Epidemics

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Governance
James Knight of U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases trains U.S. Army soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division.

Global Health Security Lessons from the U.S. Biodefense Response

by Sunny Jha, Robert Carter III

The COVID-19 pandemic exemplified how an institute concerned with biodefense could pivot to serve public health needs

Governance
People push a cart with culled mink at the farm of Henrik Nordgaard Hansen and Ann-Mona Kulsoe Larsen near Naestved, Denmark, November 6, 2020.

Limited Information Hampers Understanding of U.S. Farmed Mink Outbreaks

by Steve Pool

Comparing the U.S. and Danish responses to COVID-19 outbreaks in mink populations

Painting of the Staten Island Quarantine Facility—built in 1799 to care for yellow fever patients, where by the 1850s all passengers from newly arrived ships with signs of a disease were quarantined. The image is an oil painting showing a bustling waterway with lots of tall ships with sails lowered and smaller vessels ferrying cargo to them. GETTY IMAGES/Keith Lance
Urbanization

Plague Ships, Shotgun Mobs, and the "Saffron Scourge"

by Jason Socrates Bardi, Caroline Kantis

Recalling the massive, deadly New Orleans yellow fever epidemic of 1878—and what lessons it holds for coronavirus today

A colorized scanning electron microscope image of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, also known as 2019-nCoV, which causes COVID-19. Image shows a colorful molecular world with a bunch of worm-like dendrites, presumably biological material like cells, and bright orange cluster of spheres in the middle of the image. NIAID-RML image
Governance

What's Next for COVID-19?

by Tom Frieden

Containment of the coronavirus would make an enormous difference to health around the world. Is it still possible?

Famous singer and social activist Bono attends a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on foreign assistance in Washington D.C. on April 12, 2016. The photo shows Bono at a long table with several rows of chairs behind him. The chairs are filled with people who appear to be laughing. The REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Governance

How to Tackle Global Problems in an Age of Populism

by Chris Collins, Mark P. Lagon

Appetites for investment do exist today to define achievable goals, apply effective tools, and solve global challenges

Immigration officers wearing protective awaiting Thai nationals evacuated from Wuhan, China—the center of the coronavirus epidemic, at the U-Tapao airport in Rayong province, Thailand on Feb 4, 2020. REUTERS/Royal Thai Navy Handout.
Gender

Gender and the Coronavirus Outbreak

by Julia Smith

Gender inequities make outbreaks worse, so why not integrate gender analysis into the response now to help save lives?

Photo shows a digital rendering of the 2019-nCoV virion.
Governance

Dr. Tom Frieden on the Politics of Epidemics

by Tom Frieden

Health protection can fight disease, reduce economic losses, and save lives

A bundle of the original Pandemic board game boxes. Photo a large armful-sized package neatly wrapped in brown paper. The paper is slightly torn open, revealing eight new boxes of the game Pandemic. Photo courtesy of Matt Leacock
Urbanization

Pandemic, a Game Gone Viral

An interview with Matt Leacock, creator of the popular 10-year-old board game, on the art of designing cooperative play

Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust. The picture shows Farrar wearing a blue shirt and blazer, smiling as he leans on sleek railing and standing out against a highly bokeh background. FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE/Dave Guttridge
Governance

Twenty-First Century Epidemic Responses

An interview with Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust