3 diseases can become a global pandemic

Charities, governments and scientists from all over the world have had a face-to-face meeting in Switzerland on Thursday to find an action plan to prevent 3 diseases that could become global pandemic.

The diseases they focus on include: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Lassa fever and Nipah virus (NiV) - all of which are highly contagious and do not currently have vaccines or treatments. .

According to a report from the Alliance for Adaptation for Preparedness (CEPI) at the World Economic Forum held on Thursday in Davos, Switzerland, the plan aims to fund research for vaccines for three units. The disease before they break out.

So far, charities and governments from all over the world have established a US $ 460 million fund to promote work.

Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust medical research charity, said: "We know that disease is one of the significant threats we face. The vaccine can protect us but we have done too little to develop them CEPI is an opportunity to look back on recent tragedies and new vaccine barriers. "

The current goal is to create at least two experimental vaccines for each of the three diseases.

The first disease the group planned to attack was MERS.

Ideally, researchers will assess 5 or 6 vaccines at a time, but according to technology billionaire Bill Gates, at the current level of fundraising, they are only able to handle 2 or 3 vaccines.

The first disease the group planned to attack was MERS, an infectious respiratory disease first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report states "MERS is a viral disease known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome caused by Corona Virus (MERS-CoV ). Most MERS patients progressive severe acute respiratory disease with symptoms of fever, cough and dyspnea, with 3-4 people dying ".

Currently, MERS is only spread and spread by travelers from Saudi Arabia to other places such as Korea, where outbreaks occurred in 2015.

After MERS, the next targets will be Lassa and NiV fever, two viruses that are very contagious and can become a global threat if we do not have the right vaccine.

Lassa fever takes place in 1969 in Nigeria, the patient will get a fever when exposed to rat urine or excreta. Once infected, the virus can pass from one person to another through body fluids. Each year the virus kills about 5,000 people with most deaths occurring in West Africa.

NiV, also known as Nipah, was discovered in 1988 in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia and became infected by eating food contaminated by fruit bats. NiV can also spread from person to person like Lassa fever, so far, NiV has killed 196 people since 2001.

Hopefully, the plan to defeat viruses before they become global pandemics will be successful, but time will tell us how difficult it is to create the necessary vaccines.