Pandemic risks and readiness gaps
Health authorities warn that infectious‑disease risks persist: human MERS‑CoV cases are falling but the virus remains a continuing pandemic threat, officials say (nature.com). At the same time a review of 114 countries finds many have AMR (antimicrobial resistance) plans but few have implemented them effectively, leaving global systems vulnerable — and the U.S. has signed a five‑year health cooperation deal with Angola to boost surveillance and response capacity ( ).
A multi-author Nature analysis led by Maria D. Van Kerkhove and collaborators reports more than 2,600 laboratory-confirmed MERS-CoV human cases since 2012 and a crude case‑fatality ratio of about 37%. (nature.com) The paper documents three genetic clades (A, B and C), notes clade C predominates in Africa despite sparse official human case reporting there, and cites hypotheses that SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and vaccination may have contributed to reduced zoonotic MERS acquisition via cross‑reactive immunity. (nature.com) European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control situational data show 2,647 total MERS cases and 959 deaths reported worldwide as of 2 March 2026, and record that no new cases had been reported since the start of 2026 with detection at its lowest level since 2014. (ecdc.europa.eu) A 2020–21 assessment of 114 countries scored national AMR governance across 18 domains and more than 50 indicators and found many countries had national action plans but low implementation; Norway led the rankings with a mean score of 85 while the Federated States of Micronesia scored lowest at 28. (contagionlive.com) Commentary on the review highlights that more than 1.2 million deaths were directly attributable to resistant bacterial infections in 2019 and that lower implementation scores clustered in low‑ and middle‑income countries, with accountability and feedback mechanisms scoring around 30. (contagionlive.com) The U.S. and the Republic of Angola signed a five‑year bilateral health cooperation Memorandum of Understanding on March 19, 2026; the State Department says the U.S. intends to provide $71 million, Angola will invest $50 million (about 30% dedicated to laboratory and health commodities), and an additional $5 million in global health security funds will target laboratory capacity in remote areas—part of a broader portfolio of MOUs totaling more than $20.5 billion and 27 bilateral agreements as of that date. (state.gov)
