COVID-19 has almost disappeared from the media. The pandemic is not over but the virus is becoming a normal part of our daily lives with crisis response in the rearview mirror.\u00a0 But the memory of the disaster, its colossal suffering, loss of life, and economic harm are still raw for many.\u00a0 Before it is forgotten, policy focus and resources must shift to prevent new pandemics as their risk continues to grow.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While COVID-19 was a surprise to many, this kind of pandemic was predicted by many scientists.\u00a0 Since the early 1980s, outbreaks of new infectious diseases have tripled compared to previous decades with the emergence of Ebola, Zika, Chikungunya, avian flu, Nipah, and new coronaviruses. Accelerating global connectivity adds further danger as outbreaks are more likely to reach all corners of the world within days of emergence before containment measures are triggered.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should be better prepared in terms of management during the next emergence, provided we stay alert. The experience acquired with containment, accelerated vaccine and therapeutics development, risk communication, modeling and decision support, is invaluable. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of unidentified viruses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We should be better prepared for the next emergences, though the slow and confused response to the recent spread of Mpox (the new name for \u201cmonkeypox”) does not bode well. However, it is between crises that we must act to prevent future pandemics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hundreds of thousands of still unidentified viruses could infect humans.\u00a0 It is extremely hard to be prepared to combat these unknown, vastly diverse and numerous adversaries.\u00a0 It is therefore crucial to combine the traditional “preparedness approach” with far more effort on a “prevention approach.” \u00a0The opportunity and innovation we bring forth lies in addressing the origins of these viruses.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To prevent future emergences, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of emerging pathogens as well as the factors driving their increasing rate of emergence. Most importantly, 75 percent of new infectious diseases are zoonoses, caused by viruses, bacteria or parasites that are transmitted from animals to humans. Ebola virus disease, Lyme disease, pandemic flu, and HIV\/AIDS: all these diseases are pathogens with animal origins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human activities, in particular deforestation, have a considerable impact on ecosystems and profoundly modify the transmission networks of many pathogens between animal species. More than three quarters of the world\u2019s forests have been cleared or heavily degraded, and studies show that this leads to greater circulation of these pathogens, increasing the risk of infection in wildlife.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Animal, collateral victims<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Deforestation increases contact between human and animal populations, multiplying the opportunities for novel viruses to infect us, creating the perfect cocktail for the appearance of new zoonotic diseases that may preface pandemics. To be clear, non-human species, are not to blame for the emergence of these diseases. They are instead collateral victims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable management of ecosystems, in particular tropical forests, not only helps to address biodiversity loss and climate change, it also protects our health and prevents future pandemics. The cost of investment in this and other “primary” prevention strategies, such as reducing wildlife trade and improving biosafety in animal agriculture, which address upstream causes of these emergences, is around only one percent of the economic losses of pandemics such as COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n