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Davos
The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 began on Monday (Jan 15) in Davos, Switzerland. World leaders at the forum are set to discuss Disease X - a mysterious name for an illness caused by a currently unknown, yet serious microbial threat. A panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) will join other health officials to discuss the health threat at the WEF on Wednesday, a report by Forbes said.
The mention of this illness has sparked a massive war of words on social media, with some users slamming the plans surrounding the hypothetical situation.
What is Disease X?
It is an illness caused by a currently unknown, yet serious microbial threat. The WHO added Disease X in 2017 to a list of pathogens deemed a top priority for research alongside Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
Also read: 'Disease X' likely to prove 20 times deadlier compared to COVID-19, hints expert
Covid is an example of Disease X. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the vast reservoir of viruses circulating in wildlife is seen as a likely source of more such diseases due to their potential to spill over and infect other species, including humans.
The significance of Disease X
The WHO has said that the reason to study Disease X is to enable cross-cutting R&D (research and development) preparedness that is also relevant for an unknown disease. The global humanitarian crisis sparked by Ebola, Covid, and other diseases has been a wake-up call.
The Ebola epidemic killed thousands of people globally. Bloomberg reported that despite decades of research, there were no products ready to deploy in time to save these lives.
In response, the WHO created an R&D Blueprint to accelerate the development of a range of tools for “priority diseases".
Which are the priority pathogens right now?
The current list of priority diseases by the WHO includes - Covid, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Ebola virus disease and Marburg virus disease, Lassa fever, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) and SARS, Nipah and henipaviral diseases, Rift Valley fever, Zika and Disease X.
(With inputs from agencies)