A virus detection network to stop the next pandemic | Pardis Sabeti and Christian Happi

Translator: Lisa Slippers Reviewer: Saartjie van Reenen

[In January 2020,

[In Januarie 2020,

Christian Happi and Pardis Sabeti presented an Audacious idea]

het Christian Happi en Pardis Sabeti ’n “Audacious” idee voorgelê]

[Sentinel: An early warning system to detect and track the next pandemic]

[Sentinel: ’n Vroeë-waarskuwingstelsel om die volgende pandemie op en na te spoor]

[Hier’s hoe dit sou werk ...]

[Here's how it would work ...]

Christian Happi: Sentinel is a proactive early warning system to preempt pandemics.

Christian Happi: Sentinel is ’n proaktiewe, vroeë-waarskuwingstelsel

om pandemies te voorkom.

It is built on three major pillars.

Dis op drie hoofpilare gebaseer.

Pardis Sabeti: The first pillar is Detect.

Pardis Sabeti: Die eerste pilaar is Opspoor.

Christian and I have been studying infectious diseases together

Ek en Christian bestudeer al vir twee dekades

around the world for two decades.

aansteeklike siektes regoor die wêreld.

We have been using genome sequencing.

Ons gebruik genoomvolgordebepaling.

Reading out the complete genetic information of a microbe,

Deur die volledige genetiese inligting van ’n mikrobe te lees,

it allows us to identify viruses, even those we've never seen before,

kan ons virusse identifiseer, selfs dié wat ons nog nooit gesien het nie,

om hulle na te volg soos hulle versprei

track them as they spread

and watch for new mutations.

en om uit te kyk vir nuwe mutasies.

And now with the powerful gene-editing technology CRISPR,

En nou met die kragtige geen-bewerkings-tegnologie, CRISPR,

we can use this genetic information

kan ons dié genetiese inligting gebruik om snel

to rapidly design exquisitely sensitive diagnostic tests for any microbe.

uiters sensitiewe diagnostiese toetse vir enige mikrobe te ontwerp.

CH: One of these tools is called SHERLOCK.

CH: Een van dié instrumente is SHERLOCK.

It can be used to test known viruses on simple paper strips.

Dit kan gebruik word om bekende virusse te toets op eenvoudige papierstrokies.

It is very inexpensive,

Dis baie goedkoop,

and frontline health workers can use SHERLOCK

en gesondheidswerkers aan die voorpunt kan SHERLOCK gebruik

to detect the most common or the most threatening viruses

om die algemeenste of gevaarlikste virusse op te spoor

within an hour.

binne ’n uur.

PS: Die ander instrument is CARMEN.

PS: The other tool is CARMEN.

It requires a lab, but it can test for hundreds of viruses simultaneously.

Dit benodig ’n laboratorium, maar kan vir honderde virusse gelyktydig toets.

So hospital lab staff can test patient samples

Hospitaal-laboratoriumpersoneel kan pasiëntmonsters

for a broad range of viruses

vir ’n wye verskeidenheid virusse toets

within a day.

binne ’n dag.

Our second pillar is Connect.

Ons tweede pilaar is Verbind.

Connect everyone and share this information

Verbind almal en deel hierdie inligting

across the public health community.

regoor die openbare-gesondheidgemeenskap.

In most outbreaks,

In meeste uitbrake deel hospitaalpersoneel

hospital staff share case information through paper, Excel -- if at all.

inligting oor gevalle via papier, Excel -- indien hoegenaamd.

This makes tracking an outbreak through space and time

Dit maak die naspoor van ’n uitbraak oor tyd en plek

and coordinating a response

en die koördinering van ’n reaksie uiters moeilik.

extremely difficult.

So we're developing a cloud-based system and mobile applications

Dus ontwikkel ons ’n wolk-gebaseerde stelsel en selfoon-toepassings

wat gemeenskapsgesondheidswerkers,

that connect community health workers,

klinici, openbare-gesondheidspanne -- almal -- verbind

clinicians, public health teams -- everyone --

and allows them to upload data,

en hulle toelaat om data op te laai en analiseer

perform analysis, share insights

insigte te deel,

and coordinate a response and action plan

en ’n reaksie en aksieplan te koördineer

in real time.

-- alles intyds.

CH: Our third pillar is Empower.

CH: Ons derde pilaar is Bemagtig.

An outbreak surveillance system can only succeed

’n Uitbraak-waarnemingstelsel kan net slaag

if we empower frontline health workers that are already out there

as ons gesondheidswerkers aan die voorpunt,

wat reeds daar buite na gemeenskappe omsien, bemagtig.

taking care of communities.

It requires a lot of training.

Dit verg baie opleiding.

Pardis and I are very much aware of that.

Ek en Pardis is beslis bewus daarvan.

We've spent the past 10 years

Ons het die afgelope 10 jaar spandeer

training hundreds of young African scientists and clinicians.

om honderde jong wetenskaplikes en klinici uit Afrika op te lei.

Over the next five years, we will train an additional 1,000 health workers

Oor die volgende vyf jaar sal ons nog 1000 gesondheidswerkers oplei

to use Sentinel detection tools

om die Sentinel-opsporingsinstrumente te gebruik

and empower them to train their colleagues.

en hulle te bemagtig om hulle kollegas op te lei.

This way, we will improve the original health care system

Sodoende sal ons die oorspronklike gesondheidsorgstelsel verbeter

and integrate surveillance into medical practice.

en waarneming in die mediese praktyk integreer.

[Since presenting their Audacious plan at TED, the world has changed ...]

[Sedert hierdie Audacious-plan by TED aangebied is, het die wêreld verander ...]

Briar Goldberg: So here we are. We're recording this.

Briar Goldberg: So hier is ons. Ons neem dit op.

It's April 7th, 2020,

Dis 7 April 2020,

and obviously, we are in the throes of this crazy global pandemic

en uiteraard is ons in die middel van hierdie mal globale pandemie

caused by this new coronavirus.

wat deur die nuwe koronavirus veroorsaak is.

So you two have been working together forever,

So julle twee werk al vir ewig saam

and you really came together pretty aggressively

en het eintlik redelik sterk saamgekom

with the Ebola crisis back in 2014.

met die Ebola-krisis in 2014.

What does it feel like from your perspective?

Hoe voel dit vanuit julle perspektief?

CH: Pretty much six years after the Ebola outbreak,

CH: Omtrent ses jaar na die Ebola-uitbraak,

we're really facing another crisis,

staar ons nog ’n krisis in die gesig

and we still pretty much, like, we never learned from the previous crisis.

en dis asof ons nooit uit die vorige krisis geleer het nie.

En dit breek my hart.

And that, really, for me, is heartbreaking.

PS: I think that this pandemic has shown us how unprepared we are

PS: Ek dink dat hierdie pandemie ons gewys het hoe onvoorbereid ons is

regoor die wêreld.

everywhere in the world.

Christian and our partners together had diagnostics at our hospital sites

Christian en ons vennote het diagnostika by al ons hospitale gehad,

in Nigerië, Sierra Leone en Senegal, vroeg in Februarie.

in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Senegal in early February.

Most states in the United States didn't have it until far later.

Die meeste state in die VSA het dit eers heelwat later gehad.

It tells us that we are all in this together,

Dit sê vir ons dat ons almal saam hierin is

and we are all very much behind the curve.

en dat ons almal ver agter die kurwe is.

BG: So, this Sentinel system is amazing,

BG: So hierdie Sentinel-stelsel is ongelooflik,

but I know that the question that's on everybody's mind is:

maar ek weet die vraag op almal se lippe is:

How is that playing into the here and now?

Hoe speel dit ’n rol in ons huidige situasie?

PS: You know, we describe Sentinel as a pandemic preemption system,

PS: Jy weet, ons beskryf Sentinel as ’n pandemie-antisiperingstelsel,

en hier is ons in ’n pandemie.

and here we are in a pandemic.

But what's great is that, actually, the same tools you need

Maar dis wonderlik dat dieselfde toerusting wat mens benodig

om ’n pandemie te voorkom,

to preempt a pandemic

are the ones that you need to respond to one.

is wat jy nodig het om te reageer op een.

And so all of the technologies that we have laid out --

So al die tegnologieë wat ons uitgelê het --

the point-of-care testing, the multiplex testing,

die kontakpunttoetse, die meervoudige toetse,

the discovery and tracking of the virus as it's changing,

die opspoor en naspoor van die virus soos dit verander,

and the overlay of the mobile applications to dashboard --

en die oorvleueling tussen die selfoontoepassings en paneelbord --

is alles krities.

are all critical.

CH: For us, it is a war.

CH: Vir ons is dit ’n oorlog.

We are basically committed for 24 hours' turnaround time

Ons is basies toegewy aan ’n 24-uur omkeertyd

in order to give results,

om resultate te lewer

and that requires for us to work around the clock nonstop.

en dit beteken ons moet sonder ophou werk.

So it's a pretty challenging moment.

Dis dus ’n baie uitdagende oomblik.

Ons is weg van ons gesinne.

We are away from family.

At least I have the privilege to see family today,

Ek’t vandag ten minste die voorreg om my gesin te sien,

and then I'm sure tomorrow I'm heading back in the trenches.

en dan is ek seker môre weer op pad terug na die loopgrawe.

In my lab, we sequenced the first COVID-19 genome

In my laboratorium het ons die eerste COVID-19-genoom se volgorde bepaal

on the African continent,

op die Afrika-kontinent,

and that really was done within 48 hours.

en dis regtig binne 48 uur gedoen.

This is revolutionary coming from Africa

Dit is revolusionêr vanuit Afrika

and then making this information available for the global health community

en dan om hierdie inligting beskikbaar te stel aan die globale gesondheidsgemeenskap,

to see what the virus within Africa looks like.

om te sien hoe die virus in Afrika lyk.

I believe that with technologies and knowledge

Ek glo dat met tegnologieë en kennis,

en deur die inligting te deel,

and then sharing information,

ons beter kan doen en die ding kan baasraak.

we can do better and then we can overcome.

PS: The whole idea of Sentinel

PS: Die hele idee van Sentinel

is that we all stand guard over each other.

is dat ons almal oor mekaar waak.

We all watch.

Ons almal hou dop.

Each one of us is a sentinel.

Elkeen van ons is ’n brandwag.

Each one of us, being able to monitor what is making us sick,

Elkeen van ons, wat kan monitor wat ons siek maak,

can share that with the rest of our community.

kan dit met die res van ons gemeenskap deel.

And I think that is what I profoundly want,

En ek dink dis wat ek die graagste wil hê:

is for us to all stand guard

vir ons almal om wag te staan,

and watch over each other.

en oor mekaar te waak.

[Dr. Pardis Sabeti en Dr. Christian Happi]

[Dr. Pardis Sabeti and Dr. Christian Happi]

[Ingenious scientists.

[Vindingryke wetenskaplikes.

Courageous partners.

Moedige vennote.

Global heroes.]

Globale helde.]