Stopping the Next Pandemic: In Conversation with Harriet Constable and Jacob Kushner

On Thursday, May 20, at 12:00pm EDT, join journalists Harriet Constable and Jacob Kushner for a conversation about their project, Stopping the Next One: Scientists Race to Prevent Human Encroachment on Wildlife From Causing the Next Pandemic. In their multimedia series, they traveled to six continents to learn about six different animals that carry diseases that could cause the next pandemic. 

Animal-borne diseases cause an incredible 2.4 billion cases of human illness each year and 2.2 million deaths. Zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 are becoming riskier to humans because of our own actions. Our effect on the climate, encroachment on wildlife habitats, and global travel help circulate animal-borne diseases further than ever before.

From MERS-carrying camels in Africa to the pigs with influenza in Europe, Constable and Kushner met the animals - and the diseases with the biggest pandemic potential, and learned what can be done to stop them.