War is the perfect petri dish for disease. In the conflicts of the 18th and 19th centuries, many more troops died of illnesses than in battle. And, at the start of the 20th century, the Spanish Flu pandemic emerged out of the chaos of the First World War.

With anti-microbial resistance on the rise and HIV cases soaring among Russian soldiers, might ‘Disease X’ – the mystery pathogen that could cause the next pandemic – be lurking in Ukraine, or Gaza, or Sudan? 

In the first episode of a brand new Global Health Security Series for Battle Lines, Venetia Rainey is joined by Arthur Scott-Geddes to ask: Could war spark the next pandemic?  

We hear from Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security about pandemic preparedness and how war zones breed disease. 

Plus, Laura Spinney, author of best selling book, Pale Rider, explains how the First World War paved the way for the Spanish Flu to kill up to 100 million people.  

Producer: Sophie O'Sullivan

Executive Producer: Louisa Wells

Studio Operator: Meghan Searle

Contact us with feedback or ideas: 

[email protected] 

@TelGlobalHealth

@venetiarainey 

@ascottgeddes

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