Mitigating future pandemics: the need for socio-behavioural data collection systems and proactive community engagement

Globalisation, urbanisation and eroding boundaries between humans and wildlife habitats have collectively contributed to an environment that is increasingly susceptible to the emergence and rapid transmission of respiratory pathogens. Consequently, the frequency of global pandemics has accelerated in recent decades. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent isolated cases of H5N1 influenza (bird influenza) detected in pigs, cows and humans underscore the dynamic, often unpredictable nature of pathogens, and serve as reminders that we must remain alert to the risk of future pandemics.1