Disease X

Disease X
Aeromedical isolation team members.
Start	2017
Interest of	Roy Jakobs
Continuation of COVID-19, or worse.

Disease X is a term used by the WHO to represent a hypothetical, unknown disease that could cause a future epidemic or pandemic. It is a placeholder name given to a potential new disease that may emerge and pose a significant public health threat.

The WHO added Disease X in 2017 to a short list of pathogens deemed a top priority for research, alongside:

• COVID-19
• Crimean-Cong haemorrhagic fever
• Ebola virus disease
• Marburg virus disease
• Lassa fever
• Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
• Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)
• Nipah and henipaviral diseases
• Rift Valley fever
• Zika

Covid-19 was an example of a Disease X when it was declared a pandemic at the end of 2019. The vast reservoir of viruses circulating in wildlife are seen as a likely source of more such diseases. That’s because of their potential to spill over and infect other species, including humans, giving rise to an infection against which people will have no immunity.

 

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Bill Gates	“So we, you know, we'll have to prepare for the next one. That, .., you know I'd say is, will get attention this time.”	Bill Gates	23 June 2020
Bill Gates	“This pandemic is bad, but a future pandemic could be 10 times more serious,”	Bill Gates	27 January 2021

Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.