On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization was notified about a cluster of pneumonia cases with unknown cause in the city of Wuhan, China. As the weeks and months unfolded, new and existing research on the origins of infectious diseases and their mechanisms of spread took on critical importance. For decades, scientists across the globe have been studying the events that must converge for a pandemic to happen, but in 2020, much of the world was blindsided by SARS-CoV-2.

During this discussion, two leading wildlife epidemiologists will describe how new infectious pathogens are transmitted from one species to another, a process called “spillover,” and what can be done to prevent future pandemics. Are human activities accelerating the emergence of more infectious diseases?  What can we learn from areas where spillover is common? In the tropics, for example, a highly populated and biodiverse region, how are land-use changes driving transmission of pathogens from wildlife to people? What other factors influence the likelihood of spillover?

An important key to understanding a disease’s origin, researchers say, is focusing on the opportunities for contact between people and the animal hosts of various pathogens. But once an outbreak has occurred, controlling disease spread may require work across several agencies (ministers of agriculture, health, environment, tourism) to quickly prepare diagnostic labs and inform public health outreach, guidance, and regulations.

Join Knowable Magazine for a live conversation – and get your questions answered.

Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology, UC Davis
Founding Executive Director of the One Health Institute

Dr. Mazet’s work focuses on global health problem solving for emerging infectious diseases and conservation challenges, and preparing for unknown viral threats to human health and food security. She is active in international One Health education, service, and research programs, most notably in relation to pathogen emergence; disease transmission among wildlife, domestic animals, and people; and the ecological drivers of novel disease dynamics.

Associate Professor of Epidemiology Montana State University
Principal Investigator, Bat OneHealth

Dr. Plowright is an infectious disease ecologist, epidemiologist, and wildlife veterinarian. Her lab focuses on the dynamics of infectious diseases in reservoir hosts, the process of pathogen spillover, and the links between environmental change and disease emergence. She is leading a team of scientists investigating the complex causes of bat-borne viruses that have recently made the jump to humans. Dr. Plowright has also worked as a domestic animal and wildlife veterinarian in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and Antarctica.

Rachel Ehrenberg, Associate Editor, Knowable Magazine
Rachel Ehrenberg is an editor and writer at Knowable Magazine. A science journalist for more than 15 years, she’s covered a range of research, including a recent look at how bats cope with various viruses. Rachel has a master's degree in evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan and a graduate certification in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. In 2013-2014, she was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.

This event is part of Reset: The Science of Crisis & Recovery, an ongoing series of live events and science journalism exploring how the world is navigating the coronavirus pandemic, its consequences and the way forward.

Reset is supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Knowable Magazine is a product of Annual Reviews, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society. Major funding for Knowable comes from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Preventing the Next Pandemic: Exploring the Origins and Spread of Animal Viruses