Bill Gates warns of smallpox terror attacks as he seeks research funds
Bill Gates warned that bioterrorism could be a bigger threat than naturally occurring epidemics
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Bill Gates has warned governments to prepare for smallpox terror attacks and future pandemics by investing billions into research and development.
Mr Gates made the comments in a Policy Exchange interview with the chair of the health select committee Jeremy Hunt.
He said that countries like the US and the UK must spend “tens of billions” to fund the research adding that while it may be expensive, it could lead to the eradication of the flu and common cold.
“I'm hoping in five years, I can write a book called, ‘We are ready for the next pandemic’, but it'll take tens of billions in R&D - the US and the UK will be part of that”, he said.
“It'll take probably about a billion a year for a pandemic Task Force at the WHO level, which is doing the surveillance and actually doing what I call ‘germ games’ where you practise.”
The Microsoft founder suggested that the ‘germ games’ could prepare nations for bio-terrorism such as smallpox attacks on airports. Mr Gates warned that bioterrorism caused epidemics could be worse than naturally occurring ones.
Mr Gates shone a light on the beneficial medical innovations that could come out of increasing investment into research and development.
“The nice thing is a lot of the R&D we need to do to be ready for the next pandemic are things like making vaccines cheap, having big factories, eradicating the flu, getting rid of the common cold, making vaccines just a little patch you put on your arm, things that will be incredibly beneficial even in the years when we don't have pandemics,” he said.
He added that he will continue to talk about pandemic preparedness, as part of his work as a philanthropist.
He said: “So along with the climate message and the ongoing fight against diseases of the poor, pandemic preparedness is something I'll be talking about a lot.
“And I think it'll find fertile ground because, you know, we lost trillions of dollars and millions of lives. And citizens expect their governments not to let that happen again.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments