Predicting zoonotic transmission and hosts for novel viruses

Our tool helps quantify zoonotic risk and focus priorities for viral and wildlife surveillance.

In the past decade, scientists have described hundreds of novel viruses with the potential to pass between wildlife and humans. But how can they know which are riskiest for spillover and therefore which to prioritize for further surveillance in people?

EpiCenter scientists created network-based models to prioritize novel and known viruses for their risk of zoonotic transmission, which is when infectious diseases pass between animals and humans. Our study, led by Dr. Pranav Pandit and published in the journal Communications Biology, provides further evidence that coronaviruses are riskiest for spillover and should continue to be prioritized for enhanced surveillance and research.