Going Viral: How Digital Technology Can Transform Public Health
Viruses and other infectious diseases, like Ebola, are some of the main threats to our increasingly interconnected world. How can we detect and prevent them before they become global pandemics? In this blog post, we will share some insights from a TEDx talk by Rachel McKendry, a professor of biomedicine and nanotechnology at UCL.
The challenge of infectious diseases
Infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms that can spread from person to person, or from animal to human. They can cause serious illness and death, especially in low-resource settings where access to healthcare is limited. Some examples of infectious diseases are HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, influenza, and Ebola.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infectious diseases account for about 17% of all deaths worldwide and more than 25% of deaths in Africa. They also pose a huge economic burden, costing billions of dollars in lost productivity and healthcare expenses.
One of the main challenges of infectious diseases is that they can emerge and spread rapidly across borders, especially with increased travel and trade. For instance, the 2009 swine flu pandemic infected more than 60 million people in over 200 countries in less than a year. The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,000 people and disrupted the lives of millions more.
Many infectious diseases have a zoonotic origin, meaning they can be transmitted from animals to humans. As human activities encroach further into natural habitats and the wildlife trade intensifies, the risk of zoonotic spillover events increases, posing a continuous threat of new disease emergence.
In regions with limited resources and underdeveloped healthcare systems, the burden of infectious diseases is disproportionately higher. Inadequate access to healthcare facilities, diagnostic tools, and essential medications hinder early detection and effective management of infectious outbreaks.
The emergence of novel infectious diseases, like the Ebola virus, Zika virus, or SARS-CoV-2 (responsible for COVID-19), presents unexpected challenges. These diseases may catch health authorities off guard, and the lack of prior immunity in the population makes containment and control more difficult.
Another challenge is that infectious diseases can evolve and become resistant to existing treatments, such as antibiotics. This makes them harder to control and cure. For example, drug-resistant tuberculosis is estimated to affect about half a million people every year and has a mortality rate of up to 80%.
The potential of digital technology
How can we overcome these challenges and improve our response to infectious diseases? Rachel McKendry believes that digital technology can play a key role in creating a global early-warning system for infectious diseases. She is the director of i-sense, an interdisciplinary research collaboration that aims to develop low-cost mobile phone-connected diagnostic tests that can detect infections at the onset of symptoms and provide real-time data for public health interventions.
One of the projects that i-sense is working on is a rapid test for HIV that can be performed at home or in a clinic using a finger-prick blood sample. The test can connect to a mobile phone app that can provide support and guidance for the user, as well as link them to online care services. The app can also anonymously upload the test results to a secure cloud server that can map the prevalence and spread of HIV in different regions.
Another project that i-sense is working on is a web-based platform that can monitor online search queries and social media posts for signs of emerging outbreaks. The platform can use natural language processing and machine learning to analyze large volumes of data and identify patterns and trends related to infectious diseases. The platform can also alert health authorities and provide them with actionable information for timely interventions.
Telemedicine has emerged as a game-changer, especially in remote and underserved areas. Through secure video consultations, patients can connect with healthcare providers, access medical advice, and receive follow-up care without the need for physical visits. Telemedicine not only improves patient convenience but also reduces healthcare costs and optimizes medical resources, enhancing overall healthcare delivery.
AI-powered algorithms and data analytics are revolutionizing disease diagnosis and prediction. Machine learning models can analyze medical images, such as X-rays and MRIs, to identify abnormalities with high accuracy. Early detection of diseases like cancer and neurological disorders can significantly improve prognosis and treatment outcomes. Additionally, predictive analytics can help forecast disease outbreaks, enabling health authorities to implement timely and targeted interventions.
The Vision of a digital future
Rachel McKendry envisions a digital future where we can harness the power of mobile phones, big data, and artificial intelligence to create a global network of sensors that can detect and respond to infectious diseases in real-time. She believes that this can revolutionize public health and save millions of lives.
She also acknowledges that there are some challenges and risks involved in using digital technology for public health, such as ensuring privacy, security, accuracy, and accessibility. She calls for more collaboration and innovation among scientists, engineers, clinicians, policymakers, and communities to address these issues and ensure that digital technology is used ethically and effectively.
