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    Op-Ed                                                                     MAY 29, 2026     |  The Indian Eye 12

                 New Disease Outbreaks Show Why

             Global Health Vigilance Still Matters

              From Ebola in Africa to hantavirus on a cruise ship, recent outbreaks underline the need for

                               stronger surveillance, faster response systems and global cooperation

            ASHISH K TRIPATHI                                                                                     tions. That failure delayed recogni-
                                                                                                                  tion of the outbreak and potentially
                  he world spent years believing                                                                  increased exposure risks.
                  that the trauma of COVID-19                                                                         The broader challenge is that
            Twould permanently transform                                                                          many of these diseases originate in
            global preparedness for infectious                                                                    the  complex  interaction  between
            diseases. Yet recent outbreaks of Eb-                                                                 humans, animals and changing eco-
            ola in Africa and hantavirus linked to                                                                systems. Ebola is believed to spread
            an international cruise ship suggest                                                                  through contact with infected wild-
            that humanity may still be dangerous-                                                                 life. Hantaviruses are primarily
            ly vulnerable to emerging pathogens,                                                                  transmitted through rodents. Cli-
            delayed responses and uneven health                                                                   mate  shifts,  deforestation  and  ex-
            systems.                                                                                              panding human activity increasingly
                The threats are different from                                                                    bring populations into closer contact
            COVID-19 in scale and transmission,                                                                   with animal carriers.
            but together they reveal a worrying                                                                       That means future outbreaks
            reality:  the  next  global  health  crisis                                                           may become more frequent.
            may not emerge from one single vi-                                                                        Globalisation  further  magnifies
            rus.                                                                                                  the risk. A virus can now move across
                The latest Ebola outbreak in   The WHO has responded aggressively to the Ebola crisis, deploying laboratory teams, mobile   continents within hours through
            Democratic Republic of the Congo                  labs and emergency medical supplies (File photo)    tourism, migration and trade net-
            and Uganda underlines the continu-                                                                    works. The MV Hondius outbreak
            ing danger posed by deadly zoonot-                                                                    showed how a single voyage could in-
            ic diseases. According to the World   highly connected world.       people  linked  to  the  voyage  —  a   volve South America, Europe, Africa
            Health Organization, 528 suspected    India’s response illustrates the   Dutch couple and a German nation-  and North America simultaneously.
            cases and 132 deaths had been re-  global ripple effect of regional epi-  al — died after developing severe re-  So, what can be done?
            ported by May 18.                 demics. Although there are no Ebola   spiratory illness.                First, governments must invest
                The outbreak, caused by the   cases in India, the Health Ministry   The incident exposed how mod-  consistently in public-health infra-
            Bundibugyo strain of Ebola virus,  has already strengthened surveil-  ern travel can rapidly internationalise   structure rather than reacting only
            was serious enough for the WHO    lance  through agencies such  as the   even rare diseases. Passengers from   during emergencies. Surveillance
            to declare it a public health emer-  National Centre for Disease Control   multiple  countries  disembarked  systems, laboratories, quarantine fa-
            gency of international concern. The   and the Integrated Disease Surveil-  across continents, forcing govern-  cilities and rural healthcare networks
            numbers alone are alarming, but the   lance Programme. Officials stressed   ments to coordinate tracing, quaran-  remain weak in many countries.
            deeper concern lies in the difficulties   that the risk remains minimal but ad-  tine and monitoring operations. The   Second,  international  coopera-
            health authorities continue to face in   mitted that precautionary measures   United States transported potential-  tion must improve. Diseases do not
            containing such outbreaks.        are necessary.                    ly  exposed  passengers  to  Nebraska,  respect  borders,  yet  global  health
                WHO said contact tracing re-      That  caution  reflects  a  lesson   home to its specialised biocontain-  responses often remain fragmented
            mained “challenging” in parts of   the world learned painfully during   ment facility previously used for Eb-  and politicised. Faster data sharing,
            Congo because of insecurity and   COVID-19: distance offers little   ola and early COVID-19 patients.  coordinated travel protocols and
            movement restrictions. Even  after   protection in an age of international   The response was notably   stronger WHO support mechanisms
            the lessons of COVID-19, the  ba-  mobility.                        more  organised  than  the  confu-  are essential.
            sic pillars of outbreak management    The hantavirus outbreak linked   sion seen during the early weeks   Third, countries must prepare
            — testing, surveillance, tracing and   to the cruise ship  MV Hondius   of  the  coronavirus  pandemic.  for zoonotic spillovers by strength-
            community engagement — remain     demonstrates that point even more   Quarantine  protocols,  special-  ening environmental monitoring and
            fragile in many regions.          starkly. What began as a cluster of   ised  isolation  units  and coordinat-  regulating  activities that increase
                The WHO has responded ag-     illnesses  on  a  ship  travelling  from   ed  international  communication   contact between humans and dis-
            gressively,  deploying  laboratory  South America to Europe quickly   were activated relatively quickly.  ease-carrying wildlife.
            teams, mobile labs and emergency   triggered a multinational health re-  Still, the outbreak also revealed   Finally, public trust matters as
            medical supplies. More than 17 tons   sponse involving the WHO, the Unit-  the limits of preparedness.  much as medical technology. WHO’s
            of protective equipment, medicines   ed States and several other countries.  The  WHO  noted  that  the  first   emphasis on “community engage-
            and field supplies were sent to affect-  The outbreak involved the An-  death aboard the ship was not ini-  ment” during the Ebola response is
            ed areas. Yet the outbreak demon-  des strain of hantavirus, a rare but   tially linked to hantavirus because   critical because misinformation, fear
            strates how quickly local crises can   dangerous  variant  capable  of  hu-  no samples were collected and symp-  and distrust can undermine contain-
            become international concerns in a   man-to-human transmission. Three   toms resembled other viral infec-  ment efforts faster than any virus.

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