Diseases are emerging and remerging rapidly in different ecosystems and regions. Disease surveillance is an approach widely used for detecting new pathogens through event-based or indicator surveillance efforts. We should ask ourselves why, as a global community, do we not implement a robust global surveillance and early warning system capable of detecting early signals of disease emergence? In addition, why is it that we continue to incur high costs of crisis mitigation, as in outbreaks of H5N1 HPAI, Nipah, MERS-CoV, Zika, Ebola, etc., particularly in regions associated with poor indicators of development and high vulnerability?
A new mindset is required to change the way that the international community coordinates and manages disease emergencies. Lessons learned from HPAI H5N1 outbreaks indicate that many affected countries continue to suffer disease impacts because of failures in implementation of technical strategies, poor practices and inadequate policies for disease prevention and control. A better understanding of the drivers of disease emergence is needed to help identify prompt actions that will tackle the issues at their source. A multidisciplinary approach is required to build a strong network of institutions and coordinate incidents at the complex human/animal/ecosystem interface. This approach also necessitates local capabilities and networks with epidemiologists or public health specialists capable of conducting disease outbreak investigations with the support of national or regional laboratory networks. Strengthening local capacities in epidemiological analysis, and the use of open analytical tools and GIS platforms, and new technologies (e.g. mobile devices, rapid diagnostics) are opening a new window of opportunities to enhance the quality and speed on how disease information is reported, detected, verified and communicated.
Disease information is available and circulating every day from the media, social networks, informal surveillance systems and official systems. Health information should be recognized as a public good and we should all practice due diligence to share publicly our data and information collectively. The international community should no longer wait for official reports to respond to disease threats. This new approach, however, requires a coordinated and joint effort among governments, communities, donors and international networks to invest in prevention systems with capability to identify early signals for the emergence, spill over and spread of animal pathogens (livestock production dynamics, trade issues and markets, climate change, civil unrest, consumer behaviors, etc.). A global and intelligent early warning system is needed to capture, analyze and transform data and information that can be used effectively for early detection of signals related to the disease emergence, spillover and spread at the interface.