AI is your new germ detective

AI SCIENCE

AI is your new germ detective

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for faster and smarter tools to predict, monitor, and control infectious diseases.

AI has the potential to become an essential part of this effort, helping to detect outbreaks early, predict virus behaviour, and allocate resources more effectively.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed over 30 pathogens with the potential to cause a pandemic.

These pathogens were selected based on how easily they spread, how severe they were, and the lack of available treatments.

AI tools like the CDC’s Insight Net and WHO’s intelligence programmes are helping predict and manage outbreaks.

A key development is EVEscape, an AI tool from researchers at Harvard and Oxford. It predicts how viruses might mutate, helping create vaccines and treatments.

EVEscape has been tested on viruses like SARS-CoV-2, influenza, and HIV, with researchers working to expand it to other high-risk pathogens.

Regular reports on emerging variants are helping health authorities prepare for future challenges.

Things to keep in mind:

• Tools like EVEscape and EPIWATCH predict virus changes and track diseases in real-time.

• AI-based air travel research shows how infections spread globally, helping with smarter policy decisions.

• Challenges like privacy concerns and diverse data sources still need addressing to strengthen AI’s impact.

AI in disease tracking

AI is also useful for tracking outbreaks as they happen.

During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, tools like EPIWATCH analysed disease patterns even when official surveillance was disrupted.

This showed how open-source data can support public health decisions during emergencies.

Air traffic plays a major role in how diseases spread. Researchers at the University of Houston created a tool to study flight patterns and predict infection hotspots.

This AI model helps governments decide where to impose travel restrictions and where to focus health resources.

The research revealed that regions like Western Europe, the Middle East, and North America were most affected by air traffic changes.

Using such data-driven tools can make responses to airborne diseases faster and more effective.

However, there are still challenges, such as ensuring AI uses data from all populations and protecting privacy.

AI will work best as part of a collective effort to prevent future pandemics.

EVEscape sounds like the ultimate villain turned hero in this pandemic saga.