What could the next pandemic be?

It’s been over three years since SARS-CoV-2 spread across the world and covid-19 is still with us. The damage the pandemic caused raised awareness of the ever-present threat of a new epidemic—and, indeed, the possibility of it turning into a new pandemic (box).There are 26 virus families known to infect humans; of the five pandemic events since 1900, all have been linked to either influenza or a coronavirus.The World Health Organization has a list of pathogens with pandemic potential that should be prioritised for research and development programmes.1 This list is updated once a year by a group of over 300 scientists, who weigh up a pathogen’s transmissibility and the treatment options available.Definition: epidemic v pandemicWhen a disease outbreak leads to an unexpected increase in the number of disease cases in a specific geographical area, that’s called an epidemic—at least by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).2A…
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