Topic in Focus
Pandemics: Emergence, Spread, Containment
There have always been pandemics: The plague and the Spanish flu with millions of deaths, later AIDS, and now COVID-19. These infectious diseases originate mainly from pathogens that are transmitted from animals to humans. Our globalized and industrialized living conditions also play a part. If a pandemic spreads worldwide, we have to react quickly. Health institutions, science, and society are called upon to do so.