PPP Reading C02

The pandemic challenge

Over recent decades, thanks to better vaccines and strategic interventions, the world has seen
incredible progress in reducing child mortality and tackling infectious diseases. Yet there is one area
where the world isn’t making much progress and that is pandemic preparedness, but it is no less
important. This failure should concern the entire international community, because history has
taught us that there will undoubtedly be another deadly worldwide pandemic. There is no way of
predicting when, but given the continual emergence of new pathogens, the increasing risk of a

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bioterror attack, and the ever-increasing connectedness of our world, there is a significant

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probability that a large and lethal modern-day pandemic will occur in our lifetime.

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Several events in the past decade have warranted close attention to the risk of future pandemics.
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One was the outbreak of swine flu (H1N1) in 2009. Although H1N1 influenza wasn’t as lethal as
people initially feared, it called attention to our inability to track the spread of disease, and the need
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to develop new tools for public-health emergencies. The more recent outbreaks of Ebola in Africa
were another wake-up call. As the number of confirmed cases climbed, the death toll mounted, and
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health systems local to the outbreak collapsed. Again, the world was much too slow to respond.
What the world needs is a coordinated global approach to pandemics that will work regardless of
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whether the next pandemic is a product of human intervention or of nature itself.

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The 1918 influenza epidemic killed an estimated fifty million people. Today, many countries have
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life-saving interventions that weren’t available at that time, such as the seasonal influenza vaccine.
Although, this isn’t always fully effective, and must be taken each year, it represents an enormous
step forward. There are also now antibiotics that help with secondary infections from bacterial
pneumonia. Yet despite such advances, a simulation by the Institute for Disease Modelling shows
what would happen if a highly contagious and lethal airborne pathogen, like the 1918 influenza,
were to appear today. Nearly thirty-three million people worldwide would die in just six months.

©Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Pty Ltd 2020

 PPP Reading C02

The next threat, however, may not be influenza at all. It may well be an unknown pathogen seen for
the first time during an outbreak, as was the case with SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome),
MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome), and other recently found infectious diseases. The world
took a step to begin addressing this risk with the launch in 2017 of a public–private partnership
called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). With funding commitments of
more than US$630 million, CEPI’s first job is advancing the development of vaccines for three of the
priority diseases on the World Health Organization (WHO) list for public health research and

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development: Lassa fever, Nipah virus, and MERS.

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CEPI will also be working on rapid-response platforms to produce safe, effective vaccines for a range
of infectious diseases. Later this year, the coalition will announce grants to several companies,

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working with a variety of technologies, including nucleic acid vaccines, viral vectors, and other
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innovative approaches. The goal is the capability to develop, test, and release new vaccines in a
matter of months rather than years. But vaccines can’t be the only answer when immediate
response is vital to a rapidly spreading infectious disease. Not only do vaccines take time to develop
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and deploy, they also take at least a couple of weeks after vaccination to generate protective
immunity. So investment is needed in other approaches, such as antiviral drugs and antibody
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therapies that can be stockpiled or rapidly manufactured to stop the spread of pandemic diseases or
to treat people who have been exposed.
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At a recent international security conference, world leaders were asked to imagine that somewhere
in the world a new weapon exists or could emerge that is capable of killing millions of people,
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bringing economies to a standstill, and casting nations into chaos. If it were a military weapon, the
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response would be to do everything possible to develop countermeasures. In the case of biologic

threats, that sense of urgency is sadly lacking. But the world needs to prepare for pandemics in the
same serious way it prepares for war. This preparation includes staging simulations, war games, and
preparedness exercises to increase understanding of how diseases will spread and how to deal with
responses such as quarantine and communications to minimise panic. Such a clear road map for a
comprehensive pandemic preparedness and response system is imperative, because lives, in
numbers too great to comprehend, depend on it.

(758 words)

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1806283

©Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Pty Ltd 2020

 PPP Reading C02

1. In the first paragraph, the writer says that preparation for pandemics should

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A be designed to reduce their impact.

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B be more widely recognised as a priority.

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C take account of their increasing frequency.

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D take precedence over other medical programmes.

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2. The H1N1 influenza outbreak revealed a weakness in our ability to

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ut en A monitor the extent of an epidemic as it grows.

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B predict the speed at which epidemics can develop.

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C support local health systems at the height of an epidemic.
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D mobilise additional resources in areas affected by an epidemic.
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3. The writer uses statistical information in the third paragraph to

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A demonstrate that technology improves over time.

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B show the consequences of not learning from history.
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C stress present-day vulnerability to infectious diseases.
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D underline the efficiency of current vaccines and antibiotics.

4. In the fourth paragraph, what is suggested about unknown pathogens?

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A They pose a greater threat than influenza.

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B They are being discovered at an alarming rate.

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C Financial resources are being committed to predicting them.

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D Commercial interests are contributing to efforts to combat them.

©Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Pty Ltd 2020

 PPP Reading C02

5. In the fourth paragraph, what do the words ‘this risk’ refer to?

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A an outbreak of a disease which was not previously known to exist.

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B an increase in the total number of recognised infectious diseases.

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C the cost of developing vaccines for newly discovered pathogens.

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D the danger posed by diseases on the WHO priority list.

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6. In the fifth paragraph, the writer says that vaccinations against infectious diseases

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ut en A represent a fast-acting means of protecting the public.

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B are the most cost effective way of responding to them.

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C attract a disproportionate amount of available funding.
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D need to be complemented by a range of other measures.
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7. In the final paragraph, the writer expresses regret that

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A biologic threats aren’t taken more seriously.

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B a pandemic may one day be used as a form of weapon.
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C world leaders are reluctant to discuss pressing medical issues.
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D military spending has priority over investment in medical resources.

8. The expression ‘road map’ in the final paragraph refers to

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A a series of simulation activities.

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B a set of detailed plans and objectives.

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C a training package for use with medical staff.

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D a way of organising channels of communication.

©Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Pty Ltd 2020

 PPP Reading C02

Key

1. B

2. A

3. C

4. D

5. A

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6. D

7. A

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8.
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N

©Cambridge Boxhill Language Assessment Pty Ltd 2020