‘From novel virus to global pandemic: Understanding the origins and evolution of emerging and re-emerging viruses’

The World Health Organisation (WHO) identified disease X as the next pandemic threat, a year before the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, which sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. The true impact of the pandemic over the past two years far exceeded our expectations, with >18 million excess deaths worldwide, as well as extensive pressure on healthcare systems and the global economy. Although the world is finally opening up again, the pandemic is not yet over, and further variants and waves can likely be expected. This will also not be the last pandemic that we experience in our lifetime. In this Expert Lecture we will delve into how novel viruses with pandemic potential emerge, the evolution of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, and look at the potential causes of emergence of new variants. We argue that a One Health approach of genomic surveillance in humans and animals is needed, to detect novel viruses and variants, and to allow us to be more prepared for future events.