WHO is underscoring the need for continued vigilance. Experience with other
emerging diseases makes it clear that, should the causative agent turn out
to be a virus, the new disease could establish endemicity, especially in
light of abundantly documented human-to-human transmission. The world must
protect itself against the widespread establishment of another new
infectious disease.
WHO's concern is now increasingly focused on preparation to assist
vulnerable countries in the likely event that cases continue to spread. Up
to now, all imported cases have occurred in countries well equipped and
well prepared to institute WHO-recommended precautions, including isolation
and barrier nursing practices, for preventing spread to others, whether
health care workers or family members. In view of the rapid spread of this
disease to new countries via exposed air travellers, any country with an
international airport is potentially at risk.
This focus on preparedness underscores the need for a concerted effort to
defend global public health security. In an era of close interconnectedness
and rapid air travel, an outbreak anywhere in the world is a potential
threat to health everywhere.
International collaboration - on the part of the medical and research
communities, multinational teams in the field, and health authorities
around the world - in the reporting, investigation, and management of this
outbreak has been outstanding.
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