Protecting biodiversity to block the next pandemic

Health in a Heartbeat

Scientists around the world who hope to avert the next pandemic have a plan.

A team of 25 international scientists wants to do so by conserving natural areas and protecting biodiversity. They believe this might be a better strategy than containing a pathogen already circulating in humans.

In short, they want to keep animal populations fed and safe to limit their contact with humans and, consequently, their ability to transfer pathogens to us.

Pandemics begin when disease-harboring animals, such as bats, come in proximity to people, livestock or other critters. Viruses that have spread to humans via bats include several varieties of the coronavirus, Nipah [knee-pah], Hendra and, likely, Ebola. The consequences can be deadly.

The international team of researchers, led by Cornell University, devised its strategy after two scientific papers in 2022 examined how the fatal Hendra virus moved from bats to horses to people. The research found that when bats lose their natural habitats and sources of winter food, their large populations fracture into smaller groups that migrate to agricultural and urban areas.

And when bats become stressed, whether by not getting enough to eat or being forced to leave their roost, they shed more virus in their urine. When the food supply returns, so do the bats, and they stop shedding virus.

The team of scientists calls for protecting lands that buffer bats from people. This could ensure they have enough food and that humans and animals in contact with bat populations have sufficient protection.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, just imagine the payoff in avoiding another pandemic.