Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine may create conditions for the next global pandemic, according to infectious disease expert Dr. Amesh Adalja. He warned that battlefields serve as a 'petri dish' for illnesses, with the potential for new pathogens to emerge unnoticed.
Speaking on The Telegraph's Global Health podcast, Dr. Adalja cautioned that 'the first jumps of a new virus into humans could be happening right now'. He highlighted how disruptions to healthcare infrastructure, such as the bombing of a tuberculosis clinic, can lead to worsening outbreaks. 'Humanitarian crisis and infectious disease always go together,' he said.
Dr. Adalja pointed to examples including lapses in HIV and tuberculosis control in Ukraine, as well as reports of Russian soldiers contracting hantavirus, a rodent-borne illness that can cause bleeding and kidney failure. He also referenced the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 100 million people during World War One, as a potential worst-case scenario.
The expert warned that nations are 'worse prepared than we were before Covid' to handle a major pandemic, noting that even the Covid-19 response overwhelmed healthcare systems globally. Scientists have labelled the hypothetical next pandemic pathogen as 'Disease X', and British researchers have identified four emerging viruses that could pose a threat.
