PREDICT, a project of USAID’s Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program, was initiated in 2009 to strengthen global capacity for detection and discovery of zoonotic viruses with pandemic potential. Those include coronaviruses, the family to which SARS and MERS belong; paramyxoviruses, like Nipah virus; influenza viruses; and filoviruses, like the ebolavirus.

PREDICT has made significant contributions to strengthening global surveillance and laboratory diagnostic capabilities for new and known viruses..

Now working with partners in 31 countries, PREDICT is continuing to build platforms for disease surveillance and for identifying and monitoring pathogens that can be shared between animals and people. Using the One Health approach, the project is investigating the behaviors, practices, and ecological and biological factors driving disease emergence, transmission, and spread. Through these efforts, PREDICT will improve global disease recognition and begin to develop strategies and policy recommendations to minimize pandemic risk.