Gates funds surveillance site to prevent next big epidemic

The US philanthropist Bill Gates has announced a $75m (£50m; €67m) grant to fund six disease surveillance sites in poor countries, aimed at catching the next large scale epidemic early.

Gates, a big funder of global health projects through his eponymous foundation, told BBC Radio 4’s Today news program that the grant would fund laboratories in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.

He said, “[They] will do very in-depth analysis of what’s killing children and mothers. The beauty of this endeavor is that it really …