Pathogens that cause the bird flu, COVID-19, and a bat-borne virus that causes brain swelling pose a risk to public health and could lead to the next pandemic, biosecurity experts in the United Kingdom have warned.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified 24 pathogen families as a health risk for one of several reasons: either they are highly contagious or cause serious disease, they do not have enough vaccines or treatments to combat them, or they could be exacerbated by climate change or antibiotic-resistant superbugs.
