Are we better prepared for the next epidemic?

So many diseases have been transmitted to humans by animals, and some of them are going the rounds right now. The hall of fame includes the Great Influenza of 1918 caused by birds, and Ebola discoverd in the mid-1970s. According to the WHO the ebola viruses belong to the family of the Orthoebolavirus, and fruit bats are its natural hosts. Damn bats! I mean, they are cute, and they eat mosquitoes, which is among the best traits in any living organism. Why can’t they wash their hands properly though?!?!

Of course, the animal-to-human pathogen hall of fame is dominated by such legends as the plague and… [drumroll] tuberculosis – and despite the advances in medical science, the latter is still going strong. Bats, rats and fleas in fleece:

Deforestation significantly raises   the risk of diseases being transmitted from animals to humans. Biodiversity is key if we want to prevent pandemics because, and I quote, “individual pathogens have fewer chances of establishing themselves in a diverse natural environment.” 

In a sense, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 gave us a masterclass in epidemiology: the disparities between the wealthy and the most vulnerable of our society was made brutally clear, and who was your political leader at the time made all the difference. 

Forbes made an interesting observation during that time, stating, “What do countries with the best Coronavirus responses have in common? Women leaders.”

In an article released in April 2020, Forbes praised 7 female leaders who showed us what it takes to manage a crisis. Being truthful was essential, Angela Merkel talked sincerely and calmly about what measures needed to be taken and how serious the situation is. Decisiveness was another key factor; as Taiwan’s prime minister Tsai Ing-wen made clear, she was one of the fastest-acting politicians, introducing 124 measures without having to resort to lockdowns and sending 10,000 face masks to the US and Europe. Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir offered free coronavirus testing to all citizens, and Sanna Marin, the world’s youngest PM at the time, was using social media influencers to help her citizens stay informed about the measurements of the virus since not everyone reads the press. Norway’s Prime Minister, Erna Solberg even made sure to have made sure to talk directly to the children, holding press conferences where no adults were allowed, telling them “it is okay to be scared.”

The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns took a much higher toll on women and anyone in a caretaking role, instantly plummeting their employment opportunities and income. This proves that epidemics are not strictly a medical, but a social, political and cultural phenomenon, with long-lasting implications.

Of course, prevention  is always much more effective than treatment, and vaccines play a crucial factor in this story. Vaccination has been key in eradicating polio, pushing down infectious diseases like smallpox and the all-time favourite, decimating animal life since the dinosaurs: tuberculosis. And despite the fact that safe and proven inoculation has long been available, here we face a cultural factor: as vaccine skepticism rears its head, we see the rise of long-past pathogens, like of measles rearing their ugly heads. The United States has a vaccine skeptic in charge of their health administration: Robert F. Kennedy junior doesn’t believe in pathogens and has been peddling disinformation and health hoaxes for years now. His appointment as health secretary of the Trump administration is surely great news for fans of dying from preventable illnesses for the sake of stupidity.

And the stakes are high: bird flu and mouth and hoof disease are doing the rounds across our continents; mpox seems to have been successfully contained but other sexually transmitted diseases are rising year-upon-year, and it doesn’t seem that our societies are keen on implementing the lessons we should have learnt from covid-19.

What have we forgotten and how could we prepare for further diseases?

GUESTS

Carola Marquina is a licensed psychologist from the University of Lima, specializing in the clinical field. She provides support to individuals in need. She is passionate about understanding the human mind and is deeply committed to serving society.

Miriam Lindner is a nurse based in Vienna, Austria. She has two years of experience working in hospitals and emergency rooms. She completed her nursing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, gaining valuable training under challenging circumstances.

Nevena Mitranić, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade. She works on national education projects and researches preschool pedagogy. Her main focus is the importance of play in early childhood education.

Today we’re hosted by Foto Storm Media Podcast Studio in Novi Sad, courtesy of the Opens Youth Center Novi Sad.

Creative team

Réka Kinga Papp anchor
Daniela Univazo writer-editor
Merve Akyel  art director, Eurozine
Szilvia Pintér producer
Julia Sobota captions and translations
Zsófia Gabriella Papp digital producer

Management

Priyanka Hutschenreiter project manager
Judit Csikós  head of finance
Réka Kinga Papp  editor-in-chief
Csilla Nagyné Kardos office administration

Video Crew

Gergely Áron Pápai DoP
Daniel Pitz camera
István Nagy sound