Why scientists have a hard time getting money to study the root causes of outbreaks
Understanding what conditions prime pathogens to leap from animals to people could help us prevent outbreaks. DepositPhotosThis article was originally featured on ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. The outbreaks keep coming. Mpox, the virus formerly known as monkeypox, last year crossed borders with unprecedented speed to infect nearly 90,000 people. In the past year, Ebola killed at least 55 in Uganda, and a related, equally deadly virus called Marburg emerged in two countries that have never seen it before. Now, scientists are worried that a dangerous bird flu that’s been jumping to mammals could mutate and spread among humans. These viruses all came from wildlife. Understanding what conditions prime pathogens to leap from animals...