Ecological countermeasures to prevent pathogen spillover and subsequent pandemics

Substantial global attention is focused on how to reduce the risk of future pandemics. Reducing this risk requires investment in prevention, preparedness, and response. Although preparedness and response have received significant focus, prevention, especially the prevention of zoonotic spillover, remains largely absent from global conversations. This oversight is due in part to the lack of a clear definition of prevention and lack of guidance on how to achieve it. To address this gap, we elucidate the mechanisms linking environmental change and zoonotic spillover using spillover of viruses from bats as a case study. We identify ecological interventions that can disrupt these spillover mechanisms and propose…

• NS
  National Science Foundation

  Awards: D18AC00031, 2133763, DEB-1716698, EF-2231624, EF-2133763, 1716698, 2231624
• UD
  U.S. Department of Defense
• SR
  Sight Research UK

  Award: NE/V014730/1
• NI
  National Institutes of Health
• DA
  Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

  Award: D18AC00031
• AR
  Advanced Research Projects Agency
• NE
  Natural Environment Research Council

  Awards: NE/V014730/1, NE/V014730/1
• NI
  National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

  Award: R01AI151144