During the past 20 years, at least 30 new diseases have
emerged. (TWN Third World Network , ) In this time of globalization, people are
able to travel around the world and connect with each other more easily. Therefore,
this will increase the risks of spreading infectious diseases more easily because
people are usually carrying the virus unknowingly. However, with the advancement of technology
and science, scientists have found new ways of tackling infectious diseases,
such as the use of genetic engineering.( McPhersson,2008
) The
World Health Organisation (WHO) links countries together for rules and
regulations regarding outbreaks of pandemics and also discusses preventive
measures against these diseases. (Zogu&Rezniqi,2013) These are some solutions that have been
rolled out to tackle pandemics; Moreover, the individual should also be more
vigilant towards the spread of these diseases and the government should work
together to be more alert on the warning signs. People cannot totally eliminate
global pandemic , but people can work together to reduce the risk of the
pandemic .
Countries should work closely together as a whole to be more
alert on the warning signs. Due to globalization, countries have become more
interconnected and interdependent on each other for the transport of people and
goods. An American and a Japanese having
lunch in a Spanish restaurant in Beijing is no longer a strange scene; people
are travelling around the world for business or leisure much more easily in a
globalised world. However, there is a
flip-side in every situation: people usually forget that this increase in mobility
thus accelerates the risk of the spread of diseases. SARS is one such example;
it started as a regional outbreak in China, and spread rapidly within weeks
along the routes of international air travel to over 25 countries and 5 continents.( Tatem Rogers &Hay,2006) Patients carried the
virus unknowingly, spreading the virus to the countries they travelled to. Scientists have looked into using genetic
engineering to alleviate this problem and its success can be shown in the total
elimination of serious diseases such as smallpox and rinderpest. (Locke,2011 )Technology may be able to help
alleviate some diseases, but it is very time consuming and costly; a full
clinical trial can cost up to a few million dollars and needs thousands of
people to participate in it. Therefore, genetic engineering is not easily
accessible to everybody, especially those living in Third World countries. Moreover , the more serious problem is a lack of national and international political
will and resources to develop and support the system that are necessary to
detect and stop the spread. Therefore, countries should work closely together as
a whole to be more alert on the warning signs that may signal the start of the
spread of a disease and exchange information to ensure closer cooperation
between affected countries. More could
be done to help poorer countries in the transportation of medical facilities so
that they can have easier access to medical supplies in times of need.
Government should also help to raise the awareness of the
citizens regarding this issue. The WHO
and United Nations Health Committee have defined a set of rules and regulations
prohibiting or limiting the international spread of diseases.(Zogu&Rezniqi,2013) However, it is usually the government’s
problem, citizens do not care about polices given out. In order for these rules
to be successfully rolled out, citizens have to be fully aware of its existence
and this is where the government could do more to raise the citizen’s awareness
of these rules. This would also ensure
that the nation would not break into panic if a pandemic really hits the
country. People should be more aware
about infectious diseases, just like the Japanese are well-trained to face earthquakes; hence, if earthquakes were to hit their
country, they would know how to react immediately. Therefore,
in the same way, citizens should be educated to remain vigilant regarding the
spread of diseases so that if there is an outbreak of infectious diseases,
citizens would know the necessary precautionary actions to take.
In conclusion, global pandemic will still be the most
challenging problem in the future. People couldn’t totally eliminated it.
However, countries can help each other to make sure the information is updated
and individuals can be more aware to prevent the spreading of disease.
- TWN Third World Network.
Retrieved from http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/dise-cn.htm
- Jerry McPhersson. 2008.Effects of Genetic Engineering. Retrieved from http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/genetic-engineering.shtml
- Nevrus Zogu
PhD&Shpetim Rezniqi PhD &University College “BIZNESI” , 2013,
Globaization and global threats : Challenges for the 21 century pandemic
management . Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/BuciZogu1/globalization-and-global-threats-and-pandemic-threts-21-century
- AJ
Tatem ,D.J Rogers , S.I Hay , 2006, Global
Transport Networks and Infectious Disease Spread . Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3145127/
- Susannah F.Locke , 2011, Rinderpest, the Cattle-Killing Plague, to
Become the Second Officially-Eradicated Scourge. Retrieved
from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-03/first-we-eradicated-smallpox-rinderpest-next
