What Will Be the Next Global Pandemic? Let's Find Out.

by Alanna Shaikh · 2009-03-02 08:42:00 UTC
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(photo credit: ford)

What will be the next global pandemic? Avian influenza?  Smallpox? Well, in honor of March madness, I'm holding a tournament. We're going to find the next global pandemic, right here. We'll match up the scariest infectious diseases, and pick a winner - the next global pandemic.

These are your competitors and their seeds:

  1. Influenza

  2. Tuberculosis

  3. Cholera

  4. Hepatitis

  5. Typhoid fever

  6. Malaria

  7. Smallpox

  8. Encephalitis

  9. Ebola

  10. Schistosomiasis

  11. Plague

  12. Meningitis

  13. Dengue fever

  14. Yellow fever

  15. Chikungunia

  16. Leptospirosis

Over the month of March, I'll feature a new pairing every other day, written up by me or a guest blogger. Winning infections will advance to the next round. On March 31 I'll run the final pairing, and we'll know exactly what illness to fear the most.

Want to participate? You can guest blog, or you can play along. If you're interested in being one of the guest bloggers, send me an email (Alanna@change.org) with a first and second choice of pairing (a lot of them are already gone) and a note explaining why you're qualified to write it. If you want to play along, fill out your own set of brackets. Post your winner in the comments, and send me your brackets. The most accurate brackets will win a fabulous (or at least adequate) prize of some kind.

The internet is being cruel and terrible today in Dushanbe, and won't let me post the brackets. Stay tuned for tomorrow...ETA: get your brackets here!

Alanna Shaikh
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