We’ve been warned that pandemics like COVID-19 will become more common, and each one possibly worse than before. But what might the next pandemic look like? We are joined by Prof Wang Linfa, Director of the Programme in Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore to discuss what we can learn from past pandemics, and how we can be better prepared for the next. With reports that coronaviruses related to SARS-CoV-2 may be found in bats across Asia, Prof Wang also shares why bats are often the reservoirs for zoonotic pathogens, but why they are not to blame for the COVID-19 pandemic and past outbreaks.

Image source: Shutterstock

Produced by: Lim Sue Ann

Presented by: Tee Shiao Eek

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Tags:  The Bigger Picture,  Health & Living,  COVID-19,  pandemics,  epidemics,  WHO,  bats,  coronavirus,  emerging infectious diseases,  outbreak,  influenza,  pandemic preparedness