A feather in the cap for Dr Raman Gangakhedkar & India as he gets nominated to WHO panel to probe origins of Coronavirus

@prashanthamine

Mumbai: It is yet another feather in the cap for Dr Raman Gangakhedkar as he gets selected to be part of the proposed 25-member World Health Organisation (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), including SARS-CoV-2. The appointment is initially for two years, which can be extended further.

The SAGO will advise WHO on the development of a global framework to define and guide studies into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2, states a WHO press release issued here on Wednesday. 

In May 2020, the World Health Assembly, through resolution WHA73.1, requested the Director-General of the WHO to continue to work closely with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and countries, as part of the One Health approach, to identify the source of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the route of introduction to the human population.

The WHO in the statement issued has further argued, “There have been an increasing number of high threat pathogens emerging and re-emerging in recent years with, for example, SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, Lassa, Marburg, Ebola, Nipah, avian influenza, the latest being SARS-CoV-2. There is not only a need for robust surveillance and early actions for rapid detection and mitigation efforts, but a need for robust and systematic processes to establish the study around the emergence of these pathogens and routes of transmission from their natural reservoirs to humans.”

“The emergence of new viruses with the potential to spark epidemics and pandemics is a fact of nature, and while SARS-CoV-2 is the latest such virus, it will not be the last,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Dr Ghebreyesus further added, “Understanding where new pathogens come from is essential for preventing future outbreaks with epidemic and pandemic potential, and requires a broad range of expertise. We are very pleased with the calibre of experts selected for SAGO from around the world, and look forward to working with them to make the world safer.”

The proposed SAGO members were selected from more than 700 applications, the 26 proposed SAGO members have expertise in a range of areas, including epidemiology, animal health, ecology, clinical medicine, virology, genomics, molecular epidemiology, molecular biology, biology, food safety, biosafety, biosecurity, and public health. The composition of the SAGO reflects geographic and gender diversity.

As per the WHO press release the SAGO in its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the SAGO will have the following functions: 

To advise WHO on the development of a WHO global framework to define and guide studies into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential; 

To advise WHO on prioritizing studies and field investigations into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential, in accordance with the WHO global framework described in point (1) above; 

To provide information and views to assist the WHO Secretariat in the development of a detailed work plan of the SAGO; 

In the context of SARS-CoV-2 origins; the SAGO will perform the following functions:

To provide the WHO Secretariat with an independent evaluation of all available scientific and technical findings from global studies on the origins of SARS-CoV-2; 

To advise the WHO Secretariat regarding developing, monitoring and supporting the next series of studies into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, including rapid advice on WHO’s operational plans to implement the next series of global studies into the origins of SARS-CoV-2, as outlined in the Joint WHO-China Global Study of Origins of SARS-CoV-2: China Part report published on 30 March 2021 and advise on additional studies as needed; and 

To provide additional advice and support to WHO, as requested by the WHO SAGO Secretariat, which may include participation in future WHO-international missions to study the origins of SARS-CoV-2 or for other emerging pathogens. 

Dr Raman Gangakhedkar (59) is the well-known Indian scientist and headed the Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases division at the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). He was the visible face of the ICMR on the television news channels as he briefed the nation about the planning, execution and testing protocols for Covid-19.

He did his early schooling in a Zilla Parishad school. Dr Raman Gangakhedkar did his MBBS from Government Medical College, Aurangabad and started out as a Paediatrician. He is well known for devising guidelines for the management of HIV-AIDS control programs at the national level. He shifted base from Mumbai to Pune and headed the National AIDS Research Institute (NARI) in 1993 as its director.

After a long stint at NARI, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar joined ICMR as Scientist G to head its Epidemiology & Communicable Diseases division in 2018. He retired from ICMR on June 30, 2020. He was awarded the Padma Shri for his pioneering research work in HIV-AIDS.