At the World Economic Forum, the World Health Organization warned world leaders that the world could face a pandemic 20 times worse than COVID-19 in the future.
Scientists refer to it as sickness X, recognizing that the next global pandemic could be caused by an undiscovered pathogen rather than the spread of a known sickness.
Scientists from the WHO organized a conference in which they urged world leaders to collaborate on developing methods to prevent or manage a potential Disease X pandemic.
One of the topics highlighted was the need for better communication tactics to eliminate misinformation and conspiracy theories, even if others resorted to X, now known as Twitter, to call the conference a plot against freedom.
Scientists believe the most likely cause of Disease X is a respiratory virus that is already circulating in animals but has not yet spread to people.
Without preparation, the WHO cautioned that a pandemic from Disease X may wreak far more damage than COVID, which killed over seven million people globally.
The WHO has already launched several attempts to protect against a future pandemic, such as efforts to promote technology sharing and improve disease surveillance across borders.
While Disease X was the session’s emphasis, epidemiologists are concerned about other illnesses as well. Other viruses with the potential to produce a pandemic include Ebola, Marburg, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Lassa fever, SARS, MERS, Nipah virus, Rift Valley Fever, Zika virus, and novel COVID-19 variants.