Pandemics

Animals carry millions of pathogens. So it's a daunting task to find the one with the greatest potential to spark a pandemic. Now scientists are rethinking the way they hunt for that next new virus.

In this interview with author Rebecca Totora, we explore ways our response to the pandemic might have similarities to other plagues, and how writers like William Shakespeare responded.

The CDC says COVID-19 was the largest factor, along with drug overdoses, homicides, diabetes and chronic liver disease. The decline was even greater for Hispanic men.

Pathogens can blossom from an outbreak into a pandemic because they "exploit our interconnectedness and expose our inequities and divisions," the World Health Organization's leader says.

People have been telling stories about pandemics for thousands of years — once, they were tales of divine retribution, but today they're often rooted in current events like the coronavirus outbreak.