2024-01-20 11:15:00
The next pandemic after Covid? “It’s already out there” and “it’s not a question of if, but when” it will arrive. To reiterate the alarm about ‘disease is back with a post on X on the topic of how much we should fear the possibility of a new pandemic threat, a ‘disease
“Covid-19 was disease X – highlighted the expert – and the next disease X is out there”. Staying ready is the key for Van Kerkhove and we need to work on it even now, continuously: “Preparation for the pandemic is a constant”, she concludes.
What is ‘disease X’, the pathology that does not exist on the agenda of the Davos Forum
The mysterious ‘disease X’ has meanwhile entered the agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Already in 2018, before the Covid emergency, the World Health Organization had hypothesized the arrival of a pandemic caused by a still unknown pathology, generically called ‘Disease
A pathology that does not exist, but the study of which could facilitate prevention in order to prepare flexible and transversal actions to stem the spread of diseases, including a hypothetical disease that is still unknown today. Now disease
“We have known the Zika virus, Ebola and we know what can happen. But we must have a plan for a future and unknown ‘disease X’, which we have been talking about for many years. Covid was the first disease be able to anticipate and prepare for this. Having an early warning system, knowing how to quickly expand health systems and investing more in primary care”, said the director of the World Health Organization.
Experts – over 300 scientists were gathered by the WHO as early as November 2022 – hypothesize that this future pathology could cause 20 times more deaths than Covid. The meeting keeps the spotlight on “new efforts needed to prepare health systems for the many future challenges”.
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