Public health, which is defined as “the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health” (Edemekong and Tenny, 2022). Simply put, public health looks at how the health of communities can be improved and looks at ways of preventing the spread of disease and injury. With this definition, one can clearly realise that biotechnology has a multifaceted role in public health.
Looking back at history, public health has always searched for effective ways of preventing disease in the population. With epidemics and endemics threatening to destabilise health, the need for innovation became a topic of importance. Not long after that, biotechnology, which is technology based on biology, became a breakthrough for public health. (Tulchinsky and Varavikova 2014)
– Owen Arthur
“For he who has health has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.”
Globally, biotechnological innovations go beyond scientific breakthroughs. It also addresses healthcare system challenges, improves treatment outcomes and is focussed on transforming the whole healthcare ecosystem (Anyanwu et al., 2024) Ways in which biotechnology has transformed and continues to improve public health includes reshaping traditional healthcare approaches into more modern, timely and reliable innovations. To further break it down, vaccines used to take longer to be developed, as compared to how timely it is by the use of biotechnology (Anyanwu et al., 2024). If we look at the COVID-19 as an example, the vaccines for this viral disease were developed through the use of mRNA in less than a year (Watson et al., 2022). This breakthrough was made possible by the use of biotechnology. Today, biotechnology is at the core of genetic engineering, a process that use lab-based technologies to alter the DNA make-up of an organism. Genetic engineering is one of the ways insulin is mass-produces, thus making it possible to have diabetes treatment readily available. Other ways in which biotechnology has been applied in public health includes molecular diagnostics techniques, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (a method used to test COVID-19 and other bacterial, mycobacterial and protozoal infections) and next-generation sequencing (NGS), personalised medicine based on individual genetic profiles, antimicrobial resistance to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and last but not least, nutritional enhancements whereby crops are genetically modified to have high levels of essential nutrients
(Anyanwu et al., 2024).
– Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology & Author
“Why treat people and send them back to the conditions that made them sick?”
Although there have been many positive uses of biotechnology, there are also challenges, one of which is the ethical concerns of biotechnology. Ethics look at the possible harms that can occur due to biotechnology, and one of the biggest concerns are in genetic engineering and gene editing technologies (Ahmad et al., 2015). The important bioethics principles that should be prioritized in biotechnology are autonomy, whereby an individual’s right to make their own decisions is recognized, non-maleficence, a principles that states to not cause intentional and negligent harm, beneficence, which means choosing what is good over what’s harmful, and justice, which states that there should be a fair distribution of the benefits and costs of rendered services across affected communities (Trump et al., 2023). This highlights a need to have biotechnology policies and governing frameworks.
In closing, it is clear that the use of biotechnology is one of the catalysts of public health as we know it today. With the rise of chronic illnesses and autoimmune diseases, biotechnology can be used to lower the burden of these diseases. Although there have been positive breakthroughs in public health through the use of biotech, it remains imperative to ensure that ethical principles are form part of the processes involved.
Written by: Carol Netavhani
References:
Ahmad, H.M., Rashid, M., Iqbal, M.S., Azeem, F. and Ali, M.A. (2015). Ethical Issues of Biotechnology, Possible Risks and Their Management. ResearchGate, [online] 5(11), pp.49–54. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280094592.
Anyanwu, C., Olawumi, J., Odilibe, P., None Opeoluwa Akomolafe, None Chinyere Onwumere and Osareme, J. (2024). The role of biotechnology in healthcare: A review of global trends. World Journal Of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(1), pp.2740–2752. doi:https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.21.1.0382.
Edemekong, P.F. and Tenny, S. (2022). Public Health. In: Nih.gov. [online] StatPearls Publishing. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470250/.
Trump, B., Cummings, C., Klasa, K., Galaitsi, S. and Linkov, I. (2023). Governing biotechnology to provide safety and security and address ethical, legal, and social implications. Frontiers in Genetics, 13. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2022.1052371.
Tulchinsky, T.H. and Varavikova, E.A. (2014). A History of Public Health. In: The New Public Health. [online] pp.1–42. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-415766-8.00001-x.
Watson, O.J., Barnsley, G., Toor, J., Hogan, A.B., Winskill, P. and Ghani, A.C. (2022). Global impact of the first year of COVID-19 vaccination: a mathematical modelling study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, [online] 22(9), pp.1293–1302. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/s1473-3099(22)00320-6.