World leaders gathered in Davos to discuss Disease X which could be around 20 times deadlier than Covid-19.
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that he hopes countries can make an agreement to find a way to tackle the “common enemy.”
The theoretical virus which does not exist just like Covid-19 didn’t, the WHO are urging governments to find a way to tackle such viruses, as scientists fear this could happen far sooner than we are prepared for.
Dr. Amesh Adalja from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security warned, “There are strains of viruses that have very high mortality rates that could develop the ability to transmit efficiently from human to human.”
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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned on Wednesday that Covid-19 could have been our first “Disease X.”
Adalja hinted that deadly pathogens which are likely to be a respiratory virus, may already be circulating in animal species.
He said, “That could be bats like COVID-19, it could be in birds like bird flu, or it could be some other type of animal species, swine [flu] for example.
“It’s really about that interface between humans and animals, where interactions are occurring, that these types of viruses get a foothold.”
The WHO warned that if we are not ready the next disease could cause more deaths than the 7 million that Covid-19 caused.
Adalja made reference to the Spanish Flu in 1918 that killed 50 million globally, “If we did so poorly with something like COVID-19, you can imagine how poorly we would do with something like a 1918-level event.”
He added, “I think what we see now is this distrust between infectious disease physicians, public health practitioners and the general public, because what happened is politicians injected themselves into this.
“People may not actually be receptive to the protective actions that are being recommended by public health officials.”
A leading virologist from Imperial College London has warned the UK the new JN.1 Covid wave could “be bigger than any before.”
Professor Peter Openshaw is warning people across the UK to prepare for a “major surge” in cases and there could be a return to wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the new JN.1 variant.
Professor Openshaw said that the JN.1 variant accounts for two thirds of cases in the UK, and he warned of “quite a major surge” to hit in the coming weeks, adding that cases have not yet peaked.
Professor Openshaw told The Sun, “We’re going to see quite a major surge in infections over the coming weeks – the wave could be bigger than anything we’ve seen before.
“To help stop the spread, those who haven’t had the Covid booster should consider wearing face masks in public places, like on trains, when shopping and at large events.”
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