Congo, January 4: The world could be hit by a new deadly virus 'Disease X', a disease that is fast-spreading like the COVID-19 and as deadly as the Ebola virus, the scientist who discovered Ebola warned. Professor Jean-Jacques Muyembe Tamfum, who helped discover Ebola virus in 1976, warned humanity that more deadly viruses are likely to be discovered in the near future. He added saying that 'Disease X' is hypothetical but could be deadly and might lead to destruction around the world. Tamfum further informed that there are new and potentially fatal viruses emerging from Africa's tropical rainforests.

In a conversation with reporters of CNN in the DRC's capital, Kinshasa, Tamfum warned the world of more diseases that can transmit from animal to humans and has the potential to pose life risks. Citing examples from the past, the scientist said diseases such as yellow fever, different types of influenza, rabies, brucellosis among other deadly diseases had all jumped from the rodents or insects to the humans and had led to outbreak of pandemics or epidemics. COVID-19 Virus Mutation May Have Made It More Contagious: Study. 

The scientist said that we are now in a world where new pathogens will come out. And that's what constitutes a threat for humanity', adding that the future pandemics could be worse than COVID-19. According to a report by the Daily Mail, a patient in Ingende, Democratic Republic of the Congo, showed early symptoms of hemorrhagic fever. The patient had an Ebola test, but doctors fear that it was 'Disease X', which stands for unexpected. However, the results came negative. Reports inform that the new pathogen could spread as fast as COVID-19.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2021 08:24 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).