Bill Gates wants to prepare us for the future of bioterrorism

What does he know that we don’t?

Well, a lot, obviously. Bill Gates runs his own charity which funds vaccine development and virus surveillance, aimed at quickly spotting and eradicating outbreaks around the world.

At a recent meeting with the chair of the UK’s Health Select Committee, Jeremy Hunt, he warned that future terrorists or ‘garbage scientists’ (to use Nuffield Health’s terminology) could begin using deadly viruses like smallpox as a bioweapon.

More ominously, he stressed that advances in biology have made it extremely easy to engineer fast-moving airborne pathogens. And by ‘easy’, he means it. Genetic editing kits are already available for purchase online for 100 quid – but please don’t go getting any ideas.

If released into just ten airports, these types of deadly viruses could wipe out 30 million people in an event ‘way worse than what we’ve experienced today,’ Gates said.

He also went as far as branding bioterrorism as more dangerous to humanity than nuclear warfare. You wouldn’t know it from the news, but based on statistics, he’s right – we’re living in one of the most peaceful times in history.

That said, we’re also living in one of the busiest times. People travel a lot more, boosting virus-spreading capacity immensely. ‘You need just one person on the bus or plane or the airport and you get huge things.’ Tell us about it, Bill.

What’s his plan?

Gates admits that research and development costs to adequately prepare us for acts of bioterrorism and the next pandemic will be expensive. We’re talking tens of billions, ‘probably about a billion a year’ he says, from both US and UK governments.

These vast sums of money would fuel research that facilitates ‘making vaccines cheap, having big factories, eradicating the flu, getting rid of the common cold, and making vaccines just a little patch you put on your arm’ in the near future.

On top of this, he advises the World Health Organisation should form a new billion-dollar Pandemic Task Force. By carrying out ‘germ games’ – yes, he actually said that – teams would practice surveillance of biological hazards and carry out what to do if one released in crowded public spaces.

Whether the next virus emerges naturally, or due to bioterrorism, or at fault of a botched experiment by an amateur (or evil) scientist, these role-playing scenarios would arm professionals with stronger knowledge and prevention tactics.

After nearly a decade of telling literally everyone, ‘we are not ready for the next pandemic,’ Bill Gates has said that he hopes securing new funding for future research will enable him to write a book called ‘We ARE Ready For The Next Pandemic.’

Girl, I really, really hope so.