According to Dr. Nathan Wolfe director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative (GVFI) "Pandemics are avoidable" but instead of avoiding the dangers of diseases like bird flu, ebola, HIV and Malaria Dr. Wolfe, along with his team of doctors, lab technicians and field forecasters, travel the world's viral hot spots actively seeking out the next global disease threat.

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According to Dr. Nathan Wolfe director of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative (GVFI) "Pandemics are avoidable" but instead of avoiding the dangers of diseases like bird flu, ebola, HIV and Malaria Dr. Wolfe, along with his team of doctors, lab technicians and field forecasters, travel the world's viral hot spots actively seeking out the next global disease threat.

Scientists have determined that HIV originated nearly 100 years ago in this remote area of Cameroon near the border of The Republic of Congo when the virus is theorized to have jumped from a local species of chimpanzee to humans as a result of contact with the animals blood during hunting and cooking. Hunting is a way of life in the jungle and the consumption of wild game or "bush meat" is the only way many impoverished families can afford, or have access to, protein.

In an effort to minimize the hunter's risks and as part of an effort to prevent the spread of another virulent disease pandemic like AIDS or SARS Dr. Wolfe and researchers from the GVFI Initiative have set up labs and jungle outposts to collect blood and other specimens from the hunters, their families and their bush meat catch. Looking for unknown zoonotic threats the GVFI teams have collected over 44,000 human and animal samples and as a result have documented viral jumps from animals to humans identifying new viruses and retroviruses in the same groups as HIV and smallpox. The teams also instruct hunters and their families how to handle and prepare wild game in order to avoid risk and provide them with basic health care services.

The race is on. The threat of zoonotic pandemics is greater than ever in a globalized and interconnected world, what starts in one country can quickly travel across borders and has the potential to affect millions. Dr. Wolfe hopes his viral forecasts will help us to avoid the next unseen plague.
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