Mumbai, September 26: While the globe is still reeling from the effects of Covid-19, health experts have issued a fresh warning concerning 'Disease X'. The mysterious disease is being compared to the Spanish Flu of 1919-1920, implying that the impact might be more severe than Covid-19. The initial assertions were further backed up by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which recognised the new agent as a virus, bacteria, or fungus with no promised remedy.

Scientists in the United Kingdom are racing against the clock to produce vaccinations for a new pandemic caused by Disease X. According to reports, British scientists have begun "developing vaccines" against a "new pandemic" triggered by an unknown "Disease X" in a high-security laboratory facility and are said to have narrowed down a threat list of animal viruses capable of infecting humans, which might spread fast in the future. Mystery Brain Disease Strikes in Canada: Cluster of Mysterious Brain Diseases Detected in New Brunswick, Victims Develop Dementia-Like Symptoms, Says Report.

What Is Disease X?

A question indeed arises regarding the origin of the name of this mysterious sickness. Scientists and experts are unclear which of the animal viruses will mutate and cause the next pandemic. As a result, "Disease X" is the sole name for it. The news of "Disease X" first surfaced in late 2018, when the World Health Organisation (WHO) projected a total annihilation of humanity due to an unknown ailment known as Disease X.

According to the researchers, 25 viral families have been found, each containing hundreds or thousands of distinct viruses, any of which may mutate to create a pandemic. These viruses may move from animals to people and significantly change, resulting in an outbreak of Disease X.

Here's What the Experts Say

According to a UK health specialist, Disease X, as named by the World Health Organisation (WHO), might produce another pandemic that is deadlier than Covid-19. Kate Bingham, who chaired the UK's Vaccine Taskforce from May to December 2020, told the Daily Mail that the new virus might have a comparable impact to the terrible Spanish Flu of 1919-1920. Disease X, according to WHO, might be a novel agent - a virus, bacterium, or fungus - with no recognised therapies.

According to a new book written by two vaccine specialists, the world is unprepared for the next pandemic, which might be triggered by any of the millions of undiscovered viruses that lurk on our planet. According to the authors, the Covid-19 pandemic, which killed around 20 million people worldwide, was hardly the worst-case scenario. They note that the virus had a low mortality rate compared to other viruses, including Ebola, avian flu, and MERS. According to experts, the world cannot rely on chance to escape the next pandemic, which might be far more lethal and contagious. 'Mystery' Illness Hits Equatorial Guinea: Unidentified Disease Causing Hemorrhagic Fever, Eight Dead; Lockdown Declared in Two Villages.

In a new research, Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, also known as 'batwoman,' warned that another Covid epidemic similar to the current catastrophic pandemic is "highly likely." Shi and colleagues from the Wuhan Institute of Virology assessed the human spillover risk of 40 coronavirus species in the study. In July, the findings were published in the English-language journal Emerging Microbes and Infections, and they identified 20 'very dangerous' coronavirus species.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 26, 2023 10:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).