GENEVA, SWITZERLAND: The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a warning that a newly found disease called ‘Disease X’ could come up and potentially cause a new pandemic.
It is ‘X’ because it is not known for sure the type and source of the disease.
Some public health experts predict that disease X will be zoonotic. This means that the disease originates from wild or domestic animals, then spread to humans.
According to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the WHO Director-General, ending Covid-19 as a global health emergency does not guarantee an end to the threat of a pandemic.
He emphasized the risk of the emergence of other pathogens.
Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Paras Hospital, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, said that there was no clear information regarding this type of disease.
However, he said the disease had the potential to become an international epidemic, with symptom characteristics similar to the Coronavirus.
“It has similar characteristics to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which can present with symptoms such as high fever, cough, and respiratory failure. Most likely, it is an RNA virus that has ribonucleic acid as its genetic material.” quoted from Indian Express, Friday (2/6/2023).
“There is no reason to panic as there is little evidence to prove that such an entity exists. However, planning and preparedness are essential to counter any future outbreak with devastating impacts,” he concluded.
For now, people better be aware of their health and more cautious with their surroundings.
