United States: Disease X has been considered to be a threat to the population, but recently, scientists have predicted that there is a high chance that the world will once again deal with another pandemic due to influenza, a pathogen that is commonly seen in the environment.
An imminent international investigation, set to be disclosed in the forthcoming days, suggests that a significant portion, approximately 57 percent, of esteemed disease specialists now anticipate that a variation of the influenza virus will serve as the genesis of the subsequent significant infectious disease outbreak to afflict the globe, according to a publication in the Guardian.
This hypothesis is rooted in a prolonged examination indicating that the influenza virus undergoes perpetual transformation and alteration, as expressed by Jon Salmanton-Garcia of Cologne University, the principal investigator of the study.
“With each passing winter, influenza makes its presence felt. These occurrences could be likened to miniature pandemics. They are more or less contained due to the relatively subdued virulence of the various strains responsible for them, but this state of affairs may not endure indefinitely,” he mentioned.
Of particular note, the outcomes of the aforementioned survey are slated for disclosure at the upcoming European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Congress in Barcelona.
As indicated by 21 percent of the specialists surveyed as part of the study, an enigmatic virus designated as Disease X, presently unrecognized by scientific circles, emerges as the second most probable origin of a pandemic, following closely behind influenza. According to scientific consensus, the impending pandemic will be triggered by an unfamiliar microorganism that emerges unexpectedly.
Disease X does not pertain to a specific disease but rather represents the designation of a potential virus akin to COVID-19. It could manifest as a novel agent, be it a virus, bacterium, or fungus devoid of any established remedy, according to the reports.
These obscure diseases have been cataloged alongside COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), Nipah, and Zika by global health authorities, all of which have inflicted widespread casualties during epidemic outbreaks.
The Lancet has reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) formally adopted the term in 2018, symbolizing the next unidentified disease with pandemic potential.
A WHO publication from November 2022 elucidates that Disease X is included to denote an unknown pathogen capable of precipitating a severe global pandemic. According to the WHO, the plethora of prospective pathogens worldwide vastly outnumbers the resources allocated to disease research and development (R&D).