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Last week tonight with John Oliver aired its first season on Sunday, returning after its last broadcast just days after the presidential election. While a lot has happened since then – including the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine, the Gamestop roller coaster of Wall Street, and Donald Trump’s impeachment trial culminating in an acquittal – for his main story, he discussed the possibility of another pandemic and how to avoid it.
“Now is perhaps the most important time to talk about it, as scientists have tried to warn us of the ‘next’ pandemic long before the current pandemic hits, and we haven’t really listened,” he said. he underlined, illustrating his point with a 60 minutes clip from 17 years ago aired shortly after the SARS outbreak was brought under control. In it, a scientist warned of his fear that a more deadly virus would emerge “which moves from one part of the planet to another, wiping out people as it moves,” adding: “It ‘ is something to keep you awake at night. “
As Oliver notes, the number of infectious disease outbreaks has “increased dramatically since 1980,” including SARS, H1N1, Ebola, MERS, Zika, and the current Covid-19 pandemic.
“The truth is, if we’re not very careful the next pandemic just might be even worse,” Oliver said before reading a clip from an infectious disease expert who said there are viruses circulating in wildlife that kill 60 to 70 of those they infect. and that the current Covid-19 virus “is not at all the worst that Mother Nature can offer us”.
Oliver explained where specific infectious diseases come from, why they are on the increase, and what we can do to limit them. He noted that the current pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus was of animal origin before infecting humans and cited research estimating that up to 75% of new or emerging infectious diseases spread in this way. He also cited research that found there are 1.7 million viruses currently undiscovered in mammals and birds that have the ability to infect humans.
While many species are linked to infectious diseases, he notes that bats are one of the biggest vectors. However, the solution is not to eliminate species, which would disrupt the global ecosystem. He further discussed how deforestation, urbanization and mining are helping to “erase the buffer between civilization and wildlife”, as humans increase the chances of spreading disease by introducing exotic wildlife. in their homes and lives, and the risks involved in some “wet markets,” where in some places animals from different places can be caged nearby and can transmit diseases to humans who shop in the markets . He noted that experts have also linked state and agricultural fairs and factory farms as potential sources of multiple infectious disease outbreaks.
“When you put it all together, it looks like we’re actively trying to trigger pandemics,” he said.
He acknowledged that the most effective way to reduce the threat of future pandemics would be to eliminate and end all of the practices he described: “But obviously none of these will happen”, he said, adding that “drastic measures just won’t work. here.”
“Which isn’t to say that we shouldn’t try to reduce harmful practices, because we clearly should,” he added. “Many health experts argue for what is called a ‘one health perspective’ in which we recognize that the health of humans, animals and our environment are all interconnected and take this into account when considering decision-making on everything from environmental regulations to urban planning.
He noted that smaller solutions can help limit outbreaks. Oliver highlighted Thailand’s success in preventing epidemics via a phone app where farmers can “submit abnormal health events in real time,” as a video of the app in action explains, which “could inform wider public policy, ”Oliver said.
“There will be thousands of little ideas like this that could end up making a real difference,” Oliver explained. He urged viewers not to be “complacent” as the pandemic abates.
“So for the sake of future generations – and in all likelihood for us a few years from now – we really need to remember how we feel now and invest accordingly,” he said. “Because the truth is, you never know where the next pandemic will come from.”
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