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Articles on Epidemics

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Social sciences play a key role in preventing zoonotic diseases from spreading to people from animals. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Why ‘One Health’ needs more social sciences: Pandemic prevention depends on behaviour as well as biology

Pandemics often have animal origins, so prevention is often dominated by health and veterinary sciences. However, social sciences’ role in understanding human behaviour is also crucial to prevention.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has evolved over time into multiple variants and sublineages. loops7 / E+ via Getty Images

Pivotal points in the COVID-19 pandemic – 5 essential reads

With the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, at least for now, we look back on a handful of stories that provided sharp insights at key moments in the pandemic.
Countries around the world were not prepared to respond to COVID-19. Andrew Wasike Shimanyula/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Predicting epidemics isn’t easy. We’ve created a global dataset to help

A new global dataset shows there is no clear global increase of infectious disease outbreaks over time. And it can suggest which countries would most likely be affected by an outbreak.
Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, which are the ovals and circles seen in this electron microscope image of the skin of a person infected with monkeypox. Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regnery/CDC

Is monkeypox a pandemic? An epidemiologist explains why it isn’t likely to become as widespread as COVID-19, but is worth watching

The monkeypox virus, which is commonly found in West and Central Africa, is now causing many infections in the U.S., Europe and Latin America.
The large public health apparatus assembled to fight Ebola created more problems. Alexis Huguet/AFP via Getty Images

Lessons from the DRC’s 10th Ebola epidemic: the people may know best

International epidemic management involves ceding to foreign experts who possess, at best, a surface-level understanding of a very complex region.
Epidemiologists in protective suits collecting a dead bird from the sea beach in the course of the spreading of the bird flu, Germany. blickwinkel / Alamy Stock Photo

Bird flu outbreaks in Europe: what you need to know

Each year in spring and summer, waterbirds mingle on their breeding grounds in Siberia and mix their flu viruses, creating new variants they then bring to Europe, Asia and Africa.
A high school student gets his COVID-19 shot at a pop-up vaccine clinic at a public charter school in Los Angeles. Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Shutting down school vaccine clinics doesn’t protect minors – it hurts people who are already disadvantaged

For decades, US schools have been common sites for vaccine clinics to respond to outbreaks and provide catch-up immunizations. So why are they suddenly controversial?
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari shows his COVID-19 certificate after receiving his first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in March 2021. Photo by Kola Sulaimon / AFP via Getty Images

Nigerian academics weigh in on the faults and frustrations of managing COVID-19

Experts assess Nigeria’s response to COVID-19 so far and express worry that the country does not appear to have learnt much; it isn’t prepared for the next pandemic.
Would anyone want to spend more screen time talking about pandemics? Yes, learned an anthropologist, biologist and historian who developed a course on the topic. (Shutterstock)

A university course on pandemics: What we learned when 80 experts, 300 alumni and 600 students showed up

The course offers a model for teaching about complex problems, and underlines the critical role of university learning, research and outreach in understanding and addressing them.

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