Acknowledgements

References

Abstract

A novel bat-origin coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019 and continues to spread across China and the world. At the time of writing, a massive global response has been implemented to control the disease as it spreads from person to person. Yet the high-risk human-wildlife interactions and interfaces that led to the emergence of SARSCoV and of 2019-nCoV continue to exist in emerging disease hotspots globally. To prevent the next epidemic and pandemic related to these interfaces, we call for research and investment in three areas: 1) surveillance among wildlife to identify the high-risk pathogens they carry; 2) surveillance among people who have contact with wildlife to identify early spillover events; and 3) improvement of market biosecurity regarding the wildlife trade. As the emergence of a novel virus anywhere can impact the furthest reaches of our connected world, international collaboration among scientists is essential to address these risks and prevent the next pandemic.

The emergence of a novel coronavirus, 2019-nCoV in Wuhan December 2019 has led to a global response to the first epidemic of this decade. It has also highlighted two key issues: First, China’s rapid and efficient capacity to identify and investigate a newly emerging disease; and second, our continued global vulnerability to epidemics and pandemics. From the date of the first cluster of cases admitted to a local hospital on December 27, 2019, Chinese scientists identified this disease as a new syndrome, discovered the pathogen as the cause, and reported its genetic sequence to the world in less than 14 days [1,2]. At the time of writing, we have detailed information on its relationship to other bat coronaviruses, many of which were discovered in a collaboration among EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and Duke NUS [3]. We also have data from experimental cell line infections [4], on the clinical findings [5], the epidemiology of viral transmission [6], and on its spread to other countries. These rapid and successful results are a resounding endorsement of China’s emergence as a 21st Century scientific superpower, and of a country with a modern and efficient public health system, technically supported by the China CDC with a system of Provincial and City CDCs that are trained in effective outbreak investigation and control [7].

Proactively preparing nurses and students to meet population needs in a shifting global environment is challenging. Nurses must be agile; able to identify and respond expertly and efficiently to personal, patient, institutional, and system needs (Alleyne, Hancock & Hughes, 2011). The ability to meet the changing demands in complex health care systems mandates that nurses be leaders, in addition to care providers. Nurse educators adopt and adapt a wide variety of modalities to prepare graduates to best meet current and emerging population health needs. As leaders and role models for their students, colleagues, and communities, nurse educators often seek innovative ways to engage learners and prepare nurses. Transformational leadership theory has been successfully employed in many arenas to improve patient outcomes and nurse satisfaction (Fisher, 2016). Nurse education and continuing professional development may also benefit from Drenkard’s adaptation of transformational leadership theory (2012) as a framework for enhancing engaged learning and thereby preparing population health focused nurses with leadership acumen. Globally, cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 17 million deaths every year, and is increasing rapidly (Schwartz et al., 2015; World Health Organization, 2015). Non-communicable diseases (NCD), and especially cardiovascular diseases, are increasing at an alarming rate. If the current trend continues, the highest mortality rate will be from NCDs in low to middle income (WHO, 2013). Hypertension is a significant component of, and an increasing contribution to, the burden of disease in sub-Saharan East Africa (Ataklte et al., 2015). In 2008, the researchers who conducted this study began working together. The capacity building efforts of Uganda nurse leaders and educators have focused on education, leadership, and research methods. Over the years, studies have been collaboratively planned and implemented on nursing research priorities, work-related quality of life, and task shifting in Uganda. The Ugandan team members identified the growing problem of NCDs and recommended focusing the team’s work in 2016 on hypertension prevention and treatment due to the high prevalence and harmful sequelae.