Scientists should work together to combat new infections: Soumya Swaminathan

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan emphasizes global collaboration in combating new infections, addressing climate change, and responsible use of AI.

Soumya Swaminathan, Principal Adviser, National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme and chairperson of M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation on Thursday underscored the need for scientists to work together to combat new infections.

Addressing students at the 86th convocation of Annamalai University, she said that the COVID virus was still present but people were protected because of the wonderful vaccination programme in the country. This is the time to really prepare for the next pandemic, she said.

“The World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified about 28 groups of viruses as being potential to cause epidemics or pandemics. So, scientists today really need to work together because these infections are constantly crossing from one to the other. We can’t remain silos anymore and sometimes to protect human beings, we may need to take up animal vaccination. The solution for different diseases is going to be different.,” Dr. Soumya said.

“I hope that we don’t have another pandemic any soon, but the signs actually show that there is a good chance of another one happening sometime in the future. We don’t know, but because of the nature of the world today and factors, such as globalisation, industrialisation, loss of forests, biodiversity, increasing human and animal interaction and conflicts, the chances of viruses jumping from animals to humans is increasing in the last century. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before the next virus finds its way to humans,” she said.  

Pointing out that climate change was a major challenge, she said that the hazards and extreme weather events had been increasing across the world. The people who suffer are those who contributed least to climate change, and they are the poorest and the most vulnerable, Dr. Soumya said.  

“India as a whole has been contributing a very small proportion of the global greenhouse gases and our per capita carbon footprint is extremely low. But the impact of climate change, the heatwaves, floods and landslides, all are going to impact us more and the people in Asia and Africa. Unfortunately, this is what happens and this is a very unequal world. The impact is felt disproportionately by those who did not create the problem,” Dr. Soumya said.

She also stressed the need for an ethical and regulatory framework for the use of Artificial Intelligence. While AI has transformative potential and has the power to revolutionise various fields whether it is addressing health problems or agricultural issues, it is crucial to embrace AI responsibly and ethically. A lot of misinformation and disinformation is being spread on social media using artificial intelligence.