Preparing for the Next Pandemic: What Will It Be?

Margaret Steen | January 27, 2015

This is an excellent article on pandemics.

The recent Ebola outbreak has spread both disease and worry, though it wasn’t a pandemic. Still, it has raised interest in what the next pandemic might be — and what can be done to either stop it or prepare for it.   ..............................................................................................................................................................

“Pandemics generally originate in the tropical countries where there’s a lot of wildlife diversity and human activity,” Daszak said. For example, SARS (short for severe acute respiratory syndrome) came from bats and has probably existed in bats for a long time since it doesn’t kill them. Eventually people got infected and it started to spread.

“Once a pathogen is able to go from human to human and it gets into a city, people get on planes and travel,” Daszak said.

“There are lots of different animals out there, and they have lots of different viruses and bacteria,” said Campbell. “And we don’t know about all of them.”