Measures must be taken now to prevent pandemics at the source, says epidemiologist
Epidemiologist Neil Vora emphasizes the urgent need for global measures to prevent pandemics at their source. He highlights the interconnected threats of zoonotic viruses, climate change, and biodiversity loss, stressing that current outbreaks indicate a lack of preparedness. Vora advocates for actions such as banning fur farms to mitigate risks associated with disease transmission.
- ▪Neil Vora is a former CDC officer and now the executive director of the Preventing Pandemics at the Source Coalition.
- ▪The World Health Organization reported over 80 suspected deaths from an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- ▪Vora warns that current strains of viruses, like the Bundibugyo virus, pose significant risks due to the absence of approved treatments or vaccines.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
“[The]cruel irony here [is] that the world cannot get its act together to address these threats … people are dying, animals are suffering, we’re losing rainforest … these are all interconnected threats,” Neil Vora tells me on this week’s episode of the Mongabay Newscast, just a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 80 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo from an outbreak of the Ebola virus. Vora is a former U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) epidemic intelligence service officer who deployed to the DRC to combat Ebola. He says the current strain, the Bundibugyo virus, is particularly dangerous because there is no current approved treatment or vaccine for it.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Mongabay — News.
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