Potential global pandemics: the role of the WHO and other public health bodies

Epidemics (diseases that affect specific populations within known geographical areas) and pandemics (which cause infection among people in all parts of the world) have developed in parallel with the evolution of human beings. Viral respiratory illnesses such as influenza have periodically caused worldwide pandemics. The latest potential pandemic has been caused by a novel (ie new) coronavirus, which first appeared in the city of Wuhan in China at the end of 2019 and will certainly not be the last.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently renamed the new coronavirus as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The disease the virus causes is named coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (WHO, 2020a). Although not yet declared a pandemic at the time of writing, the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee of the WHO agreed on 30 January 2020 that the outbreak of COVID-19 now meets the criteria for a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) (WHO, 2020b). Simply put, this constitutes a public health risk to numerous countries outwith China, and one which potentially requires a coordinated international effort. Furthermore, in February 2020, the WHO hosted a meeting in Geneva to accelerate and fund research into a virus that is a clear danger to mankind (WHO, 2020c).