Michael T. Osterholm

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La próxima pandemia llegará. Y no estamos preparados

InternacionalSalud Pública, ,

Vamos casi por el tercer año de pandemia de COVID-19, una crisis sanitaria tan larga, disruptiva y mortífera que debería haber transformado la preparación de Estados Unidos de cara a la próxima emergencia de salud pública. Lamentablemente, no lo ha hecho.

Decimos esto como miembros del consejo asesor del presidente Joe Biden para la covid durante las semanas que precedieron a su toma de posesión. Desde entonces hemos hecho un seguimiento de la respuesta de la salud pública a la pandemia y también hemos participado en ella. Y estamos profundamente consternados por lo que se ha dejado sin hacer.

Han surgido mejoras, por supuesto.…  Seguir leyendo »

The aftermath of Russian shelling in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, March 2022 Viachaslev Ratynski / Reuters

Europa, , , ,

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not gone as the Kremlin imagined, with its forces bogged down around key cities and the Ukrainian army providing stiff resistance. As its troops grow demoralized and its supplies are exhausted, Russia may turn to more drastic measures to win. In Washington, U.S. national security officials are already meeting and planning for a growing possibility that was once unthinkable: that Russia might use biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine.

After German chlorine gas suffocated masses of British and Canadian troops in 1915 during World War I, such “scientific warfare” horrified the international community and led, ten years later, to the League of Nations’ Geneva Protocol, which prohibits the use of chemical and biological agents in war.…  Seguir leyendo »

Una estación de pruebas masivas el lunes en Pekín. Credit Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

MundoAsia, , ,  

Ahora que se aproximan los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno, cuando unos 3000 atletas, sus equipos y los medios de comunicación se trasladarán a Pekín y sus alrededores, el gobierno de China ha tomado medidas extraordinarias para evitar que la edición número 24 de los juegos, que comienzan el 4 de febrero, se convierta en un evento superpropagador de covid.

Aunque a los deportistas y entrenadores se les exigirá estar vacunados, estarán sujetos a restricciones estrictas. Quienes queden exentos de la inmunización por instrucciones médicas deberán estar en cuarentena 21 días después de ingresar al país. Incluso los vacunados tendrán que presentar dos pruebas negativas.…  Seguir leyendo »

A mass testing site on Monday in Beijing. Credit Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

MundoAsia, , ,  

As the Winter Olympics approach and some 3,000 athletes, their retinues and the media converge in and around Beijing, the Chinese government has gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent the 24th version of the games from becoming a Covid super spreading event.

Though athletes and coaches will be required to be vaccinated, they will face severe restrictions. Those who receive a medical exemption from vaccination are being required to quarantine for 21 days after entering the country. Even the vaccinated will have to present two negative tests. Olympic participants must submit to daily Covid tests and will be restricted to an Olympic bubble where they will be confined to prevent spread to the local population.…  Seguir leyendo »

A Christian church service in Seoul on Sunday. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in South Korea jumped in recent days. Credit Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters

InternacionalSalud Pública, , ,

On Tuesday, Feb. 18, no coronavirus cases had been reported in Iran. On Sunday, the government announced 43 cases and eight deaths. Some 152 cases (and at least three deaths) were confirmed in Italy on Sunday, up from three cases on Thursday. The number of infected people in South Korea jumped to 763 (and six deaths) in just days.

As of Monday, Covid-19 was detected in at least 29 countries. In nations with few or no reported cases so far, particularly in South America and Africa, the absence of evidence shouldn’t be interpreted as evidence of absence. More likely, it reflects lack of testing.…  Seguir leyendo »

Zika, Mosquitoes and the Plagues to Come

InternacionalSalud Pública, ,

Every time there is a major infectious disease outbreak that scares us — Ebola in West Africa in 2014, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on the Arabian Peninsula in 2012 and in South Korea in 2015, and now the Zika virus in South and Central America and the Caribbean — government leaders, the public and the news media demand explanations, guidance and predictions, and often express indignation that not enough was done to prevent it. Today everyone is asking about Zika: How did this crisis happen, and what do we need to do to make it go away? We immediately forget about the outbreak that came before it, and don’t plan for the ones we know are on the horizon.…  Seguir leyendo »

What We’re Afraid to Say About Ebola

MundoÁfricaInternacionalSalud Pública, ,

The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has the potential to alter history as much as any plague has ever done.

There have been more than 4,300 cases and 2,300 deaths over the past six months. Last week, the World Health Organization warned that, by early October, there may be thousands of new cases per week in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. What is not getting said publicly, despite briefings and discussions in the inner circles of the world’s public health agencies, is that we are in totally uncharted waters and that Mother Nature is the only force in charge of the crisis at this time.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoÁfricaInternacionalSalud Pública, ,

Ebola outbreaks have occurred in Africa on more than two dozen occasions over the past 40 years, and it was brought under control every time. This was possible thanks to reliable techniques, such as preventing direct contact with infected persons and monitoring all people who did come into contact with an infected person. Anyone showing early symptoms was put in isolation. Despite no effective treatment or vaccine, these standard approaches worked.

Unfortunately, today’s outbreak is very different. And unless we invest more resources in fighting it — and coordinate the response across countries — the outbreak will spread further. If that happens, economic and political chaos could follow.…  Seguir leyendo »