There are already indications the emergence of Disease X could trigger a major outbreak.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — An infectious disease epidemiologist from the University of Edinburgh warned of the potential emergence of “Disease XThe expert named Prof Mark Woolhouse revealed that at this time there were several signs indicating that the emergence of Disease X can trigger a major outbreak.
Disease X is not basically a real disease name. Referring to the World Health Organization (WHO), Disease X is a term for an unknown viral threat that can be transmitted to humans and has the potential to trigger a widespread epidemic.
This warning from Prof Woolhouse came with the detection poliovirus at a sewage treatment site in London. In addition, local authorities also found some evidence of transmission poliovirus to a small group of people.
A team of experts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) stated that this virus may have originated from tourists from Pakistan, Afghanistan or Nigeria. They shed (shedding) virus through feces after being given the polio vaccine drops.
Poliovirus then mutated and is now starting to spread. This statement is strengthened by the discovery of strain poliovirus the same thing repeatedly in various wastewater samples since last May.
Not only faced with threats poliovirus, the UK is currently also detecting several cases of bird flu, Lassa fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and monkeypox. All of these cases were discovered this year. Prof Woolhouse believes that the findings of these infections are a sign of impending health problems.
“There’s a name for what we’re seeing today in England and elsewhere, it’s a chatter,” explained Prof Woolhouse.
Scientists believe the next pandemic will likely be caused by a zoonotic disease. Zoonoses are diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans.
To date, there are about 1.67 million unknown viruses in the world. About 827 thousand of them are viruses that have the ability to infect humans through animals.
On the other hand, the increasing human population makes humans live closer to animal habitats. This also increases the risk of disease transmission from animals to humans.
