Context:
“Disease X” is defined by World health organization (WHO) as an unknown organism of potential global pandemic proportions.
Key Findings:
- In the year 2018, WHO prepared a priority list of pathogens that encompasses diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential, with available treatment countermeasures still insufficient or lacking.
- This list includes Ebola virus disease, Marburg disease, Lassa fever, Nipah virus, Rift Valley fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Zika virus, and Disease X.
- Various possible biological culprits have been suggested, including viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, helminths, and prions.
- Historical data reflects this uncertainty:
- over 300 emerging infectious diseases recognized worldwide since 1940; around 70 percent have zoonotic origins.
- Zoonotic origin means a disease that originated in animals and can be transmitted to human.
- The increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance, bioterrorism and accidental laboratory leaks poses yet another layer of uncertainty.
