Work is to begin next year on a new global online infrastructure designed to prevent disease outbreaks from developing into pandemics.

The online infrastructure, Global Pathogen Analysis Platform (GPAP), is supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation with up to DKK 200 million over the next six years. GPAP will be led by DTU National Food Institute, which has decades of experience in disease prevention and pathogen surveillance.

“GPAP will be open to all countries and institutions worldwide, but its primary aim is to enable low- and middle-income countries to independently conduct research and surveillance of infectious diseases. DTU National Food Institute has several decades of experience in monitoring pathogenic microorganisms and infection tracking, and we are truly excited to serve as the incubator for this new global online infrastructure,” said professor Tine Rask Licht, Director of DTU National Food Institute.

The institute already publishes annual surveillance reports on zoonoses, as well as on antimicrobial consumption and resistance (DANMAP), and has played a key role in positioning Denmark as a role model for other countries in the One Health field – not only in Europe, but also globally, including in Africa and Asia.

The GPAP leadership added it will offer support to the many experts around the world working on tracking infectious diseases, facilitated through a free online infrastructure for researchers and healthcare professionals from low- and middle-income countries.

“The task is to help extinguish numerous small outbreaks before they develop into epidemics or pandemics. We cannot provide active assistance for the thousands of daily outbreaks and incidents occurring around the world. But by creating the online infrastructure and offering free access, we can strengthen those responsible in low- and middle-income countries,” explained professor Henrik Wegener, former rector of the University of Copenhagen and head of GPAP at DTU National Food Institute.

He added success will therefore to some extent be measured by what does not happen, namely, the absence of pandemics.

GPAP’s ability to detect pandemics will be based on many small, local actions across the globe, where, for example, healthcare professionals or researchers can upload and have DNA sequences from potential pathogens (bacteria, viruses or fungi) analysed. When a genetic sequence is uploaded, the software will identify the organism it originates from and compare it with known genetic patterns. In this way, relationships and potential health risks can be mapped.

The system will be used for both research and disease surveillance, where data on time, location and symptoms can be linked with genetic findings to detect patterns and emerging outbreaks, including microorganisms and diseases in animals, humans and plants.

“GPAP will allow users of the online infrastructure to retain full control over their own data. The shared information is often politically and commercially sensitive, and therefore the possibility of anonymity is a prerequisite for trust and participation. Experience from COVID-19 has shown how difficult it is to share health data when such information may threaten national interests,” added Wegener.

“GPAP will serve as an extension of the open-source systems previously developed by DTU National Food Institute. This has now become possible because new genomic technologies make it feasible to monitor pathogens in animals, humans, and the environment with a very high level of detail and at the population level, for example by monitoring wastewater. In addition, artificial intelligence has entered the field and can add a new dimension, enabling users not only to obtain an analysis result but also to receive suggestions for actions based on that result,” concluded professor Frank Møller Aarestrup.