Other Pandemics Are Waiting in the Wings—They Can Be Prevented

The world, understandably, can’t wait for the pandemic to go away. But for career virus-hunters are already scouting for the next pandemic pathogen.
 
Ecological destruction and wildlife trade are the primary reason that more viruses are jumping from animals to humans—making Africa’s tropical rainforest is a likely source.
 
Take Ebola: One study found that from 2001–2014, 25 of 27 outbreaks in the vicinity of African rainforests in Central and West Africa began in places that had experienced deforestation ~2 years earlier.
  
And a multidisciplinary group of experts argued in a Science commentary this summer that the world should invest $30 billion annually in pandemic prevention that includes protecting rainforests and halting wildlife trade.
 
CNN