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Editor Pick

WOAH Report: Asia’s Wildlife Spillover Risk & Pandemic Preparedness

by Lucas Fernandez – World Editor August 31, 2025

written by Lucas Fernandez – World Editor

WOAH Calls for Stronger Surveillance and Coordination to Prevent zoonotic Spillover in Asia

A recent risk analysis by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) highlights critical gaps in surveillance and coordination across Asia, increasing the risk of zoonotic disease spillover events. the analysis, published August 11, 2025, underscores the need for a unified, “One Health” approach to pandemic preparedness.

The report identifies several key diseases of concern in wildlife populations, including African swine fever (ASF), classical swine fever (CSF), and rabies. However, effective response is hampered by notable barriers. Informal communication remains the primary method of intersectoral exchange, while the analysis pinpointed insufficient financial and human resources, a lack of national information systems for wildlife diseases, and the absence of legal frameworks and formal mechanisms for data sharing as the top obstacles to effective response.These deficiencies create structural weaknesses in connecting animal health services, environmental agencies, and public health authorities.A recurring theme from stakeholder workshops was a shortage of trained professionals equipped to conduct comprehensive wildlife disease investigations – encompassing field sampling, diagnostics, and data analysis. This skills gap not only delays national response times but also weakens collaborative efforts to prevent zoonotic transmission across borders.

Despite these challenges, the workshops revealed a strong willingness among stakeholders to improve collaboration. Participants proposed several concrete steps forward,including the progress of standard operating protocols for joint investigation of wildlife outbreaks,regular multisectoral simulation exercises,expanded involvement of local communities and non-conventional stakeholders,the implementation of digital tools to streamline data sharing and reporting,and the establishment of targeted training programs to enhance national and subnational expertise.

The report emphasizes that strengthening surveillance and reporting in wildlife populations is not merely a veterinary or environmental concern, but a national security imperative.Investing in multisectoral coordination is crucial to protecting citizens from emerging infectious diseases and safeguarding trade, travel, and economic stability.

WOAH stresses that pandemic preparedness cannot be compartmentalized, as disease threats disregard boundaries – geographic, disciplinary, and bureaucratic. The findings serve as a timely reminder that proactive investment in surveillance and coordination is essential to reducing the risk of another pandemic originating from wildlife reservoirs.

Source: World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), Risk Analysis of Spillover Events in Wildlife in Asia, August 11, 2025.

August 31, 2025 0 comments

World

UNSG Mechanism’s Readiness for Biological Weapons Investigations

by Lucas Fernandez – World Editor July 20, 2025

written by Lucas Fernandez – World Editor

Here’s a breakdown of the provided text, focusing on the key themes and arguments:

Core Subject: The text discusses the United Nations System-Wide Mechanism (UNSGM), an international body designed to investigate suspected biological weapons incidents.

Key Developments Highlighted:

Enhanced Training: The UNSGM is prioritizing training in external communication and team resilience. This acknowledges the need for more than just technical expertise, recognizing the psychological and public relations challenges of high-stakes missions, especially in the face of disinformation.

Implications:

Public Health and National Security:
Public Trust: The UNSGM’s ability to credibly investigate outbreaks is crucial for maintaining public trust in national health institutions, especially during biological attacks or disinformation campaigns.
Global Norms: A well-functioning UNSGM helps protect global norms and standards for outbreak response.
National Interest: Participation allows countries to gain experience, shape global norms, and address the increasing frequency of accusations related to biological weapons.

U.S. Disengagement and its Risks:
Funding Cuts: The text criticizes the “Trump-Vance Governance” for important reductions in funding for international disarmament, biosecurity training, and support for UN investigative mechanisms like the UNSGM.
Undermining Expertise: Sweeping cuts to domestic scientific research and academic funding are seen as weakening the foundation of technical expertise needed for these investigations. This impacts the pipeline of qualified personnel from institutions like the CDC and NIH.
Loss of Leadership: U.S. disengagement leads to a forfeiture of leadership in shaping investigative standards, participating in missions, and protecting its own national interests.
Adversarial Vacuum: Diminished U.S. engagement creates an prospect for adversarial powers to fill the void, potentially distorting international norms and transparency in biological weapons accountability.
Erosion of Nonproliferation: The broader retreat from arms control diplomacy and skepticism of multilateralism by the “Trump-Vance Administration” is seen as a threat to decades of U.S. leadership in biological nonproliferation.

Call to action/Future Strengthening:

Urgent Priority: Strengthening global mechanisms to investigate suspected biological incidents is presented as an urgent priority due to converging threats (disinformation, conflict, emerging infectious diseases).
Value of Investment: The 2022 UNSGM capstone exercise is cited as evidence of progress and the value of sustained investment in training, coordination, and trust-building.
Cornerstone of Security: A robust, agile, and credible investigative capability is essential for health security and acts as a deterrent against the misuse of biology.

In essence, the text argues that the UNSGM is a vital tool for global health security and biological weapons accountability. It highlights the importance of extensive training and international cooperation.Crucially, it criticizes U.S. disengagement under a specific administration, warning of the severe consequences for U.S. leadership, national interests, and the global nonproliferation regime.

July 20, 2025 0 comments

Health

Monkeypox Virus Disarms the Body’s Immune Alarm

by Dr. Michael Lee – Health Editor July 6, 2025

written by Dr. Michael Lee – Health Editor

Monkeypox Virus Uses Protein to Evade Immune System

New research reveals how MPXV subverts early defenses, suggesting novel therapeutic targets.

A newly published study uncovers the mechanism by which monkeypox virus (MPXV) sidesteps the body’s initial immune responses. This breakthrough offers possibilities for creating innovative treatments and more potent vaccines against the virus and its relatives.

Key Discovery: OPG147’s Role

Researchers at Wuhan University and the Wuhan Institute of Virology found that the viral protein OPG147 is crucial in preventing immune detection during the early stages of infection. While OPG147 facilitates cell entry for poxviruses, the study demonstrates its secondary function: deactivating the host’s immune alarm.

This research illuminates how MPXV and related poxviruses, including vaccinia virus (VACV) used in smallpox vaccines, avoid triggering a robust antiviral response.

The illness caused by monkeypox virus is now designated mpox, a change implemented by the World Health Organization in 2022 to lessen stigma and enhance public communication. Although mpox is the name of the disease, monkeypox virus (MPXV) remains the scientific nomenclature.

MITA/STING Pathway: The Body’s Alarm System

Innate immunity relies on the MITA/STING pathway to detect infections before symptoms arise. When a virus infects a cell and releases DNA, the cGAS sensor identifies the foreign material. It then produces a molecule activating MITA (also known as STING), which triggers a chain reaction producing interferons and antiviral proteins to control the infection.

MITA/STING serves as the body’s built-in alarm system for DNA viruses. Without it, the immune system might not respond quickly enough to halt the spread of the virus. According to the WHO, as of May 2024, over 97,000 cases of mpox have been confirmed globally (WHO).

How OPG147 Silences the Alarm

The study reveals that OPG147 from monkeypox virus, along with similar proteins in other poxviruses, can directly interfere with MITA/STING. Instead of blocking initial detection, OPG147 quietly disrupts the necessary steps for MITA/STING to activate a full immune response. OPG147 hinders ISGylation, a chemical process essential for MITA activation. It also impedes MITA from forming necessary structures for sending immune signals and traps MITA within the cell’s endoplasmic reticulum, preventing it from raising the alarm.

By interfering with these processes, OPG147 enables the virus to establish an infection without immediately alerting the immune system.

Weakening the Virus’s Armor

To assess the importance of OPG147, researchers created a mutated version of vaccinia virus where OPG147 could no longer interact with MITA. The altered virus triggered stronger immune responses in human cells and mice, produced lower virus levels in the body, and caused milder disease with less tissue damage.

Crucially, the mutation did not impair the virus’s ability to replicate, indicating that it specifically weakened the virus’s capacity to evade immunity—not its basic life cycle. These findings highlight OPG147 as a key virulence factor, essential for the virus to cause disease.

Implications for Public Health

Although mpox is no longer rare, it remains a public health and global security concern, especially for immunocompromised individuals and regions with limited access to vaccines and treatments. Orthopoxviruses also remain a concern for potential biosecurity threats.

This research identifies OPG147 as a potential target for antiviral drugs or for developing safer, more effective vaccines. For public health agencies and global health security planners, this study offers valuable insights into how poxviruses evade immune detection.

New Avenues for Vaccine and Antiviral Strategies

OPG147’s uniqueness lies in its distinct mechanism from other known poxvirus immune blockers. Unlike viral proteins that destroy immune response signaling molecules, OPG147 directly jams the signaling machinery, delaying immune detection.

This sophisticated evasion strategy highlights the potential of combining treatments that target multiple viral evasion proteins for stronger protection.

July 6, 2025 0 comments