Bill Gates, whose foundation funds public health projects globally, believes the world is not ready to tackle the challenges of the next pandemic.
“I cross my fingers all the time that some epidemic like a big flu doesn’t come along in the next 10 years,” Microsoft Corp founder Gates told Britain’s BBC radio.
“I do think we will have much better medical tools, much better response, but we are a bit vulnerable right now if something spread very quickly, like a flu, that was quite fatal.”
But Gates defended the World Health Organization (WHO) over widespread criticism of its handling of the 2014 Ebola crisis that killed thousands in west Africa, saying the agency was neither funded, nor staffed, to meet all the expectations.
He also raised concerns over growing antimicrobial resistance to drugs, saying the success of antibiotics had created complacency.
Get the whole story at www.medscape.com
