Disease X: Are you ready for the next pandemic?

New Delhi, Jan 04: From battles on the front lines to social distancing from friends and family, COVID-19 has caused a massive shake-up of our daily lives in 2020. However, as the world had just started to go back to normal in 2021, after the vaccines being rolled out in some part of the world it seems, that the threat of health crisis is not over yet.

This good news has been now tempered by the emergence of new, potentially more infectious strains of the virus.

According to recent news reports, the world could soon be hit bu another deadly termed virus,'Disease X'.

Disease X is the mysterious name given to the very serious threat that unknown viruses pose to human health.

Disease X is on a short list of pathogens deemed a top priority for research by the World Health Organization, alongside known killers like SARS and Ebola.

Scientists who have discovered the Ebola virus have warned that in the coming days, the world could face more than 1 million people. Professor Jean-Jacques Muenbe Tampham, who assisted in the discovery of Ebola in 197.6, claimed that 'Disease X' is hypothetical, but could be deadly and might lead to another pandemic, wreaking havoc all around the world.

In fact, a woman in the African Republic of Congo has been diagnosed with a dangerous virus that has been hospitalized for Ebola screening.

Along with disease X, the WHO named seven other potential global disease threats, each lacking an effective drug or vaccine. Each year the WHO updates the list with guidance from experts in all fields of scientific.

They are:

• Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF);
• Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease;
• Lassa fever;
• Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS);
• Nipah and henipaviral diseases Rift Valley fever (RVF) and
• Zika.