US AID terminated its funding for a $125 million program to hunt for, discover and catalog thousands of rare, exotic or isolated viruses around the world, the Washington Post reports, because someone finally figured out it was a really stupid idea.
Known as DEEP VZN — short for Discovery and Exploration of Emerging Pathogen-Viral Zoonoses–the program’s goal was to identify 12,000 novel viruses for further study through the program’s term through 2026. The goal was to learn as much as possible about these viruses to prepare for a future outbreak.
Virologists, ethicists, public health professionals, and I’m sure, zombie apocalypse fans warned that stirring up and storing these viruses might start a species-threatening pandemic. While it’s canceling DEEP VZN, a spokesman for US AID said the agency will continue to fund programs to study diseases in more than 50 countries to help identify response issues if outbreaks occur.