I. The unfolding Covid‑19 pandemic

Chapter:

12. Chemical and biological security threats

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2021

Author(s):

Filippa Lentzo, Caitríona Mcleish

On 31 December 2019, the Country Office of the World Health Organization (WHO) in China picked up a media statement on the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission website reporting cases of ‘viral pneumonia’ in Wuhan. The Country Office notified the International Health Regulations (IHR) focal point in the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office about the media statement. On the same day, the WHO’s Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources (EIOS) platform also picked up a media report on ProMED (a programme of the International Society for Infectious Diseases) about the same cluster of cases in Wuhan. Several health authorities from around the world contacted the WHO seeking additional information. The following day, the WHO requested information on the reported cluster of atypical pneumonia cases from the Chinese authorities. On 2 January 2020, the WHO representative in China wrote to the National Health Commission of China, offering WHO support and repeating the request for further information on the cluster of cases. The WHO also informed its sister United Nations agencies, international organizations, major public health agencies and laboratories, which are all part of its Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), about the atypical pneumonia cases.¹