To assess the global capacity gap in zoonotic disease surveillance — the gap between unknown viruses with pandemic potential in wildlife and surveillance capacity to detect spillover before human transmission.

Analysis of 57 zoonotic spillover events; viral diversity estimation from Global Virome data; surveillance capacity assessment from PREDICT documentation; economic burden analysis of historical pandemics vs. prevention cost.

1.7M unknown viruses exist in wildlife; 631K-827K have spillover potential; only 10-15% of spillovers detected before human-to-human transmission. PREDICT project cost $200M and covered 6 countries; global coverage needs $1.5-2B/year. Current global spending: $300-400M/year. COVID-19 will cost $8-20 trillion; prevention would cost $30B/year (250-700x ROI). Climate change accelerating spillover frequency 40% by 2050.