'Disease X': WHO Warns Countries To Be Prepared For Pandemic Deadlier Than Covid 19 (representational image @ Pixabay)
Director General of World Health Organisation (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus asks nations to endorse WHO’s pandemic treaty to be prepared for the potential threat of “Disease X”. While talking at the World Economic Forum, Gebreyesus made comment on his aspiration for countries to finalize a pandemic pact by May to combat the “common enemy”.
“Disease X” refers a theoretical yet unidentified virus that could be potentially 20 times more deadly than Covid 19, as warned by scientists. According to the WHO Director General, Covid 19 can be counted as the initial instance of Disease X, and emphasised the importance of readiness for a future pandemic.
“There are things that are unknown that may happen, and anything happening is a matter of when, not if, so we need to have a placeholder for that, for the diseases we don’t know”, said Ghebreyesus. He attributed the losses during Covid 19 to the inadequate management. According to WHO, unpreparedness for a disease of such magnitude could lead to huge catastrophe greater than the Covid 19, which claimed lives of 7 million.
What is Disease X?
‘Disease X’ is actually a placeholder name adopted by WHO in 2018 for their shortlist of blueprint priority diseases to represent a hypothetical and unknown pathogen that could cause future epidemic. According to the Director of US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, the concept of Disease X would aid WHO in focusing their research on entire classes of viruses instead of just individual strains, and thus improving the capability to respond to unforeseen strains.
In 2022, WHO assembled 300 scientists to scrutinize 25 virus families and bacteria. The move aimed to identify pathogens with the potential to cause significant disruption and necessitate further study. Among those were Disease X a term given to pathogens unknown yet capable of triggering severe epidemic internationally.
It is expected to manifest itself in the form of a respiratory virus, said Dr Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He said it might be possible that the virus is already present among animals but yet to make its leap at human population.
Disease X is said to be a Zoonotic disease that spreads from animal to humans like Covid 19, SARS, Ebola, and MERS, and can be transmitted from direct contact, consumption of animal products, or environmental exposure.
As a preparatory method, WHO and other stakeholders proposed several strategies like strengthening the surveillance and response system by improving the detection, reporting and investigation of the disease outbreaks. Accelerating researches and developments of safe and effective vaccines and treatments for the potential pathogens, and enhancing public health by implementing measures to control and prevent the spread of diseases like hygiene, isolation, quarantine etc.
