Introduction

Book section : Introduction

The first reports of an undiagnosed severe respiratory illness in people working in or attending a street market in South East Asia attracted little international public attention. They caused barely a ripple amid the maelstrom of competing voices in mainstream and social media. The reports were read or shared by few, and the busy global news cycle rapidly moved on. After all, such reports have occurred many times before, and usually do not lead to anything. Comments by local public health officials were reassuring-investigations were underway, but they did not believe that there was any cause for alarm. But the reports were noted by several international groups tasked with detecting and responding to possible pandemic threats. They were catalogued and classified by an automated early warning system, setting in motion preliminary steps to investigate the cause of the outbreak and assess the potential for wider spread. Real-time data from local hospital facilities, including the numbers of cases presenting, their clinical features, severity of illness, and apparent connections to the index cases were openly shared as part of a national and international surveillance network. International experts provided remote support for investigations into the organism causing the outbreak, including rapid genetic sequencing of the virus that had been obtained from some of those who were unwell. At the same time, automated monitoring of local social media accounts flagged the possibility of a wider group of patients with potential prodromal symptoms.

Authors: Wilkinson, D; Savulescu, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Host title: Pandemic Ethics: From COVID-19 to Disease X
• Pages: 1-12
• Publication date: 2023-04-20
• DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780192871688.003.0001
• EISBN: 9780191967900
• ISBN: 9780192871688
• Language: English
• Subtype: Introduction