Why We Should Care About Viruses Jumping From Animals To People

Short Wave

NPR

Science, Life Sciences, News, Nature, Daily News, Astronomy

4.7 • 6.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

The phenomenon of zoonotic spillover — of viruses jumping from animals to people — is incredibly common. The question is: which one will start the next pandemic? NPR science desk correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff brings us her reporting on Influenza D, an emerging virus spreading among cows and other livestock in the United States.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave.
0:03.6	From NPR.
0:05.4	Hey, Shortwaveers, Emily Quang here with Science Desk Correspondent,
0:09.3	Mike Linduclef, Hi, Mike Lind.
0:11.4	Hi, Emily.
0:12.4	Welcome.
0:13.2	Thank you.
0:14.4	So typically you focus on global health,
0:17.0	but your latest reporting brought you closer to our shores to the US.
0:21.2	Tell me what you found.
0:23.0	This story, which is really fascinating to me,
0:26.2	begins more than 10 years ago with a farmer in Oklahoma
0:29.5	who had a bunch of sick pigs.
0:31.2	OK.
0:32.2	Benjamin Haas, who's a virologist, said these pigs had what looked just like the flu.
0:38.2	Like a person with a fresh disease, you know,
0:40.2	a pig that's labor-breathing, maybe a runny nose, cough, potentially a fever.
0:47.9	Poor pig.
0:48.8	I know.
0:49.8	Ben was watching these pigs because at the time he was working at Newport Laboratories,
0:54.8	it's a company that develops vaccine for livestock animals, like these pigs.
0:59.4	They would isolate viruses from sick animals,
	...

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