There is a
constant, unpredictable and everlasting warfare between humans and bacterium.
This war occurs not just between human and bug, but actually also engages every
living thing on earth, with each of us in a perpetual state of combat against countless
bacteria, parasites and viruses.
In his new book, “Epidemics and Society: From the Black
Death to the Present,” the historian Frank M. Snowden explores the effect of
epidemic diseases and how mass infectious outbreaks have shaped our societies. Mass
outbreak of diseases – such as smallpox, cholera, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, SARS,
and Ebola – have not only influenced public health and medical science, but
also transformed the history, warfare, arts, personal relationships and
religion.
In a recent interview
with the New Yorker, Snowden says, “epidemics like the coronavirus outbreak are
a mirror for humanity, reflecting the moral relationships that people have
toward one other.”
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| The Plague in Rome, 17th century. Museo Storico Nazionale Dell'Arte Sanitaria, Rome. |
A pandemic raises several challenging ethical issues.
According to The World Health Organization, these include: priority
of access to healthcare resources with increased demand and possible shortages;
obligations of healthcare workers in light of risks to their own health; and the
fine balance between reducing disease spread through isolation and travel
measures whilst protecting the right of individuals to freedom of movement.
As the US and large
swathes of the world
reel under the onslaught of the unabated COVID-19 pandemic since weeks, it reveals
profound doubts about our preparedness for the next generation of diseases. It’s
essential, and never late, to reflect on ethical concerns related to the planning, preparedness, and responses to
pandemics.
Some of the vital steps
that public health experts suggest we can take in order to respond to a
pandemic include maintaining
a focus on public health strategies that could be helpful in controlling the infection,
providing affected countries with necessary infrastructure support, acting fast
to treat infections and reduce their speed, and reviewing scientific and ethical
standards for clinical trials for drugs and vaccines.
Equally
important, but the hardest, step is to analytically examine the economic and sociopolitical
conditions that create the circumstances for such disease outbreaks occur.
Unless we face
these structural problems and honestly consider and implement effective policies
and strategies, the global problems such as coronavirus will be boundlessly
repeated.
Lessons from a pandemic are instructive, but only if we are willing to learn from them.
