NB Explains | All about Disease 'X' which could be the next COVID pandemic

At the time when whole world is recovering from the COVID Pandemic, now scientists across the world are issuing warnings about a new potential pandemic called 'Disease X'. They say this disease could be 20 times deadlier than the Wuhan Virus.

 

According to the World Health Organisation, Disease X could be a new agent, a virus, a bacterium or a fungus without any known treatment. A WHO report from November 2022 mentions that Disease X is included to indicate an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic.

 

Speaking to Daily Mail, Kate Bingham, who served as the chair of the UK's Vaccine Taskforce from May to December 2020, said that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already warned about the possibility of Disease X, and added the lethal virus has the potential to kill more than 50 million people across the globe. According to Bingham, the virus could have a similar impact to the devastating Spanish Flu of 1919-1920.

 

 

"Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease. The R&D Blueprint explicitly seeks to enable early cross-cutting R&D preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown Disease X," WHO's official website mentions. The nature of the disease remains unclear.

 

 

The UK health expert further mentioned that scientists have identified 25 virus families and there could be one million undiscovered variants, which can move from one species to another.

 

She also highlighted that the majority of Covid-19 patients recovered. "...Imagine Disease X is as infectious as measles with the fatality rate of Ebola. Somewhere in the world, it's replicating, and sooner or later, somebody will start feeling sick."

 

"The increase in outbreaks is the price we're having to pay for living in the modern world. First, it's increasingly connected through globalisation. Second, more and more people are cramming into cities, where they often come into close contact with others," Ms Bingham added.

According to a UK-based health expert, there are various reasons for the virus taking the shape of the pandemic. As per Bingham, various factors including globalisation, urban overpopulation, and deforestation account for the swift spread of any virus. Further, during the conversation, she said the world needs to quicken the manufacturing of vaccines in order to evade COVID-like situation.