Giving Compass' Take:

• To control epidemics, it’s essential to understand the contexts where they take place. Wellcome reports on how research can help uncover ethical and practical challenges critical to fighting outbreaks.

• How might this be helpful for funders looking to build more disease resilience around the world? What are the obstacles to obtaining strong data in this area?

• Here are some of the ethics involved when it comes to studying infectious diseases in poor countries.

In the past five years, the world has faced severe epidemic outbreaks that have caused immense damage.

Some captured the media headlines — such as the West African Ebola outbreak which killed more than 11,000 people, the Zika outbreak in Brazil which affected more than 107,000 people, mothers and babies, and the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Others are less talked about — such as MERS-CoV in Saudi Arabia, cholera in Zimbabwe and measles in Japan.

We’re used to thinking about the biological research needed to understand and control epidemics. It’s during outbreaks that we learn most about what causes a disease, and test new vaccines, drugs and diagnostic tools.

But an epidemic is a social phenomenon as much as is a biological one, so understanding people’s behaviors and fears, their cultural norms and values, and their political and economic realities is essential too.

Read the full article about why social science research is so important in controlling epidemics by João Rangel de Almeida at Wellcome.