2024-01-17 03:56:02
BBC
Published on: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – 5:55 AM | Last updated: Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – 5:55 AM
Is the world ready for a new pandemic like Covid-19? Will governments and international health bodies be ready to deal with its repercussions? The question has been asked for a while, and there has been increased talk recently regarding this supposed epidemic, which has been called “Disease X.”
“Disease
Over the past few days, circulation of the term “Disease
The session addresses “new efforts needed to prepare healthcare systems for the multiple challenges ahead if we are to be prepared for a deadlier pandemic,” according to the World Economic Forum. Participating in it are the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Brazilian Minister of Health, Nicia Trindade Lima, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the giant pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Michel Demarai, the CEO of Royal Philips, Roy Jacobs, and the Executive Vice President of the Indian hospital chain, Apollo Pritha Reddy.
The meeting comes following the World Health Organization announced an increase in the spread of new cases of Covid-19 infection following the Christmas and New Year period, last December.
Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that the death of nearly 10,000 people was reported last month, and that fifty countries around the world recorded a 42 percent increase in hospital admissions infected with the virus.
What is Disease X?
“Disease
In November 2022, the World Health Organization brought together more than 300 scientists to consider evidence that more than 25 bacteria and viral families can cause disease outbreaks.
The organization launched a global process “to update the list of priority pathogens that can cause disease outbreaks or pandemics, to guide global investment, research and development, especially in vaccines, tests and treatments.”
In this context, the term “Disease X” was used to refer to an unknown pathogen that might cause a serious international epidemic. It is not a specific disease, but rather a concept used within the framework of ongoing research, surveillance and preparedness to identify and respond to potential future epidemics.
It is essentially a temporary name for any unidentified future pathogen that might cause the next global pandemic, and is not intended to suggest that a particular disease with that name will necessarily emerge.
UK Health Security Agency chief executive Jenny Harris said the term is used because scientists “don’t know what the next factor that will cause a pandemic” is, and the letter X represents the unknown nature of such a disease, and the need for preparedness and vigilance.
These efforts come as a kind of acknowledgment that despite scientific progress and surveillance efforts, there will always be the possibility of new diseases with unpredictable characteristics emerging and spreading on a large scale.
What is the relationship between Disease X and the Corona pandemic?
Many experts believe that Disease
This concept of Disease
“As humanity breaks down barriers between humans and other species through animal markets and deforestation, we need continued monitoring, studies, and improvement of biosecurity around the world,” he added.
Rousseau warned that Disease
As tomorrow’s meeting in Davos approaches, a storm has arisen over the term “Disease X” on social media, especially in the United States. Users warned that preparations for the unknown disease “might resemble the lockdown measures imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
These measures received widespread criticism in right-wing American and European circles, as some users believe theories that the Corona epidemic “was planned.”
Monica Crowley, a former Fox News contributor and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Public Affairs during the Donald Trump administration, said in a tweet on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that “the new infection will allow world leaders to implement general lockdowns, restrict freedom of expression, and destroy more freedoms.” . “When your enemies tell you what they are planning, believe them and be prepared,” she added.
What is the position of the World Health Organization?
The World Health Organization classifies Disease Nipah virus, henipavirus disease, Rift Valley fever, and Zika virus.
Disease
The World Health Organization has prioritized research and development in the emergency context for all of these diseases, noting that the scheme “explicitly seeks to enhance early preparedness for comprehensive research and development that is also associated with unknown Disease X.”
What are the reasons for the emergence of more epidemics in the future?
Professor Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccination Group, told Sky News it was likely there would be future pandemics due to factors including climate change.
He added, “It is of course impossible to determine exactly when this might happen, but the circumstances we see before us make it very likely.”
He explained why more pandemics might emerge in the future by saying: “We know that climate change is causing new bacteria and viruses to emerge in our environment. We also have urbanization. As humans move more into animal habitats, we increase the risk of this happening.”
He said that as we saw with Covid-19, crowding leads to epidemics: “We are currently regarding 8 billion people on this planet. Over the next 30 years or so we will be more than 10 billion.”
“This means that epidemics will likely increase during this century,” he added.
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