World leaders convened at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday to deliberate on Disease X, a theoretical virus believed to be 20 times more lethal than COVID-19.
Although no such virus is presently identified to exist, researchers, scientists, and experts are aiming to formulate a proactive strategy to address such a virus and ready the healthcare system in the event it emerges as a pandemic.
One expert conveyed that the possibility of this occurrence might be sooner than anticipated.
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Dr. Amesh Adalja from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security expressed that certain strains of viruses, characterized by notably high mortality rates, have the potential to acquire efficient human-to-human transmission capabilities.
Insights into Disease X: What You Need to Know
In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) convened a gathering of 300 scientists to examine 25 virus families and bacteria with the objective of compiling a list of pathogens deemed potentially catastrophic and warranting further study.
Among these, Disease X, initially identified by the organization in 2018, is included.
According to the WHO, Disease X symbolizes the understanding that a severe international epidemic could be triggered by an unknown pathogen.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of the WHO stated in Davos on Wednesday that COVID-19 may have served as our initial encounter with “Disease X,” emphasizing the ongoing learning process for scientists and experts.
Adalja, an expert, suggests that a lethal pathogen like Disease X, likely manifesting as a respiratory virus, could already be present in animal species, with the current limitation being its inability to transmit to humans.
Expert Strategies for Tackling Disease X
In the absence of adequate preparedness, a disease of comparable magnitude could potentially inflict even greater harm than the impact witnessed with COVID-19, which, as per the World Health Organization (WHO), has resulted in the deaths of over 7 million individuals.
Dr. Adalja highlighted the precarious situation by suggesting that if our response to COVID-19 was suboptimal, the challenges posed by an event comparable to the 1918 influenza pandemic, responsible for an estimated 50 million global fatalities, could be even more formidable.
In response to this concern, experts globally have been diligently crafting a comprehensive and effective strategy to confront a worst-case scenario.
Dr. Ghebreyesus emphasized the importance of an early-warning system and a well-devised health infrastructure plan to mitigate the burden on healthcare facilities, which were overwhelmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a significant number of fatalities.