‘Disease Top 10 points

Health experts are sounding the alarm about ‘Disease X’, a term coined by the World Health Organization. They warn that this potential new pandemic could cause up to twenty times more fatalities than the coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020 and has tragically claimed the lives of more than 2.5 million people worldwide. Here are the top 10 points about Disease

1. In an interview with the Daily emailKate Bingham, who chaired the UK Vaccine Taskforce from May to December 2020, expressed her belief that disease X is expected to be significantly more dangerous than COVID-19.

Also read: ‘Disease What WHO says

2. Based on expert estimates, disease ‘Let me put it this way: the 1918-1919 flu pandemic killed at least 50 million people worldwide, twice as many as in the First World War. Today we can expect a similar death toll from one of the many viruses that already exist,” she told the newspaper Daily email.

In response to Disease

3. She revealed that while scientists have identified 25 virus families comprising thousands of individual viruses, she believes there are millions more viruses yet to be discovered, and that these have the potential to develop into pandemics.

Also read: What is ‘Disease X’? Why are top experts warning of a new COVID-like pandemic?

4. “In some ways we were lucky with Covid-19, despite the fact that it caused twenty million or more deaths worldwide. The point is that the vast majority of people infected with the virus managed to recover. Imagine Disease X is as contagious as measles, with the mortality rate of Ebola [67%]. Somewhere in the world it will repeat itself, and sooner or later someone will start to feel sick.”

5. The increase in outbreaks, according to Bingham, is attributed to the growing trend of more people congregating in urban areas. She also emphasizes that the continued destruction of millions of hectares of natural habitat every year contributes to this increase.

Also read: WHO identifies potential pandemic pathogens

6. “This reason is particularly important because about three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases originate in animals and then jump from species to species until, under certain conditions, they can infect humans.”

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7. According to Bingham, one of the first actions to be taken is to allocate the necessary financial resources, essentially “putting the money on the table.” Bingham said: “The monetary cost of inaction is seismic. After all, even Covid-19 – a milder virus than disease

Also read: Disease X, other pathogens that could cause future pandemics, need to be identified by WHO

8. Regarding vaccines for Disease X, there are currently no approved vaccines available. Nevertheless, Bingham underlines the importance of scientists developing a collection of “different prototype vaccines for each threatening virus family.” She emphasized that only a “head start” on vaccines can help tackle specific features of Disease X.

9. Bingham explained the portfolio strategy: vaccines that combat different facets of the virus. She explains that ‘different types of vaccines stimulate different immune responses and therefore provide different levels of protection’.

10. She further noted that production capabilities vary greatly between countries and regions. Some vaccine formats may be suitable for large-scale production, while others may be easier to produce in the developing world. Third, we need to address the shortcomings of current vaccines, not all of which are sustainable, easy to transport or cheap. Fourth, researchers should be encouraged to try new technologies and approaches to vaccine design, which could potentially lead to more effective and efficient vaccines in the future.

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Updated: Sep 25, 2023 07:36 IST