Even in the midst of a crisis, Mike Ryan, the Irishman leading the response of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the coronavirus outbreak, finds room for optimism. “We’re still hoping this virus can be put back into the box,” he tells me from his office in Geneva. For once this time, he’s not leading the effort in the field, having been promoted to head of emergencies in WHO last year. Ryan says his “biggest fear” is that the virus gets established in a “fragile” country with a weak health system, or in a conflict zone. China, in contrast, has a strong health system.

Source: The Irish Times February 02, 2020 19:41 UTC