The three “plagues” feared in Europe

The outbreak of the pandemic in March 2020 showed the European Commission that the European bloc I was not ready to react to such a threat, I had no reservations nor have the European institutions been able to react in the first weeks to address it beyond the economic measures.

The reaction of governments in the first few weeks was such incoordination that France and Germany have come to ban the export of medical devices just when Italy was desperately asking for help. The first chin straps did not come from their European partners but from China. One of the consequences of this analysis was the creation of WAS (Authority for the preparation and response to health emergencies).

Brussels explains that Hera was created “to replace the interim solutions that had been adopted for the management and response to the pandemic with a permanent structure that had the appropriate tools and resources to plan in advance the action of the European Union in the event of health emergencies “.

The threats

HERA must serve to prepare the Union against crises or emergencies which could endanger the health of Europeans. The first report of him indicates three major trans-European risks for public health: “Pathogens with high pandemic potential, chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats and threats deriving from antibiotic resistance”.

European Commissioner for Health Stella Kyriakides said in her presentation that the HERA report is intended to be “the first step in ensuring that medical countermeasures can be readily available and accessible when needed for all Member States”.

HERA is for Kyriakides a kind of “Watchtower”, like those of the forest rangers who are the first to detect fires.

HERA identifies three major threats that it considers trans-European.

• new viruses

Pathogens with “high pandemic potential” include “examination of viral families specific concerns, also taking into account the zoonotic nature of most of the emerging infectious diseases with serious consequences “. It is mainly the RNA virus families that affect the respiratory system.

• chemical or nuclear attack

The second great threat It will generate more controversy. HERA, which is still an agency of the European Commission even though governments and international experts participate in its work, believes that Europeans are threatened by chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear risks.

And not only does it speak of the possibility of the possibility of an attack or “deliberate release”, but it also indicates the possibility of accidents or Accidents caused by “negligent” use.

• antibiotics and bacteria

The third major health threat to Europeans is “antibiotic resistance”. HERA estimates that “antibacterial resistance alone causes more than 1.2 million deaths every year Worldwide”.

The European Commission wants this first HERA report to “launch the process to ensure the development, production capacity and expansion of the production, acquisition and potential storage of medicines, diagnostics, medical devices and medical equipment”. personal protection “.

Brussels, special

ap