These 4 lethal viruses could fuel the next pandemic, new research says. What they are—and how the world can prepare

Regardless of which pathogen ends up fueling the next global health crisis—Ebola, Marburg, SARS, Nipah, Machupo, or something else—they’re all worthy of attention, authors of a new report maintain. (Credit: Illustration by Getty Images)

Deaths from a handful of viruses that spill over from animals to humans are set to increase 12-fold by 2050 due to climate change and habitat encroachment, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal.

Three of the four—filoviruses like Ebola and Marburg, SARS, and Nipah virus—are on the World Health Organization’s list of priority pathogens, noted for their potential to cause the next pandemic.