We must be better prepared to prevent the next pandemic

Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks expose a gap not in our ability to respond, but in our willingness to anticipate, prevent, and use precaution, experts say

Passengers carry their belongings in plastic bags after being evacuated from the MV Hondius after docking in the Granadilla Port on May 10, in Tenerife, following the hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship. Picture: Chris McGrath/ Getty

Two rare disease outbreaks within two weeks — Andes hantavirus and ebola — have caused deaths and triggered costly international responses. Together, they expose a gap not in our ability to respond, but in our willingness to anticipate, prevent, and use precaution.

The hantavirus outbreak on a cruise expedition in the South Atlantic played out slowly. Three weeks passed between the death of one passenger on April 11 and the linkage to hantavirus on May 2.