The World Health Organization (WHO) has underscored the pressing need for global readiness in the face of a potential new pandemic referred to as ‘Disease X.’ WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, urged countries worldwide to unite and endorse a ‘pandemic treaty’ to address the looming threat of Disease X, which is speculated to be 20 times deadlier than COVID-19, as reported by Fox News.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr. Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of reaching a pandemic agreement by May to confront this “common enemy.” He acknowledged the inevitability of unknown events, stating, “There are things that are unknown that may happen, and anything happening is a matter of when, not if, so we need to have a placeholder for that, for the diseases we don’t know.”
Reflecting on the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, he highlighted the loss of lives due to inadequate management, emphasizing the need for a flexible system capable of expanding when the demand arises.
Mr. Ghebreyesus revealed that the WHO has already taken proactive measures, such as establishing a pandemic fund and creating a ”technology transfer hub” in South Africa to prepare for potential outbreaks.
Addressing the issue of equity in vaccine distribution, he pointed out the problem of high-income countries hoarding vaccines. To rectify this, the WHO established an mRNA technology transfer hub in South Africa to enhance local production.
As for Disease X, it is not a specific disease but rather the potential emergence of a virus akin to COVID-19. It could be a new agent, virus, bacterium, or fungus without any known treatment. Disease X is categorized by the WHO among potential threats like COVID-19, Ebola, Lassa fever, MERS, Nipah, and Zika, all of which have caused widespread fatalities during outbreaks.
The Lancet notes that the WHO formally introduced the term in 2018, representing the next unknown disease of epidemic potential. A WHO report from November 2022 states that Disease X is included to signify an unknown pathogen with the potential to cause a serious international epidemic, highlighting the challenge of addressing numerous potential pathogens with limited resources for research and development.
