Episode
The Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
29:15
Published: Sun Mar 12 2023
Description
Three years ago, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The virus had spread across the globe, and the WHO announcement triggered unprecedented measures – governments ordered people to quarantine, borders were closed and mandatory masking became commonplace. Today, science reporter Ari Daniel tells us about a new series from NPR: "Hidden Viruses: How Pandemics Really Begin." From bats in Bangladesh to dogs in Malaysia, NPR's Global Health and Development team traveled far and wide to learn how scientists are studying spillovers – when a disease crosses from animals to humans – and what makes some viruses more deadly than others.
Chapters
The World Health Organization is concerned about the current outbreak, while experts learn more about what makes viruses deadly.
00:00 - 04:48 (04:48)
Summary
The World Health Organization is concerned about the current outbreak, while experts learn more about what makes viruses deadly. A podcast episode discusses the emergence of deadly viruses, and recounts a firsthand experience with an outbreak.
EpisodeThe Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
PodcastUp First
A team of investigators walk through a village in India to try and identify possible ways that people could come into contact with bats or their secretions, and how the virus is transmitted from bats to people.
04:48 - 11:23 (06:35)
Summary
A team of investigators walk through a village in India to try and identify possible ways that people could come into contact with bats or their secretions, and how the virus is transmitted from bats to people.
EpisodeThe Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
PodcastUp First
Researchers studying the spread of Nipah virus discovered that greater Indian fruit bats carry the virus in their systems by spying on and catching them drinking and sometimes urinating into the same stream of sap that people were collecting.
11:23 - 15:54 (04:30)
Summary
Researchers studying the spread of Nipah virus discovered that greater Indian fruit bats carry the virus in their systems by spying on and catching them drinking and sometimes urinating into the same stream of sap that people were collecting. Ashraful Islam has spent years studying the bats, and tracking them down to better understand the disease.
EpisodeThe Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
PodcastUp First
Scientists have started to understand that new animal viruses are jumping into humans on a daily basis.
15:54 - 20:37 (04:42)
Summary
Scientists have started to understand that new animal viruses are jumping into humans on a daily basis. Animals have millions of viruses, but only a small fraction of them will infect people.
EpisodeThe Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
PodcastUp First
Michaelene's reporting shows a more efficient way of finding worrisome viruses by looking inside people and animals who interact with them, like those with pneumonias and those who often work with animals.
20:37 - 27:47 (07:10)
Summary
Michaelene's reporting shows a more efficient way of finding worrisome viruses by looking inside people and animals who interact with them, like those with pneumonias and those who often work with animals. Scientists may find new coronaviruses or flu viruses that are making people sick all over the world and had no clue about.
EpisodeThe Sunday Story: Hidden Viruses
PodcastUp First
NPR's global health and development teams report on the series "Hidden Viruses" to mark the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.
27:47 - 29:13 (01:25)
Summary
NPR's global health and development teams report on the series "Hidden Viruses" to mark the three-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.