When an outbreak like Zika or Ebola hits, what’s the best way for the medical community to respond? Experts say that clinical trials on vaccines and drugs to combat infectious disease outbreaks should, whenever possible, be conducted among populations affected by the outbreak. The lack of resources, including internet infrastructure, in areas of the developing world where outbreaks often occur, can make it difficult to set up and manage trials. Considering the speed with which dangerous outbreaks can spread, and the subsequent urgency of finding new vaccines and treatments, this state of affairs is unsustainable. 

So what can the healthcare and clinical trial industries do to overcome these hurdles and meet the urgency that the search for infectious disease vaccines demands? This white paper discusses how research organizations can take advantage of cloud-based technology such as EDC and eSource to shorten the timeline for trials, overcome infrastructural hurdles in the developing world, and thereby speed the arrival of effective treatments to fight outbreaks. 

Within the last several years alone, we’ve seen infectious disease outbreaks dominate the news cycle and send the medical community scrambling for treatment and containment. When the next outbreak hits, there will be little time to waste. Organizations must be aware of all the tools at their disposal to help them respond with the requisite urgency - no less than human lives are at stake. 

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