Disease X to be Deadlier Than Covid. Is World Prepared to Tackle Another Pandemic?

Disease X Latest News: After COVID-19 (coronavirus), brace yourself for the emergence of Disease X, an ominous and unidentified pathogen that harbours the potential to unleash a catastrophic global epidemic, reminiscent of the deadly Spanish Flu that devastated the world between 1919 and 1920. Disease X has found its place among the World Health Organization's (WHO) top-priority diseases, alongside other significant health threats like Ebola and the Zika virus. 

WHAT IS DISEASE X?

The term Disease X is used to refer to the strategic planning and readiness for an impending global epidemic triggered by a pathogen that has not yet been identified as a cause of diseases in humans. 

In a statement, the WHO on Monday said that starting with a meeting held last Friday, November 18, WHO is convening over 300 scientists who will consider the evidence on over 25 virus families and bacteria, as well as "Disease X." Disease X is included to indicate an unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic. The experts will recommend a list of priority pathogens that need further research and investment. The process will include both scientific and public health criteria, as well as criteria related to socioeconomic impact, access, and equity.

The list was first published in 2017 and the last prioritization exercise was done in 2018. The current list includes COVID-19, Crimean-Cong haemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Nipah and henipaviral diseases, Rift Valley fever, Zika and Disease X.

WHAT ARE SCIENTISTS DOING TO TACKLE DISEASE X? 

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO), will lead a panel featuring Brazilian Health Minister Nisia Trindade Lima, Michel Demaré, Chair of the Board at pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Roy Jakobs, CEO of Royal Philips, and Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice-Chairperson of Indian hospital chain Apollo. 

This panel will convene on Wednesday for a session titled "Preparing for Disease X." During this session, they will deliberate on "innovative measures required to ready healthcare systems for the myriad challenges ahead" in anticipation of a potentially more lethal pandemic, as stated by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

ARE WE READY FOR FUTURE PANDEMICS?

A top official of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said the world is yet not fully prepared to deal with any future pandemic and a lot more work needs to be done. Speaking to PTI on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, where 'Disease X' is one of the key areas of discussion, Dr Christopher J Elias said we have learnt our lessons after COVID-19 but further efforts and discussions are needed, including on financing requirements.

"A really important discussion had started nearly eight years ago after the Ebola outbreak and that discussion cake into very clear focus after COVID-19 that the world needs to be better prepared," he said, adding that the world needs to be ready for infections and diseases that we know such as influenza but also diseases that we don't know and maybe new such as Disease X. But I don't think we are fully prepared yet.

Elias noted that there have been a lot of talks on what needs to be done for the world to be fully prepared. The WHO is in the process of negotiating an accord, trying to bring countries together on what needs to be done and how it is going to be financed, he said. "We had a wake-up call from Covid-19 and we are relatively better prepared than we were four years ago but we are not fully prepared. There is a lot more work to be done and there is a lot more financing that needs to be arranged and those would be a lot more discussions over next one year," he said.