A virus detection network to stop the next pandemic
-
0:01 - 0:02[In January 2020,
-
0:02 - 0:05Christian Happi and Pardis Sabeti
presented an Audacious idea] -
0:07 - 0:11[Sentinel: An early warning system
to detect and track the next pandemic] -
0:13 - 0:15[Here's how it would work ...]
-
0:16 - 0:23Christian Happi: Sentinel is a proactive
early warning system to preempt pandemics. -
0:23 - 0:26It is built on three major pillars.
-
0:26 - 0:28Pardis Sabeti: The first pillar is Detect.
-
0:28 - 0:31Christian and I have been studying
infectious diseases together -
0:31 - 0:33around the world for two decades.
-
0:33 - 0:35We have been using genome sequencing.
-
0:35 - 0:38Reading out the complete
genetic information of a microbe, -
0:38 - 0:42it allows us to identify viruses,
even those we've never seen before, -
0:42 - 0:44track them as they spread
-
0:44 - 0:45and watch for new mutations.
-
0:45 - 0:49And now with the powerful
gene-editing technology CRISPR, -
0:49 - 0:51we can use this genetic information
-
0:51 - 0:56to rapidly design exquisitely sensitive
diagnostic tests for any microbe. -
0:57 - 0:59CH: One of these tools is called SHERLOCK.
-
0:59 - 1:04It can be used to test known viruses
on simple paper strips. -
1:05 - 1:07It is very inexpensive,
-
1:07 - 1:10and frontline health workers
can use SHERLOCK -
1:10 - 1:14to detect the most common
or the most threatening viruses -
1:14 - 1:16within an hour.
-
1:16 - 1:18PS: The other tool is CARMEN.
-
1:18 - 1:22It requires a lab, but it can test
for hundreds of viruses simultaneously. -
1:22 - 1:25So hospital lab staff
can test patient samples -
1:25 - 1:26for a broad range of viruses
-
1:26 - 1:28within a day.
-
1:28 - 1:31Our second pillar is Connect.
-
1:31 - 1:33Connect everyone
and share this information -
1:33 - 1:35across the public health community.
-
1:36 - 1:37In most outbreaks,
-
1:37 - 1:42hospital staff share case information
through paper, Excel -- if at all. -
1:42 - 1:45This makes tracking an outbreak
through space and time -
1:45 - 1:46and coordinating a response
-
1:46 - 1:47extremely difficult.
-
1:48 - 1:51So we're developing a cloud-based system
and mobile applications -
1:51 - 1:53that connect community health workers,
-
1:53 - 1:56clinicians, public health
teams -- everyone -- -
1:56 - 1:58and allows them to upload data,
-
1:58 - 2:01perform analysis, share insights
-
2:01 - 2:03and coordinate a response and action plan
-
2:03 - 2:05in real time.
-
2:05 - 2:08CH: Our third pillar is Empower.
-
2:08 - 2:11An outbreak surveillance
system can only succeed -
2:11 - 2:15if we empower frontline health workers
that are already out there -
2:15 - 2:17taking care of communities.
-
2:17 - 2:19It requires a lot of training.
-
2:19 - 2:22Pardis and I are very much aware of that.
-
2:22 - 2:23We've spent the past 10 years
-
2:23 - 2:27training hundreds of young
African scientists and clinicians. -
2:27 - 2:32Over the next five years, we will train
an additional 1,000 health workers -
2:32 - 2:34to use Sentinel detection tools
-
2:34 - 2:37and empower them
to train their colleagues. -
2:37 - 2:40This way, we will improve
the original health care system -
2:40 - 2:45and integrate surveillance
into medical practice. -
2:45 - 2:49[Since presenting their Audacious
plan at TED, the world has changed ...] -
2:51 - 2:53Briar Goldberg: So here we are.
We're recording this. -
2:53 - 2:56It's April 7th, 2020,
-
2:56 - 3:01and obviously, we are in the throes
of this crazy global pandemic -
3:01 - 3:03caused by this new coronavirus.
-
3:03 - 3:06So you two have been working
together forever, -
3:06 - 3:08and you really came together
pretty aggressively -
3:08 - 3:11with the Ebola crisis back in 2014.
-
3:11 - 3:14What does it feel like
from your perspective? -
3:14 - 3:17CH: Pretty much six years
after the Ebola outbreak, -
3:17 - 3:19we're really facing another crisis,
-
3:19 - 3:25and we still pretty much, like,
we never learned from the previous crisis. -
3:25 - 3:27And that, really, for me,
is heartbreaking. -
3:27 - 3:34PS: I think that this pandemic
has shown us how unprepared we are -
3:34 - 3:35everywhere in the world.
-
3:35 - 3:40Christian and our partners together
had diagnostics at our hospital sites -
3:40 - 3:43in Nigeria, Sierra Leone
and Senegal in early February. -
3:43 - 3:49Most states in the United States
didn't have it until far later. -
3:49 - 3:52It tells us that
we are all in this together, -
3:52 - 3:54and we are all very much behind the curve.
-
3:54 - 3:58BG: So, this Sentinel system is amazing,
-
3:58 - 4:01but I know that the question
that's on everybody's mind is: -
4:01 - 4:03How is that playing into the here and now?
-
4:03 - 4:06PS: You know, we describe Sentinel
as a pandemic preemption system, -
4:06 - 4:08and here we are in a pandemic.
-
4:08 - 4:10But what's great is that, actually,
the same tools you need -
4:10 - 4:12to preempt a pandemic
-
4:12 - 4:14are the ones that you need
to respond to one. -
4:14 - 4:17And so all of the technologies
that we have laid out -- -
4:17 - 4:19the point-of-care testing,
the multiplex testing, -
4:19 - 4:23the discovery and tracking
of the virus as it's changing, -
4:23 - 4:26and the overlay of the mobile
applications to dashboard -- -
4:26 - 4:27are all critical.
-
4:27 - 4:30CH: For us, it is a war.
-
4:30 - 4:33We are basically committed
for 24 hours' turnaround time -
4:33 - 4:35in order to give results,
-
4:35 - 4:39and that requires for us
to work around the clock nonstop. -
4:39 - 4:41So it's a pretty challenging moment.
-
4:41 - 4:43We are away from family.
-
4:43 - 4:45At least I have the privilege
to see family today, -
4:45 - 4:48and then I'm sure tomorrow
I'm heading back in the trenches. -
4:48 - 4:51In my lab, we sequenced
the first COVID-19 genome -
4:51 - 4:52on the African continent,
-
4:52 - 4:54and that really was done within 48 hours.
-
4:54 - 4:58This is revolutionary
coming from Africa -
4:58 - 5:01and then making this information
available for the global health community -
5:01 - 5:03to see what the virus
within Africa looks like. -
5:03 - 5:06I believe that with
technologies and knowledge -
5:06 - 5:08and then sharing information,
-
5:08 - 5:10we can do better and then we can overcome.
-
5:10 - 5:13PS: The whole idea of Sentinel
-
5:13 - 5:15is that we all stand guard
over each other. -
5:15 - 5:16We all watch.
-
5:16 - 5:17Each one of us is a sentinel.
-
5:17 - 5:21Each one of us, being able to monitor
what is making us sick, -
5:21 - 5:24can share that with
the rest of our community. -
5:24 - 5:27And I think that is what
I profoundly want, -
5:27 - 5:29is for us to all stand guard
-
5:29 - 5:31and watch over each other.
-
5:31 - 5:34[Dr. Pardis Sabeti
and Dr. Christian Happi] -
5:35 - 5:36[Ingenious scientists.
-
5:36 - 5:38Courageous partners.
-
5:38 - 5:40Global heroes.]
- Title:
- A virus detection network to stop the next pandemic
- Speaker:
- Pardis Sabeti, Christian Happi
- Description:
-
How can we stop the next pandemic before it starts? Disease researchers Pardis Sabeti and Christian Happi introduce Sentinel, an early warning system that detects and tracks viral threats in real time -- and could help stop them before they spread. Learn more about the cutting-edge technology that powers the system and how the Sentinel team is helping scientists and health workers during the coronavirus pandemic. (This ambitious plan is a part of the Audacious Project, TED's initiative to inspire and fund global change.)
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 05:54
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