The Ebola and hantavirus outbreaks warn us we must be better prepared if we are to prevent the next pandemic

‘Ebola is usually picked up early – even one or two deaths have been notified to the WHO,’ Helen Clark writes. ‘This outbreak had been spreading for weeks before confirmation.’ Photograph: Jospin Mwisha/AFP/Getty Images

Two rare disease outbreaks within two weeks – Andes hantavirus and Bundibugyo 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 11 April and the linkage to hantavirus on 2 May. In that time, passengers onboard the MV Hondius continued their itinerary, having been advised that the man had probably died of natural causes. They toured remote islands and ate together at the same tables. More than 30 passengers disembarked at St Helena and flew in different directions.