The World Health Organization has a list of bacteria and viruses that have the potential to cause a new pandemic. According to Jill Weatherhead of Baylor College of Medicine, disease prioritization takes into account 2 factors.
The first of these is the ability of these bacteria and viruses to spread quickly, he writes NPR.
The second factor is the ability of humans to treat the diseases caused by these organisms.
Diseases that concern epidemiologists
The list helps researchers, governments and organizations identify pathogens that can cause global devastation. Experts anticipate that the list will be revised in the coming months, with the help of more than 300 researchers.
Here are the diseases that worry epidemiologists:
Nipah virus
It is carried by many animals, including fruit bats, pigs, horses, dogs and cats. It can be transmitted to humans from contaminated animals or food. It can also be transmitted from person to person. It has a mortality rate of 40-75%.
Nipah virus could also cause encephalitis. There is currently no vaccine for animals or humans, but an antibody therapy is being developed.
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
The virus that causes this disease is carried by ticks and domestic animals. Humans are usually infected by contact with these infected animals. The virus can be transmitted from person to person through blood or other fluids
Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is among the diseases that concern epidemiologists. It has a mortality rate of 10-40%. The disease is endemic and occurs in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia. A vaccine is used in Bulgaria, but there are no studies on how well it works.
Febra Lassa
The virus is carried by rats and other rodents and is found in their droppings. By direct contact with them or by eating contaminated food, people can become infected. It can also spread between people, through direct contact with blood, urine or feces, sexual contact, or through contaminated medical equipment.
It has a mortality rate of 1 – 15% in severe cases that reach the hospital. There is no vaccine at this time, but ribavirin can treat infections.
Febra Rift Valley
It is among the diseases that worry epidemiologists and is carried by mosquitoes. The virus can also infect cows, sheep, goats and camels. It is transmitted through contact with blood, other fluids and tissue of infected animals. The fatality rate is below 1%. A vaccine has been created but is not yet available.
Zika
The virus is also carried by mosquitoes. Beyond stings, the virus can also be transmitted from mother to fetus through sexual contact and blood transfusions. Zika is rarely fatal, but it can cause developmental defects in the fetus. There is no vaccine or treatment at this time.
Ebola and Marburg
Both are among the diseases that worry epidemiologists. The Marburg virus causes symptoms similar to those of Ebola. The mortality rate in 1967 was 24%. In 1998-2000, this rose to 83% in an epidemic in the Republic of Congo. In the 2017 outbreak in Uganda, the rate reached 100 percent, according to the WHO.
Ebola Reston is fatal to other primates, but causes no symptoms in humans. The Bundibugyo variant has a mortality rate of 25%. The Zaire variant has a rate of 90%. The largest epidemic occurred in West Africa in the period 2014-2016. Out of 28,652 confirmed cases, 11,325 of the victims lost their lives. Ebola is considered one of the most dangerous viruses in history. In December 2020, the Ervebo Ebola vaccine was approved by the FDA against the Zaire strain.
MERS
MERS-COV causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It caused an outbreak in Saudi Arabia in 2012, followed by one in South Korea in 2015. It has a high mortality rate of about 35%. It is also among the most dangerous viruses in history and among the diseases that worry epidemiologists.
The virus did not spread like others on the list. In 2021, the total number of registered victims was 858.
SARS
The virus causes acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). It was first identified in 2003 during an outbreak in China, according to the WHO. The virus is believed to have originated in bats and then spread to humans. Since the outbreak in China, SARS has spread to 26 other countries. According to estimates, it infected 8,096 people, of whom 774 died.
2023-11-11 05:46:55
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