According to the Daily Mail, health professionals from around the world have issued warnings that COVID-19 could only be a sign of more deadly pandemics to come. The head of the UK's vaccine taskforce, Dame Kate Bingham, gave a dire warning that the next pandemic might kill at least 50 million people and emphasised that it was lucky that COVID-19 was not more deadly.

The next pandemic has been called "Disease X" by the World health Organisation (WHO), which claims that it may already be "on its way". According to data from the WHO, COVID-19, which first appeared in 2019, has already claimed the lives of close to seven million people worldwide. Dame Kate Bingham issued a warning that Disease X may end up being more fatal than COVID-19 by a factor of more than seven. She said that a virus already in circulation may be the cause of the upcoming pandemic.

She compared the current threat to human life to the devastating 1918–19 flu pandemic that claimed the lives of more than 50 million people, saying, "Today, we may expect a similar death toll from one of the numerous viruses that are already present. More viruses are actively multiplying and evolving now than all other types of life put together. She said, "Not all of them pose a threat to humans, of course - but plenty do," in an interview with the Daily Mail.

According to her, researchers are keeping an eye on 25 viral families, each of which has thousands of distinct viruses that have the potential to develop into a serious pandemic. The possibility of viruses spreading from animals to people is unaccounted for in this surveillance. "With COVID, the vast majority of people infected with the virus managed to recover," stated Dame Kate. Imagine that Disease X had an Ebola-like death rate of 67% and was as contagious as the measles. It's reproducing somewhere in the world, and sooner or later, somebody will get sick," she warned.

While this is going on, UK scientists have already started working on a vaccine for 'Disease X.' Over 200 scientists are involved in the study, which is being done at the high-security Porton Down laboratory facility in Wiltshire. They concentrate on viruses that may infect people and propagate quickly over the world in animals. Among the diseases being examined are hantavirus, which is spread by rodents, monkeypox, and avian flu.

The UK health Security Agency's (UKHSA) chief, professor Dame Jenny Harries, emphasised that population changes and climate change are increasing the possibility of pandemics in the future. He emphasised the significance of being prepared in advance.
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Disease X

G GOWTHAM

25/09/2023 11:05 AM