David Quammen, the COVID Predictor Warns of New Pandemic Threats
David Quammen, who foresaw COVID-19, warns of bird flu and new viruses like HKU5-CoV-2 as potential pandemic threats.
David Quammen, a science writer renowned for his accurate prediction of the COVID-19 pandemic in his 2012 book Spillover, is now sounding the alarm on potential new global health crises. His concerns center around the H5N1 bird flu and a newly identified coronavirus, HKU5-CoV-2, discovered in bats in China. Quammen emphasizes that the risk of another pandemic is not a matter of “if,” but “when.”
The science writer emphasizes that human activities, such as industrial farming and environmental degradation, create conditions conducive to viral spillovers. Unsanitary conditions in large-scale meat production facilities can serve as breeding grounds for new viruses. David Quammen advocates for stricter climate policies and a reduction in meat consumption to mitigate these risks.
