90-Second Read: The Pandemic Time Bomb: Why Ebola, H5N1, Nipah, And Hantavirus Are Warning Us Now — Assoc Prof Dr Vinod Balasubramaniam

Nipah virus continues to cause high-fatality outbreaks in Bangladesh and India, with WHO estimating case fatality rates of 40 to 75 per cent and confirming that human infection can occur through contaminated food, animal exposure or close contact with infected people. The most important lesson from Ebola, Nipah, Hantavirus, and H5N1 is not that the next pandemic is inevitable. Nipah, Hantavirus and H5N1 are flashing on the same dashboard. The World Health Organization's (WHO) declaration of the Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern is not a prediction of another Covid-19 outbreak.

The scientific concern is that this outbreak is caused by Bundibugyo virus, a distinct orthoebolavirus. Andes Hantavirus recently entered international travel networks through the MV Hondius cruise-ship cluster, reminding us that even infections traditionally seen as geographically restricted can become operationally global when mobility is involved. Science has reported proposed US budget reductions affecting biomedical research and global health programmes, including a 62 per cent reduction to global health programmes in the US State Department request5. The viral surface glycoprotein, the major target of neutralising antibodies, differs sufficiently across ebolaviruses that cross-protection cannot be assumed.

Ebola is not an airborne respiratory virus like influenza or SARS-CoV-2. It spreads mainly through direct contact with blood, body fluids, contaminated materials, unsafe healthcare exposure or burial practices. Much of the world's Ebola countermeasure portfolio was built around Zaire ebolavirus, particularly after the 2014-2016 West African epidemic. The best-established licensed vaccine and monoclonal antibody platforms target Zaire ebolavirus.

The world is facing more warning shots just as key institutions are being weakened. The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has reported that WHO planned to cut its 2026-2027 budget by more than a fifth following US withdrawal and reduced funding from other nations6. In a century defined by ecological disruption and political uncertainty, pandemic preparedness cannot depend on short funding cycles or the priorities of a single country.