Predicting disease spread from animals improving with new model

"Scientists have developed a computer model that predicts outbreaks of zoonotic diseases - those that spread from animals to people - based on changes in climate, population growth, and land practices. They hope the tool will help governments and communities improve their decision-making."

The computer based model developed by researchers at the University College London (UCL) in the United Kingdom was tested to predict Lassa fever outbreak in West Africa. It is believed it could be fine-tuned to predict disease spread for a number of other factors and disease spreads within human populations.