According to the World Health Organization (WHO) official *** WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently issued a public warning on the possibility of an outbreak of "disease X", saying that the next pandemic outbreak "is not a question of if, but when", calling for preparedness to deal with "disease X". The unknown pathogen "disease X" has been mentioned several times recently. According to previous reports, on January 17, local time, the World Economic Forum set up a sub-forum entitled "Preparing for Disease X", and WHO and representatives of many countries discussed how to deal with possible "Disease X" in the future.
Why is "disease X" alarming WHO? Is the outbreak inevitable? What can we do to prepare?
What is "X Disease"?
In fact, "disease x" is not a specific disease that is real today. According to WHO's interpretation, "disease X" refers to the potential for an unknown pathogen to cause a severe international pandemic. It has the opportunity to be triggered at any time, by a variety of **, and could take millions of lives.
This is not the first time this concept has been proposed. As early as 2018, the WHO issued a similar warning, listing "disease X" as a "priority pathogen" that could cause an outbreak or pandemic. They are also joined by Ebola virus, Zika virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, etc. According to the WHO official, the inclusion of "disease X" is to cover unknown pathogens that could lead to a serious international epidemic.
Data map: Nucleic acid extraction by testing personnel (**Unrelated). Photo by Hu Jing.
Regarding the original intention of proposing the concept of "X disease", Zhao Wei, director of the Biosafety Research Center of the School of Public Health of Southern Medical University, pointed out in an interview with Zhongxin Health that the concept is intended to avoid or reduce the harm of emerging or mutated pathogens such as the new coronavirus to humans as much as possible.
In our lifetimes, we might, if not likely, face another pandemic. We don't know how serious it will be, but we can be prepared. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus recently said at the 2024 World Summit that despite some progress in surveillance, pandemics, vaccine production capacity, etc., the world is still not ready for the next "disease X" and the next pandemic.
Is the "X disease" bound to come?
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the conference that the next pandemic outbreak "is not a question of if, but when".
Viruses in nature threaten human health at all times. Although more than 300 viruses have been discovered that can infect humans, there are still a large number of unknown viruses to be confirmed, many of which may have the ability to break through the barriers between species and infect humans. Lu Hongzhou, director of the National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases and president of the Third People's Hospital of Shenzhen, told Zhongxin Health that a study showed that among the 25 virus families surveyed, there are about 1.67 million unknown viruses to be discovered, of which 6310,000 to 8270,000 species that could infect humans.
Lu Hongzhou pointed out that with the increasing frequency of international exchanges, the emergence of new pathogenic microorganisms is accelerating, and the prevention of large-scale infectious diseases is becoming more and more difficult. Previously, he said in an interview that experts around the world generally believe that perhaps another new infectious disease may break out in the near future.
Zhao Wei said that due to the uncertainty of human activities and the non-directional mutation of pathogens, it is difficult to accurately determine the appearance time of "X disease" in the future. However, in the long run, "disease X" will definitely occur somewhere in the future, and mankind should continue to increase investment in the field of public health to deal with it calmly.
How to deal with the "X disease" that may be coming?
Zhao Wei pointed out that it is extremely difficult to deal with "disease X" because of the uncertainty of the pathogen. First of all, it is necessary to improve public health emergency response capacity, including the establishment of detection technologies for unknown pathogens, and the formation of a more sensitive and effective surveillance and early warning network. Second, improve the clinical treatment level and service capacity of medical staff, so as to be able to cope with sudden surges in medical demand. Third, improve the R&D technology and production capacity of new vaccines, which can quickly establish an immune barrier in the population after the outbreak of "disease X".
Data map: Staff are preparing for vaccination. Photo by China News Service reporter Han Bing.
He also said that if the chance of contact with new pathogens in nature can be reduced, and the infection rate of known pathogens in the population can be reduced, the mutation caused by emerging pathogens or known pathogens in the process of population transmission can be reduced, thereby reducing the probability of the emergence of "disease X". Therefore, human beings should be more cautious about the development or research of the natural world, and comply with biosafety and ethical norms as much as possible.
In terms of dealing with emerging infectious diseases that may come, Lu Hongzhou suggested that a mature system for the diagnosis, prevention and innovative research of emerging major infectious diseases should be established, and a closed-loop of pathogen identification, detection method development, pathogenesis research, vaccine and new drug research and development should be formed to achieve rapid transformation and respond to sudden epidemics in a scientific, timely and effective manner.
In addition, we will build a strong public health system, including focusing on cultivating human resources who can solve practical problems such as pathogenic identification and laboratory testing; comprehensively strengthen the capacity of public hospitals for the treatment of infectious diseases, and improve the reserve capacity of emergency medical treatment; increase investment in science and technology in the field of health care, and concentrate on core technology research; Close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant countries will help to combat emerging infectious disease pandemics that may arise in the future. (*China News Network).