The Coronavirus Outbreak Is the Shape of Things to Come
from The Internationalist and International Institutions and Global Governance Program
from The Internationalist and International Institutions and Global Governance Program

The Coronavirus Outbreak Is the Shape of Things to Come

Tourists wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival, which has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy on February 23, 2020.
Tourists wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival, which has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy on February 23, 2020. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri

Far from an anomaly, the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak is the shape of things to come as development and globalization are driving a new era of infectious disease.

Post by Stewart M. Patrick

February 24, 2020 9:53 am (EST)

Tourists wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival, which has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy on February 23, 2020.
Tourists wear protective face masks at Venice Carnival, which has been cancelled because of an outbreak of coronavirus, in Venice, Italy on February 23, 2020. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri
Post
Blog posts represent the views of CFR fellows and staff and not those of CFR, which takes no institutional positions.

In my weekly column for World Politics Review, I examine how development and globalization are driving a new era of infectious disease.

The Wuhan coronavirus, now officially named COVID-19, reveals how vulnerable humanity remains to virulent pathogens. A century after the devastating Spanish flu pandemic, public health officials are scrambling to prevent this latest plague—which as of Feb. 24 had infected more than 79,000 people in at least 29 countries, most of them in China—from becoming another pandemic. As they do, it’s worth taking a step back to consider the stubborn staying power of infectious disease. Far from an anomaly, this outbreak is the shape of things to come.

More on:

COVID-19

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

Infectious Diseases

Global Governance

China

Read the full World Politics Review article here.

More on:

COVID-19

Public Health Threats and Pandemics

Infectious Diseases

Global Governance

China

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