UK medical
professionals are currently preparing for a potential new pandemic termed
"Disease X" as COVID-19 becomes a more frequent and persistent health
condition. They issue a warning that the symptoms of this new virus may be
similar to those of the horrific Spanish Flu of 1918–1920. This "Disease X
Pandemic" has been given that designation by the World Health
Organization, and in order to combat it, prompt vaccine development and supply
will once more be required. There is currently no guarantee that this will
happen, though.
The World Health
Organization coined the term "Disease X Pandemic," and it is causing
medical professionals to express concern. They warn us that the next pandemic
could result in 20 times as many fatalities as the coronavirus.
The COVID-19 epidemic
began in 2020, and since then, more than 2.5 million people have unfortunately
passed away worldwide. The top 10 facts to know about Disease X are listed
below.
What
Should We Do?
Ø Create
effective global monitoring systems to spot new risks before they become a
problem.
Ø Promote
one health through understanding how human, animal, and environmental health is
interconnected in order to spot and reduce threats.
Ø Implement
antimicrobial stewardship to fight drug-resistant bacteria when using
antibiotics responsibly.
Ø Building
capacity in healthcare systems will help them better respond to pandemics and
to patients' regular medical requirements.
Ø Foster
international cooperation in the sharing of information, the distribution of resources,
and research initiatives.
Ø Develop
thorough pandemic preparedness plans, including the fast response teams and
crucial supply stockpiles.
Why
it’s a Disease X is coming Next Pandemic?
We are unsure. Among the nearly two dozen virus families that can infect humans, six—the Adenoviridae, Coronaviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Paramyxoviridae, Picornaviridae, and Poxviridae—possess these traits and are thus most likely to be the cause of the next pandemic.
Ø The
world's population lacks any natural immunity.
Ø Transmission
through the respiratory system
Ø spreadable
by unwell people who don't have symptoms
Ø There
are no modern, effective treatments or vaccines.
How can medical
countermeasures be created if we don't know which disease ("DISEASE
X") will manifest itself next?
Instead than focusing
on a specific virus that may or may not represent a threat in the future;
researchers should concentrate their efforts on creating medical
countermeasures against the viral families most likely to cause pandemics.
The US should sponsor a
brand-new, focused Disease X initiative. Utilizing vaccine platforms and
technologies that are most suited for the virus families most likely to cause
disastrous disease outbreaks in the future with medical countermeasure program.
Medical countermeasures
against one viral family member may easily be changed to target another when
the next member of the family emerges.
Using this flexible
approach, private-public cooperation might develop vaccines, antivirals, and
diagnostics for a number of unknown potential pandemic viruses in months as
opposed to years.
The
Growing Risk Of X
The WHO has predicted a
"inevitable" "Disease X" pandemic, which is consistent with
the experts' warning. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2018, the WHO came up
with the name. Ebola, SARS, and Zika are included on the WHO's "Blueprint
list of priority diseases" for the upcoming deadly pandemic.
According to the WHO,
"Disease X represents the knowledge that a serious international epidemic
could be caused by a pathogen currently unknown to cause human disease."
There are infectious diseases without medical cures on the Blueprint list. Some
public health specialists worry that the next Disease X, like Ebola, HIV/AIDS,
and Covid-19, will be zoonotic.
Pandemic
Preparedness Is Required
Covid-19, which claimed
20 million lives worldwide, was not the worst-case scenario. They point out that
fewer individuals died from the virus than from Ebola, the avian flu, or MERS.
They contend that chance cannot stop the coming pandemic, which could be more
deadly and contagious. Most virus sufferers recovered. But 67% of Ebola
patients pass away. Bird flu is not far behind at 60%. MERS itself attained
34%.
According to the
author, the next outbreak cannot be contained. To prepare for pandemics, they
advise spending money on vaccine research and development, bolstering health
systems and surveillance, and enhancing international cooperation and
coordination. They assert that the world has to get ready because the next
epidemic is on the way.