What Will Be the Next Global Pandemic? Let's Find Out.

Published March 02, 2009 @ 08:42AM PT

What will be the next global pandemic? Avian influenza? Smallpox? Well, in honor of March madness, I'm holding a tournament. We're going to find the next global pandemic, right here. We'll match up the scariest infectious diseases, and pick a winner - the next global pandemic.

These are your competitors and their seeds:

Influenza

Tuberculosis

Cholera

Hepatitis

Typhoid fever

Malaria

Smallpox

Encephalitis

Ebola

Schistosomiasis

Plague

Meningitis

Dengue fever

Yellow fever

Chikungunia

Leptospirosis

Over the month of March, I'll feature a new pairing every other day, written up by me or a guest blogger. Winning infections will advance to the next round. On March 31 I'll run the final pairing, and we'll know exactly what illness to fear the most.

Want to participate? You can guest blog, or you can play along. If you're interested in being one of the guest bloggers, send me an email (Alanna@change.org) with a first and second choice of pairing (a lot of them are already gone) and a note explaining why you're qualified to write it. If you want to play along, fill out your own set of brackets. Post your winner in the comments, and send me your brackets. The most accurate brackets will win a fabulous (or at least adequate) prize of some kind.

The internet is being cruel and terrible today in Dushanbe, and won't let me post the brackets. Stay tuned for tomorrow...ETA: get your brackets here!

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Comments (4)

Oooo! Infectious diseases! I vote for Ebola as the scariest.

Posted by meshaq om on 03/02/2009 @ 09:44AM PT
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I'll put my money on good old XDR-TB....

Posted by Paxton Bach on 03/02/2009 @ 01:20PM PT
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It's got to come down to influenza, XDR-TB or smallpox, but I'm with Paxton--I vote for TB. Althought. . . . a re-emergence of smallpox is a scary thought.

Posted by Kristin Brown on 03/02/2009 @ 05:12PM PT
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The folks at the Erasmus MC of the Netherlands (site has limited English). They have made a game called The Great Flu. I cannot say anything about the scientific accuracy of the game, but at least it is a step in the right direction. More at Swine flu inspires new video game by By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer at Wtop.com.

Posted by Brian Dowling on 08/18/2009 @ 09:44PM PT
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Author

Alanna Shaikh has spent the last ten years immersed in global health; she has worked for NGOs, companies, universities, and the US government on projects that ranged from preventing antibacterial resistance to improving maternal and child health.