The fascinating way diseases spread

Every major emerging infectious disease made the same journey: from wildlife, through domestic animals, into us.

Understanding this sequence is one of the most urgent unsolved problems in science, with consequences that go well beyond human health. Animals, ecosystems, and agriculture all pay the price.

Michael Ward has spent nearly 40 years studying this question. Using cases from rabies to bird flu, he gets into the mechanics of disease spillover: the contact rates, the pathways, and the moments where an outbreak could have been stopped. Because the best strategy for the next pandemic starts long before anyone gets sick.