World Health Organisation: The world is not ready for Disease X pandemic

The world is not ready for Disease X pandemic which could kill 20 times as many as Covid, says World Health Organisation

WalesOnline

Experts have issued a stark warning that the world is 'unprepared' for a new disease which could be far more catastrophic than Covid-19.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has previously stated that the world is not ready for 'Disease X'. This term was coined by the UN agency in 2018 to describe an unknown infection that could trigger another future pandemic.

It's considered more of a theoretical threat than a real illness, but leading medics have insisted we must remain vigilant. Throughout this year, world leaders have been discussing how to prepare for the next pandemic. Experts predict that it could result in 20 times more deaths than the coronavirus pandemic.

The hypothetical illness even made it onto the WHO's shortlist of priority diseases, alongside viruses like SARS, Ebola and Zika, reports the Mirror.

In early 2021, it was suggested that an outbreak of Disease X could wipe out 75 million people and cause pandemics every five years. It was also claimed that the disease could be worse than the Black Death and may be triggered by increasing human activity in animal habitats.

The concept of Disease X was discussed at this year's World Economic Forum, where some of the world's most powerful individuals, top CEOs, and influential academics gather annually in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss global issues. Global health was a key topic at the event this year, with representatives from AstraZeneca and the WHO participating in a panel titled 'Preparing for Disease X'.

Professor Dame Gilbert has highlighted the efforts of the Pandemic Sciences Institute in understanding "more about how viruses emerge, developing vaccines and treatments, analysing data and surveillance of infectious diseases and researching the policy and ethical factors around pandemic response."

In a conversation with the WEF on its Radio Davos podcast last year, journalist Kate Kelland emphasised that extensive research into well-known virus families could enable humanity to swiftly develop a vaccine for the next outbreak.

She explained: "Because scientists were working for decades or more on Sars vaccines and also on Mers vaccine, they found out some very key pieces of information about coronaviruses. If we do that kind of homework on every one of the 25 or so viral families that we already know have the potential to cause disease in humans ... then we can actually gain a lot of knowledge ahead of time about something that doesn't exist yet."