Don’t panic! Disease X doesn’t exist yet, but it might one day. Disease X is the label used by the World Health Organization to refer to a currently unknown infectious disease that is capable of causing an epidemic or – if it spreads across many countries – a pandemic. The term, coined in 2017, can be used to denote a newly discovered pathogen or any known pathogen with newly acquired pandemic potential. According to this last definition, covid-19 was disease X. But there could be another one in the future.
Why are people talking about it now?
The World Health Organization has warned world leaders of the dangers of future pandemics at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. “Some say this could cause panic,” says the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “No. It is better to anticipate something that might happen – because it has happened many times in our history – and prepare for it”.
What could be the next Disease X?
We don’t know, that’s why it’s called Disease X. Coronaviruses, a large group of viruses, have long been seen as a major contender to create a new pandemic, even before the outbreak of covid-19. That’s because the new coronavirus was not the first dangerous pathogen in this group. In 2002, another coronavirus began to spread in China. It caused a type of pneumonia called SARS which killed about 1 in 10 it infected, before strict infection control measures stopped it. Another, even more deadly, coronavirus MERS it occasionally erupts, causing pneumonia that kills 1 in 3 of those infected. However, recent work suggests that SARS and MERS would have a harder time starting a new pandemic because almost everyone in the world has antibodies against the virus that causes covid-19 and these appear to provide partial protection. most other pathogens of the coronavirus family.
Are there other competitors with pandemic potential?
Many diseases, some well-known and some not so well-known, can pose a global threat. Influenza strains have caused global pandemics several times in the past, including one of the deadliest disease outbreaks ever, The “Spanish Flu” of 1918.. A virulent strain of avian influenza is currently sweeping the world, occasionally spreading from birds to mammals, causing mass deaths. Earlier this week, he was found guilty of the deaths 17,000 baby elephant seals Argentina last October. Then there are other competitors, for example Ebolawhich causes severe bleeding, and is caused by mosquitoes Zikawhich can cause birth with smaller heads if the infection occurs during pregnancy. WHO has updated its list of pathogens with the greatest pandemic potential in 2022
What can we do to stop disease X?
There is some good news: the covid-19 pandemic made it easier to stop future disease X. Covid-19 spurred the development of new vaccine designs, including ones that can be rapidly upgraded to target new pathogens. For example, it led to the emergence of mRNA-based vaccines. This formula contains a short piece of genetic material that makes the body’s immune cells produce the coronavirus “spike” protein, but it could be updated to make the cells produce a different protein simply by rewriting the mRNA sequence.
Is there anything else we can do to fight disease X?
Countries need better early warning systems for new diseases, and health services need to be more resilient to unexpected surges in demand, says Tedros. “When the hospitals were stretched beyond their capacity (with covid), we lost a lot of people because we couldn’t handle them. There wasn’t enough space, there wasn’t enough oxygen.” X To prevent the same thing from happening when the disease strikes, Tedros says health services have been able to expand their capacity They can make those preparations without knowing exactly what Disease X is going to be, he says. “Whatever the disease is, you can prepare for it.”
