Pandemic Origins: Technologies and Challenges for Biological Investigations

Pandemics have high health and economic costs. Understanding their origins can help policymakers craft responses to prevent future pandemics. Several technologies can help researchers discover a pandemic's origin, such as using genetic analysis and disease tracking. These investigations can be slow, but the technologies aren't the problem. For example, delays can result when investigators can't access biological samples, or if there aren't enough trained investigators. We identified five policy options to address these issues, such as establishing agreements for biological sample sharing and expanding the pandemic origin investigator workforce.