on pathogen genomics, which analyzes the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms, with the aim of understanding how infections are, how fatal they are and how they spread. Specialists from governmental, private, academic and philanthropic institutions, as well as civil society entities, will be involved. “Scientists and public health officials will be able to identify and track diseases to prevent and respond to outbreaks as part of a broader surveillance system, in addition to developing treatments and vaccines,” notes a WHO note. Fiocruz The net was launched last Saturday (20). The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), a Brazilian scientific institution linked to the Ministry of Health, is one of the members of the network and was represented at the event by its president Mário Moreira. He released a video where he comments on the subject. “It is a very important moment for Fiocruz. It was invited to participate based on its experience in facing the covid-19 pandemic, but also on the scientific, technological and even industrial accumulation it demonstrated during this process. that this international network will quickly produce effects on a global scale, making the world more prepared”, evaluated Moreira. Fiocruz will compose the network’s leadership forum. The IPSN will initially receive funds from the philanthropic institutions Rockefeller Foundation and Wellcome Trust and the German government, but will seek to expand its investments with the adhesion of more financiers. The initiative also has two lines of action: communities of practice, which bring together experts in the area of ​​genomic data and aim to create protocols, data sharing and the development of data tools that can integrate public health systems; and country accelerators, to expand cooperation capacity for the development of local genomic surveillance structures.

Agência Brasil