Opinion | The world’s rapid response to coronavirus threat shows technology’s increasing role in preventing infectious disease outbreaks

Just two weeks after China alerted the world to a mystery new virus, it had been sequenced and identified, with potential vaccines being developed worldwide

As technology advances, expect viral outbreaks to be dealt with even more efficiently, with biosensors, telemedicine consultations and more

Reading Time:4 minutes

Published: 3:00am, 7 Feb 2020Updated: 4:05am, 7 Feb 2020

“We’re going to the Lunar New Year celebration in town. You guys want to join us?” asked an old friend last month. My response was instantaneous: “Coronavirus. Potential incoming travellers from China … let’s meet up somewhere else.”

The novel coronavirus – 2019-nCoV – is a new strain from animals that is highly transmissible, with as yet no clear cure or safe vaccine. The first cases were reported to the World Health Organisation on New Year’s Eve – a time of mass gathering – and spread in the run up to the Lunar New Year, when around half a billion people across China were on the move, so we have seen a perfect storm of transmissibility.

For some, the provision of trustworthy information and actionable instruction has been slow, inconsistent and confusing. Yet, in reality, the speed and scale of the international response has been one of the fastest in history.

Technology is critical for the spread of information and for the mobilisation of resources. On December 31, China alerted the WHO to an unidentified virus leading to pneumonia and that the likely source was a live meat and seafood market in the large industrial hub of Wuhan.

On January 1, the market was closed. On January 9, the WHO made a global announcement. On January 10, China shared the DNA sequence of the virus to the global public health community. On January 11, the international development of diagnostic tests and a safe vaccine began. All this happened in less than two weeks.

In the background, public health researchers have been forecasting the spread of the disease using cutting-edge data science and analytics to help guide the response from the international health community. Availability of the DNA sequence has meant that global health systems have been able to start developing their own diagnostic tests for the virus immediately.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x